Emily Dickinson Lexicon

GEN'I-TIVE, a. [L. genitivus, from the root of gender.]

In grammar, an epithet given to a case in the declension of nouns, expressing primarily the thing from which something else proceeds; as, filius patris, the son of a father; aqua fontis, the water of a fountain; But by custom this case expresses other relations, particularly possession or ownership; as, animi magnitudo, greatness of mind, greatness possessed by or inherent in the mind. This case often expresses also that which proceeds from something else; as, pater septem filiorum, the father of seven sons.