Ergative
/ˈɜːr.ɡə.tɪv/noun
A grammatical case marking the subject of an intransitive verb and the object of a transitive verb in ergative languages.
Did you know?Ergative was coined in modern linguistic scholarship from Greek ergon, meaning “work” or “deed,” the same ancient root behind energy, ergonomics, and liturgy’s old sense of “public service.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*werg-
“to do, work”
Ancient Greek
Greek
érgon (ἔργον)
“work, deed, task”
Late 18th Century
French
ergon-
“learned scientific element based on Greek word for work”
1910s
English
ergative
“a grammatical term coined for a case pattern centered on the doer of an action”
Modern English
English
ergative
“a grammatical case or alignment pattern marking the subject of an intransitive verb and the object of a transitive verb”
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