the most easterly of the Navigators' Islands, in the South Pacific Ocean. Long. 169.7. W. Lat. 14.7. S.

OPTATIVE Mood, in Grammar, that which serves to express a desire or wish for something. In most languages, except the Greek, the optative is expressed by prefixing to the subjunctive a conjunction, which, with the verb, expresses the thing wished for, leaving the mind to supply the verb indicative of desire; as utinam saperes, "that you were wise," or, in other words, "I wish that you were wise."