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Glite Dictionary
designative

designative

1 7.9
To mark something as a certain kind or role
  • adjective
  • /dɪˈzeɪɡnətɪv/
  • Specialized
: designativo
  • In mathematics, a designative term specifies what a certain variable represents.

Examples

  • The designative role of the signs helped students understand the meanings behind the symbols.

  • When built up, these signs tend to arouse the interpretants of a whole host of designative, appraisive, and prescriptive linguistic utterances which have occurred in their presence.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • The label on the bottle was designative, clearly indicating the contents inside.

Surface Forms

designative positive

Morphology

designative = designate (transparent) = designate + ive

Standard adjective formation from the verb 'designate' using the productive suffix '-ive', so the meaning is directly derived.

Etymology

The word designative comes from the Latin verb designare, which means 'to mark out' and from signum, 'a sign', the same root as English sign and signal. So something designative 'points out' or 'marks' something, which is why it means 'serving to indicate or assign'.