Mirative

Quick meaning: Mirative is a noun meaning (uncountable, grammar) A grammatical mood that expresses (surprise at) unexpected revelations or new information.

Meaning

(uncountable, grammar) A grammatical mood that expresses (surprise at) unexpected revelations or new information.

More Meanings

1. (countable, grammar) (An instance of) a form of a word which conveys this mood.
2. (grammar) Of or relating to the mirative mood.

Example Sentences

He [Timothy Jowan Curnow] points out that miratives are very rare with first person, more common with second, and most common with third person. In all cases, however, non-miratives are more common than miratives.

In Archi mirativity is grammaticalized as part of the verbal category of evidentiality, so the study of the mirative in Nakh-Daghestanian languages might help to identify the meaning of exclamatives more precisely.

This is why a noneyewitness evidentiality specification in a two-term system and an inferential evidential in a three-term system may acquire a mirative extension. In Quechua […] the reported evidential can be used in a mirative sense.

The prefinal suffix -áʔyiʔ Mirative indicates that the speaker knows of the action described by the verb, not having observed it occur, but only inferentially from observation of its effects. It thus commonly conveys an emotion of surprise.

Word Forms

• miratives

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include mirativity, surprise, mirage, mood, amaze, renarrative.

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