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adjective

 - 4 dictionary results

ad·jec·tive

[aj-ik-tiv]
–noun
1.
Grammar. any member of a class of words that in many languages are distinguished in form, as partly in English by having comparative and superlative endings, or by functioning as modifiers of nouns, as good, wise, perfect.
–adjective
2.
pertaining to or functioning as an adjective; adjectival: the adjective use of a noun.
3.
not able to stand alone; dependent.
4.
Law. concerning methods of enforcement of legal rights, as pleading and practice (opposed to substantive).
5.
(of dye colors) requiring a mordant or the like to render them permanent (opposed to substantive).

Origin:
1350–1400; ME < LL adjectīvum, neut. of adjectīvus, equiv. to adject(us) attached, added, ptp. of ad(j)icere (ad- ad- + -jec-, comb. form of jac- throw + -tus ptp. suffix) + -īvus -ive

ad·jec·tive·ly, adverb
non·ad·jec·tive·ly, adverb
pre·ad·jec·tive, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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World English Dictionary
adjective (ˈædʒɪktɪv) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  a.  a word imputing a characteristic to a noun or pronoun
 b.  adj (as modifier): an adjective phrase
 
adj
2.  additional or dependent
3.  Compare substantive (of law) relating to court practice and procedure, as opposed to the principles of law dealt with by the courts
 
[C14: from Late Latin adjectīvus attributive, from adjicere to throw to, add, from ad- to + jacere to throw; in grammatical sense, from the Latin phrase nōmen adjectīvum attributive noun]
 
adjectival
 
adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Word Origin & History

adjective
early 15c., from O.Fr. adjectif (14c.), from L. adjectivum "that is added to (the noun)," neut. of adjectivus "added," from pp. of adicere "to throw or place (a thing) near," from ad- "to" + comb. form of jacere "to throw" (see jet (v.)). In 19c. Britain, often a euphemism for bloody.
"They ... slept until it was cool enough to go out with their 'Towny,' whose vocabulary contained less than six hundred words, and the Adjective." [Kipling, "Soldiers Three," 1888]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Cultural Dictionary

adjective definition


A part of speech that describes a noun or pronoun. Adjectives are usually placed just before the words they qualify: shy child, blue notebook, rotten apple, four horses, another table.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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