Definition of "ergative" in English

adjective

1. (grammar) With the subject of a transitive construction having grammatical cases or thematic relations different from those of an intransitive construction.

   • The case systems of ergative languages are counter-intuitive to speakers of many Indo-European languages.

noun

1. (grammar) Ellipsis of ergative case (“a grammatical case used to indicate the agent of a transitive verb in ergative-absolutive languages”).

2. (grammar) An ergative verb or other expression.