interrogative

English

Etymology

From Late Latin interrogātīvus, equivalent to interrogate +‎ -ive.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌɪn.təˈɹɒɡ.ə.tɪv/

  • Audio (Received Pronunciation):

    (file)

• (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˌɪn.təˈɹɑ.ɡə.tɪv/, [ˌɪn.təˈɹɑ.ɡə.ɾɪv]

  • Audio (General American):

    (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˌɪn.təˈɹɔɡ.ə.tɪv/, [ˌɪn.təˈɹɔɡ.ə.ɾɪv]

Adjective

interrogative (comparative more interrogative, superlative most interrogative)

1. (grammar) Asking or denoting a question.

   an interrogative phrase

   an interrogative pronoun

   • 1877, William Dwight Whitney, Essentials of English Grammar for the Use of Schools, §470:

     The regular place of the interrogative word, of whatever kind, is at the beginning of the sentence, or as near it as possible.

   • 2021 October 5, Gessica Puccini, “Lang Belta: the Belter language from SYFY/Amazon’s The Expanse”, in Lingoblog‎^[1]:

     An interrogative particle ke is placed at the end of a question. […] The interrogative words are placed at the beginning of the sentence

2. Pertaining to inquiry; questioning

   He took on an interrogative tone of voice.

   • 1847, Charles Sealsfield, Rambleton: A Romance of Fashionable Life in New-York during the Great Speculation of 1836, →OCLC, page 127:

     Thus speaking, the good man regarded his lady with an interrogative look. "I do n't know, dear!" she replied kindly, and sighing again.

Synonyms

• examining
• inquiring
• investigative

Coordinate terms

• assertoric
• imperative

Derived terms

• interrogative accent
• interrogative judgement
• interrogatively
• interrogative pronoun
• noninterrogative
• nterrogative adjective

Related terms

• interrogate
• interrogation
• interrogator

Translations

asking or denoting a question

• Arabic: اِسْتِفْهَامِيّ (istifhāmiyy)
• Belarusian: пыта́льны (pytálʹny), запыта́льны (zapytálʹny)
• Bulgarian: въпроси́телен (bg) (vǎprosítelen)
• Catalan: interrogatiu
• Czech: tázací
• Dutch: vragend (nl)
• Finnish: interrogatiivinen (fi)
• French: interrogatif (fr)
• Galician: interrogativo (gl)
• German: Frage- (de), interrogativ (de), fragend (de)
• Greek: ερωτηματικός (el) (erotimatikós)

  Ancient Greek: ἐρωτηματικός m (erōtēmatikós)

• Hindi: प्रश्नवाचक m (praśnavācak)
• Hungarian: kérdő (hu)
• Italian: interrogativo (it)
• Lithuanian: klausiamasis (lt)
• Maori: tūpātai, kupu pātai
• Old English: āxiġendlīċ
• Polish: pytający (pl)
• Portuguese: interrogativo (pt)
• Russian: вопроси́тельный (ru) (voprosítelʹnyj)
• Spanish: interrogativo (es)
• Tagalog: patanong
• Ukrainian: пита́льний (pytálʹnyj), запита́льний (zapytálʹnyj)
• Vietnamese: nghi vấn (vi)

Noun

interrogative (plural interrogatives)

1. (grammar) A word (pronoun, pronominal adjective, or adverb) implying interrogation, or used for asking a question: why, who, when, etc.
   • 2021 October 5, Gessica Puccini, “Lang Belta: the Belter language from SYFY/Amazon’s The Expanse”, in Lingoblog‎^[2]:

     When question words are used, it is not necessary to add the ke particle, as it is already embedded in the interrogative

2. (typography, archaic) Synonym of question mark ⟨?⟩.
   • 1824, J. Johnson, Typographia:

     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.

   • 1842, F. Francillon, An Essay on Punctuation, page 9:

     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.

3. (rare) A question; an interrogation.
   • 1819, Sir Walter Scott, A Legend of Montrose, section XII:

     "Who are you, sir, and what is your business?" demanded the Marquis... "That is a fair interrogative, my lord," answered Dalgetty.

Synonyms

• (punctuation mark): See question mark

Derived terms

• interrogative-point

Related terms

• interrogate
• interrogatedness
• interrogatee
• interrogation
• interrogator
• interrogatory
• redditive (grammar)

Translations

a word implying interrogation

• Arabic: أَدَاة اِسْتِفْهَام f (ʔadā(t) istifhām)
• Catalan: interrogatiu (ca) m
• Dutch: vraagwoord (nl), interrogatief (nl)
• Finnish: kysymyssana, interrogatiivi
• Maori: tūpātai, kupu pātai
• Norman: tchestchion f
• Spanish: interrogativo (es) m
• Swedish: frågeord (sv) n
• Ukrainian: питальний (pytalʹnyj)

a question

• Dutch: vraag (nl)
• Finnish: kysymys (fi)
• Italian: interrogativo (it)

References

• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “interrogative”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃.tɛ.ʁɔ.ɡa.tiv/ ~ /ɛ̃.te.ʁɔ.ɡa.tiv/

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

Adjective

interrogative f sg

1. feminine singular of interrogatif

German

Pronunciation

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Adjective

interrogative

1. inflection of interrogativ:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Italian

Adjective

interrogative f pl

1. feminine plural of interrogativo

Anagrams

• interrogatevi, reintegrativo, trigenerativo

Latin

Etymology

From interrogātīvus (“interrogative”).

Adverb

interrogātīvē (comparative interrogātīvius, superlative interrogātīvissimē)

1. interrogatively

   Synonym: interroganter

Related terms

• interrogāmentum
• interroganter
• interrogātiō
• interrogātiuncula
• interrogātīvus
• interrogātor
• interrogātōrius
• interrogō

References

• “interrogative”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press