| elative |
| Definition:
The intensified but non-comparative degree of adverbs and adjectives. Note: As opposed to the superlative and comparative degrees, which both intensify and compare. |
| Example:
(1) Jane is very beautiful. (The above exemplifies the elative because it intensifies without comparing.) (2) Jane is more beautiful than Sally. (The above is an example of the comparative because it uses a comparison to intensify.) |
| Etymology: The word elative ultimately derives from the Latin elatus, elevated (from ex, out + ferre, carry). |
| Oxford English Dictionary: The term's first citation in this sense is from 1906: "In the NT[New Testament] the obsolescence of the superlative, except in the elative sense, is most marked." (J. H. Moulton Gram. N.T. Greek I. v. 78) |