[1560–70; ‹ L crēsc(ere) to increase + -ive]This word is first recorded in the period 1560–70. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: bulb, event, propagate, sympathy, vertex-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, corrective, destructive, detective, passive