adjective

1. distributing or tending to distribute
2. relating to distribution
3. Gram. referring individually to all members of a group “each” and “either” are distributive words
4. Math. of or having to do with a property, law, or principle in which the relationship between two combined operations, as multiplication and addition or multiplication and subtraction, is such that the results are the same whether the first operation is done on each item of a set and then combined or done once on the items in the set that have already been combined (Ex.: a(b + c) = ab + ac)

Etymology: ME & OFr distributif < LL distributivus

noun