definitegenitive

Definitegenitive, or definite genitive, is a term used in linguistics to describe genitive constructions that encode definiteness for the noun phrase involved, typically the possessor. In such setups the possessor is definite (the specific person or thing previously known in discourse), and the language marks that definiteness in the genitive construction. This contrasts with indefinite genitive cases, where the possessor is not definite.

In languages with robust case systems and definite articles or determiners, the definite genitive often appears when a definite determiner accompanies the possessor noun in genitive form. A familiar example is German, where a phrase like der Hut des Mannes means “the hat of the man.” Here des Mannes marks the possessor in the genitive and conveys definiteness through the determiner system as well. The definite status of the possessor interacts with the overall definiteness of the noun phrase, and the possessive relation is typically expressed without a separate preposition in head-initial languages like German.

Definitegenitive is a topic mainly of typological and historical linguistics. Some languages couple definiteness with possession via dedicated genitive markers, suffixes, or enclitics on the possessor noun, while others rely on demonstratives or a definite article to signal definiteness. In languages without a distinct genitive case, definiteness of possessed nouns may be indicated by periphrastic constructions or word order rather than by a dedicated genitive marker.

See also: genitive case, possessive constructions, definite article, language typology.