relative

[rel-uh-tiv] /ˈrɛl ə tɪv/
noun
1.
a person who is connected with another or others by blood or marriage.
2.
something having, or standing in, some relation to something else.
3.
something dependent upon external conditions for its specific nature, size, etc. (opposed to absolute).
4.
Grammar. a relative pronoun, adjective, or adverb.
adjective
5.
considered in relation to something else; comparative:
the relative merits of democracy and monarchy.
6.
existing or having its specific nature only by relation to something else; not absolute or independent:
Happiness is relative.
7.
having relation or connection.
8.
having reference or regard; relevant; pertinent (usually followed by to):
to determine the facts relative to an accident.
9.
correspondent; proportionate:
Value is relative to demand.
10.
(of a term, name, etc.) depending for significance upon something else:
“Better” is a relative term.
11.
Grammar.
  1. noting or pertaining to a word that introduces a subordinate clause of which it is, or is a part of, the subject or predicate and that refers to an expressed or implied element of the principal clause (the antecedent), as the relative pronoun who in He's the man who saw you or the relative adverb where in This is the house where she was born.
  2. noting or pertaining to a relative clause.
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English relatif (noun) (< Middle French) < Late Latin relātīvus (adj.); see relate, -ive
Related forms
nonrelative, noun, adjective
nonrelatively, adverb
nonrelativeness, noun
unrelative, adjective
unrelatively, adverb
Usage note
11. See who.
Examples from the web for relative
  • Hayden and his family handled this storm of ambiguity with relative grace.
  • Known throughout the tropics, this relative of the fig tree bears large fruit rich in carbohydrates, fiber and minerals.
  • Wave breaking causes an increase in water level over the bars relative to the channel level.
  • Many feathered dinosaurs did not have wings or were too heavy, relative to the length of their feathered limbs, to fly.
  • Some lineages will rapidly and drastically change, and others will remain in relative stasis over millions and millions of years.
  • Also the definition of simultaneity can be given relative to the train in exactly the same way as with respect to the embankment.
  • The two adductors vary in their relative extent and in the closeness of their connection.
  • The relative lengths, also, of the two common iliac arteries vary.
  • Charters' tabulations show scarcely any difference in the character and relative rank of the errors discovered.
  • If a relative announces his engagement, you must at once go to see his fiancée.
British Dictionary definitions for relative

relative

/ˈrɛlətɪv/
adjective
1.
having meaning or significance only in relation to something else; not absolute: a relative value
2.
(prenominal) (of a scientific quantity) being measured or stated relative to some other substance or measurement: relative humidity, relative density Compare absolute (sense 10)
3.
(prenominal) comparative or respective: the relative qualities of speed and accuracy
4.
(postpositive) foll by to. in proportion (to); corresponding (to): earnings relative to production
5.
having reference (to); pertinent (to): matters not relative to the topic under discussion
6.
(grammar) denoting or belonging to a class of words that function as subordinating conjunctions in introducing relative clauses. In English, relative pronouns and determiners include who, which, and that Compare demonstrative (sense 5), interrogative (sense 3)
7.
(grammar) denoting or relating to a clause (relative clause) that modifies a noun or pronoun occurring earlier in the sentence
8.
(of a musical key or scale) having the same key signature as another key or scale: C major is the relative major of A minor
noun
9.
a person who is related by blood or marriage; relation
10.
a relative pronoun, clause, or grammatical construction
Derived Forms
relativeness, noun
Word Origin
C16: from Late Latin relātīvus referring
Word Origin and History for relative
n.

late 14c., "a relative pronoun," from Old French relatif (13c.), from Late Latin relativus "having reference or relation," from Latin relatus, past participle of referre "to refer" (see refer). Meaning "person in the same family" first recorded 1650s.

adj.

early 15c., "having reference," from Middle French relatif and directly from Late Latin relativus (see relative (n.)). Meaning "compared to each other" is from 1590s; that of "depending on a relationship to something else" is from 1610s.

relative in Technology


Early system on IBM 650. Listed in CACM 2(5):16 (May 1959).