Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

optative

/ˈɒptətɪv/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.67 in modern English

Syllables
op-ta-tive
IPA
/ˈɒptətɪv/
13
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Expressing a wish or a choice.

adj

Related or pertaining to the optative mood.

noun

A mood of verbs found in some languages (e.g. Sanskrit, Old Prussian, Tamil, and Ancient Greek, but not English), used to express a wish.

noun

A verb or expression in the optative mood.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle French optatif, from Late Latin optātīvus, a calque of Ancient Greek εὐκτική (euktikḗ, “related to wishing”), from Latin optātus, past participle of optāre.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: optatif, optātīvus, optātus

Inflected Forms

more optative (comparative) most optative (superlative) opt. (alternative) optatives (plural)

Derived Forms

optatively

Frequently Paired Words

cooptative subjunctive

Synonyms

optative mood

Rhymes With

native creative non-native dative uncreative stative rotative elative illative translative mutative prolative

Questions

How do you pronounce optative?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɒptətɪv/.
What does optative mean?
Expressing a wish or a choice.
Where does optative come from?
It is traced to Middle French.

How to pronounce optative

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “optative”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈɒptətɪv/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “optative”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “optative” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.