a. [ad. L. type *terminātīvus: see TERMINATE v. and -ATIVE. Cf. F. terminatif.] Having the function of terminating (in various senses).
1. Forming a boundary or limit, bounding (? obs.); forming the termination or extremity of something.
1432–50. trans. Higden (Rolls), II. 51. The water of Thammyse … was somme tyme as a cause terminative of men of Kente, of Este Saxones, West Saxones, and of men of the Marches. Ibid., 109. Mersee in Englische sowndethe as a see terminatiue [Higd. terminans mare], for hit disterminate[d] oon realme from an other.
1750. trans. Leonardus’ Mirr. Stones, 36. Some colour, which should be the terminative colour of the perspicuous and opaque.
† 2. Constituting an end, final, ultimate; esp. constituting the ultimate object or end of some action (nearly = OBJECTIVE a. 1). Obs.
1624. F. White, Repl. Fisher, 224. Neither is the Picture or Image … the terminatiue object of Loue … or Worship.
1681. Flavel, Meth. Grace, ix. 195. No duties or ordinances (which are but the wayes or means by which we come to Christ) are or ought to be central and terminative to the soul.
1694. R. Burthogge, Reason & Nat. Spirits, 244. That the Soul is but a Mediate Subject while it is in the Body, and not a Terminative.
1701. Norris, Ideal World, I. v. 235. There can be no act of the Divine understanding above them [the Divina Ideas], but what must of necessity suppose them as the terminative forms of it.
† b. Directed to something as ultimate object.
1660. Jer. Taylor, Duct. Dubit., II. ii. VI. § 27. To take off this trifle of worship Relative and worship Terminative.
1679. C. Nesse, Antid. agst. Popery, 38. Their worship being not … terminative in the creature.
3. Bringing or coming to an end; finishing, concluding; conclusive; in Path. = TERMINAL a. 4 b.
a. 1680. Charnock, Sinfulness & Cure Th., Sel. Wks. (1849), 109. Thoughts are inchoative in the fancy, consummative in the understanding, terminative in all the other faculties.
1813–21. Bentham, Ontology, ii. § 9. Terminating or terminative motions.
1887. T. Hardy, Woodlanders, i. The interior, as seen through the window, caused him to draw up with a terminative air and watch.
1899. Allbutt’s Syst. Med., VIII. 417. Cases of … old standing terminative dementia.
4. Gram. Denoting destination or direction towards.
1903. Amer. Anthropologist, Jan.–March, 13. Besides a general locative some of the most frequently occurring [suffixes] are inessive, superessive, introessive, ablative, and terminative.
