(Romance languages) relating to or denoting a part of a whole or a quantity that is less than the whole; "a partitive construction"
a word which comes before a noun and shows that only part of something is being described, for example the word 'some' in the phrase 'some of the cake'
word (such a `some' or `less') that is used to indicate a part as distinct from a whole
word (such a `some' or `less') that is used to indicate a part as distinct from a whole serving to separate or divide into parts; "partitive tendencies in education"; "the uniting influence was stronger than the separative"