Rēl'a-tive1, a.
a. [Lat. relativus, It., Sp., & Pg. rela-tivo, Pr. relatiu, Fr. relatif. See supra.]
Sense 1. Having relation; respecting; standing in connection; pertaining; as, arguments not relative to the subject.
I'll have grounds More relative than this. Shak.
Sense 2. Arising from relation, or from connection with, or reference to, something else; not absolute; considered as belonging to or respecting something else.
Every thing sustains both an absolute and a relative capacity; an absolute, as it is such a thing, indued with such a nature; and a relative, as it is a part of the universe, and so stands in such a relation to the whole. South.
Sense 3. (Gram.) Indicating or expressing relation; referring to an antecedent; as, a relative pronoun.
Sense 4. (Mus.) Characterizing or pertaining to chords and keys, which, by reason of the identity of some of their tones, admit of a natural transition from one to the other. Moore.
Relative keys are such as have all their tones but one in common. A minor mode or key is also said to be the relative of the major key having the same signature.
Relative terms, terms which imply relation, as guardian and ward, master and servant, husband and wife.