DATIVE, the name, in grammar, of the case of the "indirect object," the person or thing to or for whom or which anything is given or done (Lat. dativus, giving or given, from dare, to give). In law, the word signifies something, such as an office, which may be disposed of at will. In Scots law the term signifies "appointed or granted by a court." In Roman law, a tutor was either dativus, if expressly nominated in a testament, or optivus, if a power of selection was given.