Relative

How to spell relative

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce relative

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does relative mean?

1. nounA person connected to another by blood or marriage; a member of one's family.
2. adjectiveConsidered or existing in relation to something else rather than absolutely.

Relative in a sentence

• noun

  Every distant relative was invited to the wedding.

• adjective

  The report measured the relative cost of each supplier.

• noun

  She stayed with a relative in Manchester during the conference.

• adjective

  After the noisy week, the office enjoyed a period of relative calm.

Where does relative come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin relativus, meaning 'having reference or relation to something', which was built on relatus, the past participle of the verb referre, 'to carry back' or 'to refer'. That verb combined re-, meaning 'back', with ferre, meaning 'to carry' or 'to bear', so the literal idea is of something carried back and set against something else for comparison. English took the word in during the late 1300s and 1400s through Old French relatif, first using it in grammar and logic for things defined by their relation to others. The familiar sense of 'a family member', a person to whom one is related by blood or marriage, grew out of the same notion of connection. The same buried ferre root surfaces in many English words such as 'refer', 'transfer', and 'infer', which is a useful reminder that the middle of relative is spelled -lat-, not -let-.

How the word is built

• re- (back, again)
• lat (carried, from Latin latus, past participle of ferre 'to carry')
• -ive (adjective/noun suffix)