interrogative
nounEtymology From Late Latin interrogātīvus, equivalent to interrogate + -ive.
1
Grammar, Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences A word (pronoun, pronominal adjective, or adverb) implying interrogation, or used for asking a question: why, who, when, etc.
- When question words are used, it is not necessary to add the ke particle, as it is already embedded in the interrogative2021 October 5, Gessica Puccini, “Lang Belta: the Belter language from SYFY/Amazon’s The Expanse”, in Lingoblog:
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Media, Publishing, Typography Archaic Synonym of question mark ⟨?⟩.
- There be five manner of points and divisions most used among cunning men; the which if they be well used, make the sentence very light and easy to be understood, both to the reader and hearer: and they be these, virgil,—come,—parenthesis,—plain point,—interrogative.1824, J. Johnson, Typographia:
- Whoever introduced the several points, it seems that a full-point, a point called come, answering to our colon-point, a point called virgil answering to our comma-point, the parenthesis-points and interrogative-point, were used at the close of the fourteenth, or beginning of the fifteenth century.1842, F. Francillon, An Essay on Punctuation, page 9:
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Rare A question; an interrogation.
- "Who are you, sir, and what is your business?" demanded the Marquis... "That is a fair interrogative, my lord," answered Dalgetty.1819, Sir Walter Scott, A Legend of Montrose, section XII:
- Synonyms
- question mark, interrogative
- Derived terms
- interrogative-point
- Related terms
- interrogate, interrogatedness, interrogatee, interrogation, interrogator, interrogatory, redditive
- Hypernyms
- word
- Hyponyms
- interrogative pronoun