GENITIVE, in grammar the name given to one of the cases or declensions of nouns to indicate the relationship in which they stand to other words in the sentence. The Latin language con tained six declensions of nouns the Nominative or subject, the Vocative or person addressed, the Accusative or the object to wards which the action is directed, the Genitive indicating its origin or source, the Dative that to which an action is directed, and the Ablative from which something is taken. In Greek the ablative was excluded, and in French and Italian case is obviated by the use of prepositions. In English the genitive, also called the possessive case, is the only declension employed, though certain exceptions necessitate the use of the dative and accusative cases. See GRAMMAR and articles on the different languages.