mirative means of or relating to the mirative mood.
mirative is pronounced /ˈmɪɹətɪv/.
Why “mirative” is a great word
Denoting a grammatical mood that specifically marks the speaker's surprise or unpreparedness for the information being conveyed. From French *admiratif* ("tending to admire"), used in a grammatical context by Auguste Dozon (1822–1890), from Latin *admīrārī* ("to be astonished at"), from *ad-* ("to") + *mīror* ("to wonder at"). Unlike the declarative (which neutrally states a fact) or the inferential (which marks a reasoned conclusion), the mirative mood is reserved for the jolt of the unforeseen. It is the grammatical gasp at a sudden downpour on a forecast-clear day, the verbal widening of eyes upon turning a corner to find the sea, or the quiet, syntactic intake of breath when a long-lost key falls from a book—the structure language provides for those moments when the world insists on being stranger than our expectations.
Etymology
Possibly from (ad)mirative, from French admiratif (“tending to admire”) (used by French diplomat and scholar Auguste Dozon (1822–1890), imitating the use of the Ancient Greek ἀπροσδόκητος (aprosdókētos, “unexpected”) in a similar context by Albanian translator and scholar Kostandin Kristoforidhi (1826–1895)), from Latin admīrārī, present active infinitive of admīror (“to admire, respect; to be astonished, to be surprised at”), from ad- (“to”) + mīror (“to admire, marvel at; to be amazed or astonished at”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *smey- (“to be glad, laugh”)).
adj
- Of or relating to the mirative mood.
noun
- A grammatical mood that expresses (surprise at) unexpected revelations or new information.
- (An instance of) a form of a word which conveys this mood.
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