Genitive Absolute

In Ancient Greek grammar, the genitive absolute (Latin: genitivus absolutus) is a grammatical construction consisting of a participle and often a noun which are both in the genitive case, very similar to the ablative absolute in Latin. A genitive absolute construction serves as a dependent clause, usually at the beginning of a sentence, in which the genitive noun is subject of the dependent clause and the participle takes on the role of predicate.

The term absolute comes from the Latin absolutus, literally meaning made loose. This comes from the general truth that the genitive absolute does not refer to anything in the independent clause; although this is often true, there are many exceptions, notably in the New Testament and in Koine.