connectiveadj.n.
/kəˈnɛktɪv/, U.S. /kəˈnɛktɪv/ A. adj.
1. Having the character or function of connecting; serving or tending to connect.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fact or action of being joined or joining > fact or action of being connected or connecting > [adjective] > connecting
associating1646
connective1656
copulant1658
connexive1776
annectent1821
annectant1825
syndetic1891
syndetical1891
1656 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. II. viii. 44 Connex..is that [proposition] which consists of the connective conjunction, if.
1751 J. Harris Hermes ii. iii. 272 When Prepositions totally lose their connective Nature, being converted into Adverbs.
1816 S. W. Singer Researches Hist. Playing Cards 100 There is no connective chain of evidence which might unite this solitary example with the end of the fourteenth..century.
1884 F. O. Bower & D. H. Scott tr. H. A. de Bary Compar. Anat. Phanerogams & Ferns 504 The cells which usually border on the xylem-plates consist of the inner layer of those connective cells which were originally present in this position.
2. Phys. connective tissue n. one of the tissues of the animal body, derived from the mesoblast, which serves to connect and support the various organs, and to form the framework in which their proper cells are sustained; it consists of fibres and protoplasmic cells or ‘corpuscles’ imbedded in a structureless substance. Also called areolar or cellular tissue (by Häckel, connectivum).By some physiologists extended to include cartilaginous and osseous tissues.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > bodily substance > connective tissue > [noun]
cellular membrane1729
cellular tissue1754
areolar tissue1818
connective tissue1839
connexive tissue1854
conjunctive tissue1856–8
connective1883
1839 Baly tr. Müller Elem. Physiol. I. 416 The connective matter or interstitial cellular tissue of the gland.
1846 W. B. Carpenter Princ. Human Physiol. (ed. 3) §623 The liver of man..has less of connective tissue between its different parts than is found in that of many other mammalia.
1883 E. A. Parkyn Syllabus Lect. Animal & Plant Life iv Cartilage..is allied to connective tissue and to bone. Indeed, they are both sometimes classed under connective tissue.
B. n. [the adjective used elliptically.]
1. Grammar. A connective word or particle.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > a part of speech > other parts of speech > [noun] > relative or connective
referent1635
connective1751
subjunctivea1831
link-word1871
relational1895
relation word1909
relator1933
relativizer1941
1751 J. Harris Hermes ii. ii. 237 Connectives..which, according as they connect either Sentences or Words, are called..Conjunctions, or Prepositions.
1875 W. D. Whitney Life & Growth Lang. 95 The relative pronouns are by far the most important of the connectives by which we bind together separate assertions.
2. Botany. The portion of the filament which connects the two lobes of the anther. Also in Latin form.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > flower or part containing reproductive organs > [noun] > parts of > stamen or pistil > stamen(s) > anther
tittle1578
pendant1664
tamis1665
apex1673
chive1691
anthera1706
summit1720
tip1776
anther1783
connective1830
trophopollen1832
anther valve1839
connectivum-
1830 J. Lindley Introd. Nat. Syst. Bot. 71 Anthers 2-celled..usually with membranous valves lying on the face of a thick fleshy connectivum.
1835 J. Lindley Introd. Bot. (1848) I. 342 The anther is a body..composed of two parallel lobes or cells..united by the connective.
1888 G. Henslow Origin Floral Struct. 61 The style-arms have spread after protrusion through the separated connectives.
3. Physiology.
a. = connective tissue n. at sense A. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > bodily substance > connective tissue > [noun]
cellular membrane1729
cellular tissue1754
areolar tissue1818
connective tissue1839
connexive tissue1854
conjunctive tissue1856–8
connective1883
1883 M. Foster Text Bk. Physiol. (Science Primers) 9 This stringy packing material..is called connective because it connects all the parts together. In the leg we have skin, fat, muscle, tendons, blood-vessels, nerves and bone all packed together with connective and covered with skin.
b. See quot. 1888.
ΚΠ
1888 G. Rolleston & W. H. Jackson Forms Animal Life (ed. 2) 120 The bands of nerve fibres uniting the various ganglia [in the edible snail] are termed ‘commissures’ when they unite the ganglia of the same pair..‘connectives’ when they unite ganglia of different pairs.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1891; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.n.1656