Passive
"Accepting or allowing what happens or what others do, without active response or resistance."
Morphological Anatomy
The root verb pass (from Latin pati, meaning "to suffer" or "to endure") is combined with the suffix -ive to describe a state of enduring or receiving an action.
Etymology Timeline
passivus
From passus, the past participle of pati ("to suffer, endure").
Passif
Borrowed from Old French passif, initially used in theological and philosophical contexts to describe the soul's receptivity.
Word Family & Derivatives
Strong and barely controllable emotion (originally "suffering").
Acceptance of what happens, without active response or resistance.
A person receiving medical treatment (one who "endures").
In a way that accepts what happens without active response.
Usage in Context
The word passive is often contrasted with "active." In grammar, the passive voice occurs when the subject of the sentence is acted upon by the verb. In finance, passive income is earnings derived from a rental property, limited partnership, or other enterprise in which a person is not actively involved.
While passive behavior in social situations can sometimes be viewed negatively as a lack of initiative, in other contexts, like passive solar heating, it refers to an efficient, non-mechanical way of utilizing energy.
Example Sentences
- "The students took a passive role in the discussion, merely listening to the lecture."
- "He earns passive income from his investments in the stock market."
- "The house was designed with passive cooling systems to save energy."