infinitive

English

Etymology

From Middle English infenitife (“without end, in perpetuity”), from Late Latin īnfīnītīvus (“unlimited, indefinite”), from Latin īnfīnītus (“unlimited, infinite”). By surface analysis, infinite +‎ -ive.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪnˈfɪnɪtɪv/, /ɪnˈfɪnətɪv/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

Noun

infinitive (plural infinitives)

1. (grammar) The infinitive mood or mode (a grammatical 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, page 69:

     The MANNERS of acting, in grammar called modes or moods, are four; Infinitive, Imperative, Indicative, Subjunctive or Conjunctive.

   • 1857, Henry Tindall, A grammar and vocabulary of the Namaqua-Hottentot language, page 38:

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

2. (grammar) A non-finite verb form considered neutral with respect to inflection; depending on language variously found used with auxiliary verbs, in subordinate clauses, or acting as a gerund, and often as the dictionary form.
3. (grammar) A verbal noun formed 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
• infinitival
• 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 způsob m
• Dutch: infinitief (nl) m, onbepaalde wijs (nl) m
• Esperanto: infinitivo (eo)
• Galician: infinitivo (gl) m
• German: Infinitiv (de) m
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἀπαρέμφατος f (aparémphatos)

• Hebrew: שֵׁם פֹּעַל m (shem pó‘al), מָקוֹר (he) m (makór)
• Icelandic: nafnháttur (is) m
• Latin: infinitivus m, modus infinitivus m, modus perpetuus m
• 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 annherfynol m, 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: infinitivu m
• Belarusian: інфініты́ў m (infinitýŭ), нявызна́чаная фо́рма f (njavyznáčanaja fórma) (дзеясло́ва)
• Bulgarian: инфинити́в m (infinitív), неопределе́на фо́рма f (neopredeléna fórma) (на глаго́ла)
• Catalan: infinitiu (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 不定詞 / 不定词 (bùdìngcí)

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

  Ancient: ἀπαρέμφατος f (aparémphatos)

• Hebrew: שֵׁם פֹּעַל m (shem-pó'al)
• Hungarian: főnévi igenév (hu)
• Icelandic: nafnháttur (is) m
• Ido: infinitivo (io)
• Italian: infinito (it) m
• Japanese: 不定詞 (ja) (ふていし, futeishi)
• Kazakh: инфинитив (infinitiv)
• Korean: 부정사(不定詞) (ko) (bujeongsa)
• Latin: aparemphatum n
• Latvian: nenoteiksme (lv) f
• Lithuanian: bendratis (lt) f
• Macedonian: и́нфинитив m (ínfinitiv)
• Navajo: bee áhodoonííł saad
• Norman: înfinnitif m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: infinitiv m

• Persian: مصدر (fa) (masdar)
• Polish: bezokolicznik (pl) m inan, infinitiwus m
• Portuguese: infinitivo (pt) m, infinito (pt) m
• Romanian: infinitiv (ro) n
• Russian: неопределённая фо́рма f (neopredeljónnaja fórma) (глаго́ла), инфинити́в (ru) m (infinitív)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: инфинитив m

  Roman: infinitiv (sh) m

• Slovak: neurčitok m inan, infinitív m inan
• Slovene: nedoločnik (sl) m, ínfinitiv m
• Spanish: infinitivo (es) m
• Swahili: kitenzi jina (sw)
• Tagalog: pawatas
• Turkish: mastar (tr), eylemlik (tr), isim-fiil (tr)
• Ukrainian: інфініти́в m (infinitýv), дієйме́нник m (dijejménnyk), невизна́чена фо́рма f (nevyznáčena fórma) (дієсло́ва)
• Vietnamese: lối vô định
• Welsh: berf annherfynol m
• Yiddish: אינפֿיניטיוו m (infinitiv)

See also

• gerund
• supine
• lemma
• verb

Adjective

infinitive (not comparable)

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, page 70:

     INFINITIVE MOOD or MANNER.
     To Have,   Avoir.

   • 1858, C. P. Mason, English grammar; including the principles of grammatical analysis, London, page 32:

     In English there are four moods:–1. The Infinitive Mood. 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 in 1823, The Edinburgh Christian Instructor, volume 23, page 328)

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

Derived terms

• infinitively

French

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

infinitive

1. feminine singular of infinitif

Noun

infinitive f (plural infinitives)

1. infinitive clause, same as proposition infinitive

Italian

Adjective

infinitive f

1. feminine plural of infinitivo

Latin

Noun

īnfīnītīve

1. vocative singular of īnfīnītīvus