Glossary of Linguistic Terms

Abessive Case

Definition: 

Abessive case is a case that expresses the lack or absence of the referent of the noun it marks.

It has the meaning of the English preposition without.

Discussion: 

The term abessive case is used especially in studies of Finno-Ugric grammar. Its synonym caritive case is used in the description of some other languages, notably Caucasian ones.