double genitive

noun

: a syntactic construction in English in which possession is marked both by the preposition of and a noun or pronoun in the possessive case (as in "A friend of Bob's is a friend of mine")

called also double possessive

Word History

First Known Use

1824, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of double genitive was in 1824

Dictionary Entries Near double genitive

Cite this Entry

“Double genitive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/double%20genitive. Accessed 7 Dec. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!