Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Nearby Entries
gerund - 5 dictionary results

ger⋅und

  [jer-uhnd]
Use gerund in a Sentence
–noun Grammar.
1. (in certain languages, as Latin) a form regularly derived from a verb and functioning as a noun, having in Latin all case forms but the nominative, as Latin dicendī gen., dicendō, dat., abl., etc., “saying.”
2. the English -ing form of a verb when functioning as a noun, as writing in Writing is easy.
3. a form similar to the Latin gerund in meaning or function.
Origin:
1505–15; < LL gerundium, L gerundum that which is to be carried on, equiv. to ger(ere) to bear, carry on + -undum, var. of -endum, gerund suffix

Related forms:
ge⋅run⋅di⋅al  [juh-ruhn-dee-uhl] , adjective
ge⋅run⋅di⋅al⋅ly, adverb

Usage note:
See me.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To gerund
ger·und   (jěr'ənd)   
n.  
  1. In Latin, a noun derived from a verb and having all case forms except the nominative.
  2. In other languages, a verbal noun analogous to the Latin gerund, such as the English form ending in -ing when used as a noun, as in singing in We admired the choir's singing.

[Late Latin gerundium, from alteration (modeled on participium, participle) of Latin gerundum, variant of gerendum, neuter gerundive of gerere, to carry on.]
ge·run'di·al (jə-rŭn'dē-əl) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Gerund

Ger"und\, n. [L. gerundium, fr. gerere to bear, carry, perform. See Gest a deed, Jest.] (Lat. Gram.) 1. A kind of verbal noun, having only the four oblique cases of the singular number, and governing cases like a participle.

2. (AS. Gram.) A verbal noun ending in -e, preceded by to and usually denoting purpose or end; -- called also the dative infinitive; as, "Ic h[ae]bbe mete t[^o] etanne" (I have meat to eat.) In Modern English the name has been applied to verbal or participal nouns in -ing denoting a transitive action; e. g., by throwing a stone.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source

gerund [(jer-uhnd)]

A form of a verb that ends in -ing and operates as a noun in a sentence: “Thinking can be painful.”

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

gerund 
1513, from L.L. gerundium, from Old Latin gerundum "to be carried out," gerundive of gerere "to bear, carry." In L., a verbal noun used for all cases of the infinitive but the nominative; applied in Eng. to verbal nouns in -ing.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see gerund on Thesaurus | Reference