inchoative
/ɪnˈkoʊətɪv/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.21 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
4
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Aspectually indicating that a state is about to be entered or is in the process of being entered.
adj
In Catalan, being a member of a class of third-conjugation verbs (e.g. servir) in which a syllable -eix- (or otherwise depending on dialect), derived from the Latin inchoative but now without meaning, is inserted into certain conjugations (e.g. serveixo).
noun
An inchoative construction.
Example Sentences
- "[T]he day-Star […] ſhall be riſen in our hearts; vvhereof theſe acts of our intellect ſeem to be ſome inchoative or imperfect rays, […]"
- "Our first Piece is of Winter, or late Autumn, 1771,—while the solution of the Polish Business is still in its inchoative stages; …"
- "The inchoative (inceptive) aspect of a verb expresses the beginning of an action. Example: He is beginning to crawl."
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin inchoātīvus, formed by metathesis from incohātīvus, from incohō (“to begin”). Compare French inchoatif.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: inchoātīvus
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ɪnˈkoʊətɪv/
- British English: /ɪnˈkəʊ.ə.tɪv/