[aj-ik-tiv] 
| adjective (ˈædʒɪktɪv) | |
| —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 | |
"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]
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.
ɪk
