connotative
Meaning
Relating to or suggesting an idea or quality that a word makes you think of in addition to its literal meaning.
Structure
Usage
The word "home" has a strong connotative meaning of warmth and security.
Poets often rely on the connotative power of language to evoke emotion.
In semantic analysis, we distinguish between a word's denotative and connotative senses.
Etymology
The word 'connotative' is built upon the Latin verb 'notare', meaning 'to mark' or 'to indicate'. The intensive prefix 'con-' (together, with) was added to form 'connotare', which in Medieval Latin developed the sense 'to mark in addition' or 'to signify along with'. The suffix '-ative', entering English via Old French, was then appended to create the adjective. Thus, the literal construction 'marking together' evolved into the modern linguistic concept, describing the secondary meanings or associations that a word carries along with its primary, denoted meaning.
Analysis
con: (Latin origin) A variant of 'com-', meaning 'together', 'with', or 'altogether'. It functions as an intensifying prefix. note: (Latin origin) From 'notare', meaning 'to mark'. It functions as the core root carrying the sense of marking or indicating. ative: (Latin origin via French) An adjectival suffix meaning 'of or relating to', 'having the nature of'. It functions to form adjectives.