relative

relative

English

Alternative forms

• rel. (abbreviation)

Etymology

From Middle French relatif, from Late Latin relātīvus, from Latin relātus, perfect passive participle of referō (“to carry back, to ascribe”), from re- (“again”) + ferō (“to bear or carry”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɹɛl.ə.tɪv/
  • (US, Canada) IPA^(key): (flapped) [ˈɹɛl.ə.ɾɪv], (enunciated) [ˈɹɛl.ə.tʰɪv][note 1]

    • Audio (US; enunciated)

      (file)

    • Audio (US; more common in casual speech)

      (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛlətɪv

Adjective

relative (not comparable)

1. Connected to or depending on something else; comparative.
   • 2012 May 5, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool”, BBC Sport:

     For Liverpool, their season will now be regarded as a relative disappointment after failure to add the FA Cup to the Carling Cup and not mounting a challenge to reach the Champions League places.

2. (computing, of a URL, URI, path, or similar) Expressed in relation to another item, rather than in complete form.

   The relative URL /images/pic.jpg, when evaluated in the context of http://example.com/docs/pic.html, corresponds to the absolute URL http://example.com/images/pic.jpg.

3. (grammar) Depending on an antecedent; comparative.

   The words “big” and “small” are relative.

4. (music) Having the same key but differing in being major or minor.
5. Relevant; pertinent; related.

   relative to your earlier point about taxes, ...

6. Capable to be changed by other beings or circumstance; conditional.

Synonyms

• comparative
• conditional
• limited

 

Antonyms

• absolute
• unlimited

 

Derived terms

• ethnorelative
• non-relative (or nonrelative)
• relatively
• relativeness
• unrelative

 

Expressions with this term at the beginning

• relative address
• relative adjective
• relative atomic mass
• relative clause
• relative complement, r. pseudo-comp.
• relative dating
• relative density
• relative error
• relative frequency
• relative humidity
• relative-in-law
• relative key
• relative permittivity
• relative pin
• relative pitch
• relative pressure
• relative pronoun
• relative superlative
• relative tense
• relative topology

Expressions with this term at the end

• blood relative
• first-degree relative
• it's all relative
• linear relative
• oreille relative
• second-degree relative
• third-degree relative

 

Related terms

• correlative
• irrelative
• refer
• relate
• relation, -al, -ship
• relativism
• relativist
• relativistic
• relativity
• relativization (or relativisation)
• relativize (or relativise)

 

Translations

conditional; depending on something else

Arabic: نِسْبِيّ‎ (nisbiyy) Armenian: հարաբերական (hy) (haraberakan) Asturian: relativu Belarusian: адно́сны (adnósny) Bulgarian: относи́телен (bg) (otnosítelen) Catalan: relatiu (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 有關的／有关的 (yǒuguān de), 相對的／相对的 (xiāngduì de), 關連的／关连的 (guānlián de) Czech: relativní (cs), vztažný m (of pronoun) Danish: relativ Dutch: relatief (nl), betrekkelijk (nl) Estonian: suhteline, relatiivne Finnish: suhteellinen (fi), relatiivinen (fi) French: relatif (fr) Galician: relativo (gl) German: vergleichsweise (de), relativ (de) Greek: σχετικός (el) m (schetikós), συγκριτικός (el) m (sygkritikós) Hungarian: relatív (hu), viszonylagos (hu) Ido: relatanta (io) Indonesian: relatif (id), nisbi (id), bertalian (id) Italian: relativo (it) Japanese: 相対的 (ja) (そうたいてき, sōtaiteki) Korean: 상대적(相對的)이다 (sangdaejeog-ida) Kurdish: Central Kurdish: نسبی‎ (nisbî) Latin: relātīvus (la) Malayalam: ആപേക്ഷിക (ml) (āpēkṣika), താരതമ്യേന (tāratamyēna) Norman: èrlatif (Jersey) Norwegian: Bokmål: relativ (no) Nynorsk: relativ Persian: نسبی‎ (fa) (nesbi) Polish: relatywny (pl) m, odnośny, względny (pl) Portuguese: relativo (pt) m Romanian: relativ (ro) Russian: относи́тельный (ru) (otnosítelʹnyj), реляти́вный (ru) (reljatívnyj) Scottish Gaelic: dàimheach Sinhalese: සාපේක්ෂ (sāpēkṣa) Spanish: relativo (es) Swedish: relativ (sv) Tagalog: matugnay Turkish: görece (tr), izafi (tr), bağıl (tr) Ukrainian: відно́сний (vidnósnyj), зв'я́заний (zvʺjázanyj)

grammar: depending on an antecedent; comparative

Hungarian: vonatkozó (hu)

Noun

relative (plural relatives)

1. Someone in the same family; someone connected by blood, marriage, or adoption.

   Why do my relatives always talk about sex?

2. (linguistics) A type of adjective that inflects like a relative clause, rather than a true adjective, in certain Bantu languages.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:relative

Related terms

• referral
• relate
• relation
• relationship
• relativism
• relativity

 

Translations

someone in the same family; someone connected by blood, marriage, or adoption

Albanian: farefis (sq) m Arabic: قَرِيب‎ m (qarīb), قَرِيبَة‎ f (qarība), أَقْرِبَاء‎ pl (ʾaqribāʾ) (collective) Hijazi Arabic: قريب‎ m (garīb), أقربا‎ c pl (ʾagriba) Armenian: ազգական (hy) (azgakan), բարեկամ (hy) (barekam), յուրային (hy) (yurayin) Assamese: মিতিৰ (mitir), কুটুম (kutum), বঙহ (boṅoh), আপোন (apün) Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܚܸܙܡܵܐ‎ m (ḳizma), ܩܲܪܝܼܒ݂ܵܐ‎ m (qāriwa) Azerbaijani: qohum (az) Belarusian: свая́к m (svaják), свая́чка f (svajáčka), ро́дзiч m (ródzič) Bengali: কুটুম (bn) (kuṭum), খেশ (bn) (kheś), এগানা (bn) (egana), আপন (bn) (apônô), রিশতাদার (riśtadar) Bulgarian: родни́на (bg) f (rodnína), ро́дственик m (ródstvenik), ро́дственичка f (ródstvenička), ро́дственица f (ródstvenica), сро́дник (bg) m (sródnik), сро́дница f (sródnica) Burmese: အမျိုး (my) (a.myui:) Catalan: parent (ca) m, parenta (ca) f Chinese: Cantonese: 親戚, 亲戚 (can1 cik1) Mandarin: 親戚／亲戚 (zh) (qīnqi) Czech: příbuzný (cs) m, příbuzná (cs) f Danish: pårørende c, beslægtet, frænde c, frænke c Dutch: familielid (nl) n, bloedverwant (nl) m Esperanto: parenco, parencino (female) Estonian: sugulane (et) Finnish: sukulainen (fi) French: parent (fr) m, géniteur (fr) m, génitrice (fr) f Friulian: parint Galician: parente (gl) m or f Georgian: ნათესავი (natesavi) German: Verwandter (de) m, Blutsverwandter m, Verwandte (de) f, Blutsverwandte f, Angehöriger (de) m, Angehörige (de) f, Familienangehöriger (de) m, Familienangehörige (de) f, Freund (de) m, Blutsfreund (de) m, Freundin (de) f, Blutsfreundin f Gothic: 𐌽𐌹𐌸𐌾𐌹𐍃 m (niþjis), 𐌽𐌹𐌸𐌾𐍉 f (niþjō) Greek: συγγενής (el) m or f (syngenís), οικείος (el) m (oikeíos) Ancient: συγγενής m or f (sungenḗs), (by marriage) πηός m (pēós) Hebrew: קָרוֹב‎ (he) m (karóv), קְרוֹבָה‎ f (k'rová) Hindi: रिश्तेदार (hi) m or f (riśtedār) Hungarian: rokon (hu) Icelandic: ættingi (is) m, frændi (is) m, frænka (is) f Ido: parento (io), parentulo (io) (male), parentino (io) (female) Indonesian: kerabat (id) Irish: duine muinteartha m, gaol m Italian: parente (it) m or f, congiunto (it) m, congiunta (it) f, familiare (it) m or f, parentado (it) m, parentela (it) f Japanese: 親戚 (ja) (しんせき, shinseki), 身内 (ja) (みうち, miuchi) Javanese: sedulur (jv), sadulur (jv), sadhèrèk Kazakh: туыс (tuys), туысқан (kk) (tuysqan) (male side), нағашы (nağaşy) (female side), Khmer: សជន (km) (saʼcŭən), សហពន្ធុ (saʼhaʼpŏənthuʼ) Korean: 친척(親戚) (ko) (chincheok) Kurdish: Central Kurdish: خزم‎ (xizm) Northern Kurdish: eqrebe (ku) Kyrgyz: тууган (ky) (tuugan), туушкан (ky) (tuuşkan) Lao: ຍາດ (nyāt) Latin: cognātus m, cognāta f, propinquus (la) m, propinqua f Latvian: radinieks m, radiniece f, rads m Lithuanian: giminaitis m, giminaitė f Louisiana Creole French: paren Luhya: omulebe Macedonian: роднина m or f (rodnina), сродник m (srodnik), сродничка f (srodnička), сродница f (srodnica) Malay: saudara, dansanak, badansanak Malayalam: ബന്ധു (ml) (bandhu) Maori: huānga, pākanga, whanaunga, karangatanga, matamatahuānga (if distant) Middle English: kyn Mongolian: Cyrillic: хамаатан (mn) (xamaatan) Nahuatl: ueponi Navajo: hakʼéí Ngazidja Comorian: nɗuhuze Norwegian: Bokmål: slektning (no) m, frende (no) m, frenke m or f, frendekone m or f, pårørende (no) m or f Nynorsk: slektning m, frende m, frenke f, frendekone f, pårørande m or f Occitan: parent (oc) m Old Church Slavonic: Cyrillic: ближика m (bližika) Old Norse: frændi m, frænka f, frændkona f Oromo: fira Persian: فامیل‎ (fa) (fâmil), فک و فامیل‎ (fa) (fakk-o-fâmil), نزدیکان‎ (fa) pl (nazdikân), بستگان‎ (fa) pl (bastegân) Piedmontese: parent Polish: krewny (pl) m, krewna (pl) f Portuguese: parente (pt) m or f, parenta (pt) f Romanian: rudă (ro) f Russian: ро́дственник (ru) m (ródstvennik), ро́дственница (ru) f (ródstvennica), ро́дич (ru) m (ródič), соро́дич (ru) m (soródič), своя́к (ru) m (svoják), родня́ (ru) f (rodnjá) (collective) Rusyn: родак m (rodak) Sanskrit: बान्धव (sa) m (bāndhava) (especially maternal), ज्ञाति (sa) m (jñāti) (especially paternal) Scottish Gaelic: caraid m, neach-dàimh m Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: ро̑д m, сро̏днӣк m, сро̏дница f Roman: rȏd (sh) m, srȍdnīk (sh) m, srȍdnica (sh) f Sinhalese: ඥාතියා (gnātiyā) Slovak: príbuzný m, príbuzná f Slovene: sorodnik (sl) m, sorodnica f Somali: qaraabo (so) Spanish: familiar (es), pariente (es) m or f, parienta f, parentela (es) f (collective), deudo (es) m Swahili: ndugu (sw) class 9/10, jamaa (sw), akraba (sw) Swedish: släkting (sv) c, frände (sv) c, fränka (sv) c, anförvant (sv) c Tagalog: hinlog Tajik: хеш (tg) (xeš), наздик (tg) (nazdik) Tamil: உறவினர் (ta) (uṟaviṉar) Taos: k’òwa’ána Telugu: బంధువు (te) (bandhuvu) Thai: ญาติ (th) (yâat), ญาติพี่น้อง (yâat-pîi-nɔ́ɔng) Turkish: akraba (tr) Turkmen: garyndaş Ukrainian: ро́дич m (ródyč), рода́к m (rodák), ро́дичка f (ródyčka), рода́чка f (rodáčka), своя́к m (svoják) (dialectal), своя́чка f (svojáčka) (dialectal), свість f (svistʹ) (dialectal) Urdu: رشتہ دار‎ m or f (riśta dār) Uyghur: قانداش‎ (qandash) Uzbek: qarindosh (uz) Venetian: parènt Vietnamese: họ hàng (vi), người thân (vi), thân nhân (vi) Volapük: röletan (vo), hiröletan (vo) (male), jiröletan (vo) (female) Welsh: tras f, câr m, ceraint m pl Western Bukidnon Manobo: suled Yagnobi: хеш (xeš) Yiddish: קאָרעוו‎ m (korev)

See also

• aunt
• brother
• cousin
• father
• godparent
• grandchild
• granddaughter
• grandson
• great-grandchild
• great-grandparent
• in-law
• mother
• niece
• nephew
• parent
• sister
• stepdaughter
• stepson
• uncle

Notes

1. In General American and Canadian English, the flapped [ɾ] pronunciation [ˈɹɛl.ə.ɾɪv] is more common than the aspirated [tʰ] pronunciation [ˈɹɛl.ə.tʰɪv]; but in the derived adverb relatively, the aspirated pronunciation [ˈɹɛl.ə.tʰɪv.li] is more common, though the flap-t version can still be heard, especially in casual speech.

Anagrams

• levirate

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Danish

Adjective

relative

1. inflection of relativ:
   1. definite singular
   2. plural

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Esperanto

Etymology

From relativa +‎ -e.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [relaˈtive]
• Rhymes: -ive
• Hyphenation: re‧la‧ti‧ve

Adverb

relative

1. relatively

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French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʁə.la.tiv/

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

relative

1. feminine singular of relatif

Anagrams

• lèverait, lévitera, relevait, révélait

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German

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

relative

1. inflection of relativ:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

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Italian

Adjective

relative f pl

1. feminine plural of relativo

Anagrams

• evitarle, levitare, leviterà, rilevate, rivalete, rivelate, vietarle

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Latin

Etymology 1

From relātīvus +‎ -ē.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /re.laːˈtiː.u̯eː/, [rɛɫ̪äːˈt̪iːu̯eː]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /re.laˈti.ve/, [reläˈt̪iːve]

Adverb

relātīvē (not comparable)

1. (Late Latin) relatively

References

• “rĕlātīvē”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• relative in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• rĕlātīvē in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 1,335/2

Etymology 2

A regularly declined form of relātīvus.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /re.laːˈtiː.u̯e/, [rɛɫ̪äːˈt̪iːu̯ɛ]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /re.laˈti.ve/, [reläˈt̪iːve]

Adjective

relātīve

1. vocative masculine singular of relātīvus

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Norwegian Bokmål

Adjective

relative

1. inflection of relativ:
   1. definite singular
   2. plural

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Adjective

relative

1. inflection of relativ:
   1. definite singular
   2. plural

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Swedish

Adjective

relative

1. absolute definite natural masculine singular of relativ.