a person related by blood or marriage;"police are searching for relatives of the deceased" "he has distant relations back in New Jersey"
an animal or plant that bears a relationship to another (as related by common descent or by membership in the same genus)
Adjective:
estimated by comparison; not absolute or complete;"a relative stranger"
properly related in size or degree or other measurable characteristics; usually followed by `to";"the punishment ought to be proportional to the crime" "earnings relative to production"
中英词源
relative 相关的，相对的，亲属，亲戚
来自 relation,联系，关联，亲属，-ive,形容词后缀。wwW.WenTIYI.com
relative (n.)
late 14c., "a relative pronoun," from Old French relatif (13c.), from Late Latin relativus "having reference or relation," from Latin relatus, past participle of referre "to refer" (see refer). Meaning "person in the same family" first recorded 1650s.
relative (adj.)
early 15c., "having reference," from Middle French relatif and directly from Late Latin relativus (see relative (n.)). Meaning "compared to each other" is from 1590s; that of "depending on a relationship to something else" is from 1610s.
词态变化
复数 relatives;
权威造句
1. An employer can demand written certification that the relative is really ill.
雇主可以要求出具书面证明，证实员工的亲人确实病了。
来自柯林斯例句
2. Economic reform has brought relative wealth to peasant farmers.
经济改革给农民带来了相对的财富。
来自柯林斯例句
3. The person can transfer from wheelchair to seat with relative ease.
那个人可以比较轻松地从轮椅上移到座位上。
来自柯林斯例句
4. The pheasant is a close relative of the Guinea hen.
雉与珍珠鸡有很近的亲缘关系。
来自柯林斯例句
5. The weak dollar means American goods are relative bargains for foreigners.
