[1795–1805; caress + -ive]This word is first recorded in the period 1795–1805. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: baseball, crunch, hopscotch, kingpin, steeplechase-ive is a suffix of adjectives (and nouns of adjectival origin) expressing tendency, disposition,function, connection, etc. Other words that use the affix -ive include: active, destructive, detective, passive, sportive