Definition & Meaning of "prolative case"

What is the "prolative case"?

The prolative case is a grammatical case used to indicate the means or instrument by which an action is performed. It often expresses the idea of "by" or "through" in relation to the action in a sentence. The prolative case is found in some languages, such as Finnish and Hungarian, where it modifies nouns to show how something is done. For example, in Hungarian, the word for "car" is "autó," and in the prolative case, it becomes "autóval," meaning "by car." The prolative case helps clarify the tools or methods used in various actions within a sentence.