passivoi

Passivoi is a term encountered in some discussions of syntax and grammar to denote the phenomenon commonly referred to as the passive voice in natural language, or to a related construct in constructed languages. The term does not have a universally accepted definition in major reference works, and its meaning varies by author.

In usage, passivoi may refer to one of several patterns: a morphologically marked passive form, a periphrastic construction using auxiliary verbs, or a syntactic operation that shifts focus from agent to patient. Some discussions use passivoi to emphasize the idea of patient-focused clauses, while others treat it as a stage of a broader process called passivation or passivization.

In cross-linguistic perspective, passivoi-like constructions can appear across languages with different mechanisms: English employs a periphrastic passive ("The ball was thrown"), while languages like Italian or Spanish use participial or auxiliary forms, and other languages implement passivity via word order change or case marking.

Because passivoi is not standardized, researchers typically prefer the more established terms passiva/ passive voice or passivization when describing specific grammatical constructions. The term may appear in pedagogical materials or casual linguistic discussions, but it is not generally used in formal grammars or typologies without clarification of its intended meaning.