infinitive

English

Etymology

FromMiddle Frenchinfinitif,fromLate Latininfinitivus(“unlimited, indefinite”),fromLatininfinitus(“unlimited, infinite”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):/ɪnˈfɪnɪtɪv/,/ɪnˈfɪnətɪv/

  • Audio(Southern England):

    (file)

Noun

infinitive(pluralinfinitives)

1. (grammar)The infinitive mood or mode (agrammatical mood).
   • 1847,J. J. P. Le Brethon, L. Sandier,Guide to the French language; especially devised for persons who wish to study that language without the assistance of a teacher. the tenth edition, revised and corrected,London, page69:

     The MANNERS of acting, in grammar calledmodesormoods,are four;Infinitive,Imperative,Indicative,SubjunctiveorConjunctive.

   • 1857,Henry Tindall,A grammar and vocabulary of the Namaqua-Hottentot language,page38:

     There are four moods, theInfinitive,Imperative, Indicative, and Subjunctive. [...] theInfinitiveis used to express a thing in a general manner.

2. (grammar)A non-finiteverb form consideredneutralwith respect to inflection; depending on language variously found used withauxiliary verbs,insubordinate clauses,or acting as agerund,and often as thedictionary form.
3. (grammar)Averbal nounformed from the infinitive of a verb.

Hypernyms

• (mood or mode):grammatical mood,mood,mode
• (verb (form)):verb
• (verbal noun):verbal

Derived terms

• bare infinitive
• full infinitive
• infinitive marker
• infinitive of purpose
• perfect infinitive
• split an infinitive
• split infinitive
• to-infinitive
• zu-infinitive

Translations

a mood or mode of verbs

• Albanian:paskajore(sq)f
• Azerbaijani:məsdər(az)
• Czech:neurčitý způsobm
• Dutch:infinitief(nl)m,onbepaalde wijs(nl)m
• Esperanto:infinitivo(eo)
• Galician:infinitivo(gl)m
• German:Infinitiv(de)m
• Greek:

  Ancient:ἀπαρέμφατοςf(aparémphatos)

• Hebrew:שֵׁם פֹּעַלm(shem pó‘al),מָקוֹר(he)m(makór)
• Icelandic:nafnháttur(is)m
• Latin:infinitivusm,modus infinitivusm,modus perpetuusm
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål:please add this translation if you can

• Serbo-Croatian:infinitiv(sh)
• Swedish:infinitiv(sv)m,obestämmt sätt
• Tagalog:pawatas,panaganong pawatas
• Welsh:modd annherfynolm,annherfynol(cy)m

uninflected verb form

• Afrikaans:infinitief(af)
• Albanian:paskajore(sq)f
• Arabic:مَصْدَر(ar)m(maṣdar)(verbal noun)
• Armenian:անորոշ դերբայ(hy)(anoroš derbay)
• Asturian:infinitivum
• Belarusian:інфініты́ўm(infinitýŭ),нявызна́чаная фо́рмаf(njavyznáčanaja fórma)(дзеясло́ва)
• Bulgarian:инфинити́вm(infinitív),неопределе́на фо́рмаf(neopredeléna fórma)(на глаго́ла)
• Catalan:infinitiu(ca)m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin:Không chừng từ／Không chừng từ(bùdìngcí)

• Czech:infinitiv(cs)minan,neurčitek(cs)minan
• Danish:infinitiv(da)
• Esperanto:infinitivo(eo)
• Estonian:tegevusnimi,infinitiiv(et)
• Faroese:navnhátturm
• Finnish:infinitiivi(fi)
• French:infinitif(fr)m
• Galician:infinitivo(gl)m
• Georgian:ინფინიტივი(inpiniṭivi)
• German:Infinitiv(de)norm
• Greek:απαρέμφατο(el)n(aparémfato)

  Ancient:ἀπαρέμφατοςf(aparémphatos)

• Hebrew:שֵׁם פֹּעַלm(shem-pó'al)
• Hungarian:főnévi igenév(hu)
• Icelandic:nafnháttur(is)m
• Ido:infinitivo(io)
• Italian:infinito(it)m
• Japanese:Không chừng từ(ja)(ふていし, futeishi)
• Kazakh:инфинитив(infinitiv)
• Korean:부정사( không chừng từ )(ko)(bujeongsa)
• Latin:aparemphatumn
• Latvian:nenoteiksme(lv)f
• Lithuanian:bendratis(lt)f
• Macedonian:и́нфинитивm(ínfinitiv)
• Navajo:bee áhodoonííł saad
• Norman:înfinnitifm
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål:infinitivm

• Persian:مصدر(phát)(masdar)
• Polish:bezokolicznik(pl)minan,infinitiwusm
• Portuguese:infinitivo(pt)m,infinito(pt)m
• Romanian:infinitiv(ro)n
• Russian:неопределённая фо́рмаf(neopredeljónnaja fórma)(глаго́ла),инфинити́в(ru)m(infinitív)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic:инфинитивm

  Roman:infinitiv(sh)m

• Slovak:neurčitokminan,infinitívminan
• Slovene:nedoločnik(sl)m,ínfinitivm
• Spanish:infinitivo(es)m
• Swahili:kitenzi jina(sw)
• Tagalog:pawatas
• Turkish:mastar(tr),eylemlik(tr),isim-fiil(tr)
• Ukrainian:інфініти́вm(infinitýv),дієйме́нникm(dijejménnyk),невизна́чена фо́рмаf(nevyznáčena fórma)(дієсло́ва)
• Vietnamese:lối vô định
• Welsh:berf annherfynolm
• Yiddish:אינפֿיניטיווm(infinitiv)

See also

• gerund
• supine
• lemma
• verb

Adjective

infinitive(notcomparable)

1. (grammar)Formed with the infinitive.
   • 1847,J. J. P. Le Brethon, L. Sandier,Guide to the French language; especially devised for persons who wish to study that language without the assistance of a teacher. the tenth edition, revised and corrected,London, page70:

     INFINITIVEMOOD or MANNER.
     To Have, Avoir.

   • 1858,C. P. Mason,English grammar; including the principles of grammatical analysis,London, page32:

     In English there are four moods:–1. TheInfinitiveMood. 2. The Indicative Mood. 3. the Imperative Mood. 4. The Subjunctive Mood.

2. Unlimited; not bounded or restricted; undefined.
   • a.1823,Cunningham's Sermons (quoted in1823,The Edinburgh Christian Instructor,volume 23, page 328)

     […]to search out in some higher region ofinfinitivespace a spot where it was impossible for defilement to follow them[…]

French

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

infinitive

1. femininesingularofinfinitif

Noun

infinitivef(pluralinfinitives)

1. infinitiveclause,same asproposition infinitive

Italian

Adjective

infinitivef

1. femininepluralofinfinitivo

Latin

Noun

īnfīnītīve

1. vocativesingularofīnfīnītīvus