generative meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

generative

adj

UK /ˈd͡ʒɛnəɹətɪv/ · CA, US /ˈd͡ʒɛnəɹətɪv/

Etymology Inherited from Middle English generatyve. By surface analysis, generate + -ive. Compare French génératif.

Having the power of generating, propagating, originating, or producing.

That generative particle.1692, Richard Bentley, [A Confutation of Atheism] (please specify the sermon), London: [Thomas Parkhurst; Henry Mortlock], published 1692–1693:
Of course, structures like those associated with (36) and (37) constitute only a tiny subset of the infinite set of well-formed sentence structures found in English. We can increase the Generative Capacity of our grammar ( = the set of structures which it generates) either by expanding the Lexicon on the one hand, or by expanding the Categorial Rules (i.e. Phrase Structure Rules) on the other.1988, Andrew Radford, Transformational grammar: a first course, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, page 127:

1 more example

The document states that despite its ongoing advancements, generative AI is liable to the United States’s current copyright principles, which take a strict stance on what material—human- or machine-made—qualifies for protection.2025 January 30, Tessa Solomon, “AI Art Lacking ‘Human Expression’ Cannot Be Copyrighted, US Officials Say”, in ARTnews:

Euphemistic Reproductive.

Hence the ubiquity of Priapus himself as a sculptural representative of the generative principle, populated the Roman gardens, assertive in ithyphallic pose.1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page iii:
This ceremony seals the covenant in the flesh of the male generative organ.2001, David L. Lieber, Jules Harlow, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, page 91: