Subjunctive \Sub*junc"tive\, a. [L. subjunctivus, fr.
subjungere, subjunctum, to subjoin: cf. F. subjonctif. See
Subjoin.]
Subjoined or added to something before said or written.
Subjunctive mood (Gram.), that form of a verb which express
the action or state not as a fact, but only as a
conception of the mind still contingent and dependent. It
is commonly subjoined, or added as subordinate, to some
other verb, and in English is often connected with it by
if, that, though, lest, unless, except, until, etc., as in
the following sentence: ``If there were no honey, they
[bees] would have no object in visiting the flower.''
--Lubbock. In some languages, as in Latin and Greek, the
subjunctive is often independent of any other verb, being
used in wishes, commands, exhortations, etc.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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