a. arch. [a. Fr. approbatif, -ive, ad. L. approbātīv-us, f. approbāt-: see APPROBATE and -IVE.] Characterized by approving; expressing approbation or approval.
1611. Cotgr., Approbatif, approbative, approving.
1643. Bramhall, Serpent-Salve, Wks. 1844, III. 391. There is a vast difference between … an approbative consent … and an active consent.
1678. Gale, Crt. Gentiles, III. 17. His [God’s] approbative wil whereby he declares what he approves and what he disapproves.
1786. Tooke, Purley (1798), I. 111. Get rid of that farrago of useless distinctions into … Effective, Approbative, Discretive.
1828. Webster cites Milner.
