Collateral adjective
Encyclopedia
A collateral adjective is an adjective
with a similar meaning to a given noun
, but derived from a different root. For example, lunar serves as an adjective to describe attributes of the Moon
; moon comes from the Old English mōna and lunar from the Latin
luna. Collateral adjectives contrast with derived
(denominal) adjectives; for "father", for example, there is derived fatherly vs. collateral paternal; similarly for "rain" there is rainy vs pluvial, and for "child", childish and childlike vs. infantile and puerile. Similarly diurnal, nocturnal and crepuscular mean of the day, of the night and of the twilight.
In English, collateral adjectives often relate to root-words that were never fully adopted into the everyday language, but were still widely-enough known that the context would be understood. For example, dog is an English word, and canine is the Latin-based collateral adjective that refers to dogs.
The term was coined by the Funk and Wagnalls
dictionaries, but as they are currently out of print, the term has become rare. A synonym sometimes seen in linguistics is suppletive
(denominal) adjective, though this is a liberal use of the word 'suppletive'.
Adjective
In grammar, an adjective is a 'describing' word; the main syntactic role of which is to qualify a noun or noun phrase, giving more information about the object signified....
with a similar meaning to a given noun
Noun
In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of...
, but derived from a different root. For example, lunar serves as an adjective to describe attributes of the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
; moon comes from the Old English mōna and lunar from the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
luna. Collateral adjectives contrast with derived
Derivation (linguistics)
In linguistics, derivation is the process of forming a new word on the basis of an existing word, e.g. happi-ness and un-happy from happy, or determination from determine...
(denominal) adjectives; for "father", for example, there is derived fatherly vs. collateral paternal; similarly for "rain" there is rainy vs pluvial, and for "child", childish and childlike vs. infantile and puerile. Similarly diurnal, nocturnal and crepuscular mean of the day, of the night and of the twilight.
In English, collateral adjectives often relate to root-words that were never fully adopted into the everyday language, but were still widely-enough known that the context would be understood. For example, dog is an English word, and canine is the Latin-based collateral adjective that refers to dogs.
The term was coined by the Funk and Wagnalls
Funk and Wagnalls
Funk & Wagnalls was an American publisher known for its reference works, including A Standard Dictionary of the English Language , and the Funk & Wagnalls Standard Encyclopedia Funk & Wagnalls was an American publisher known for its reference works, including A Standard Dictionary of the English...
dictionaries, but as they are currently out of print, the term has become rare. A synonym sometimes seen in linguistics is suppletive
Suppletion
In linguistics and etymology, suppletion is traditionally understood as the use of one word as the inflected form of another word when the two words are not cognate. For those learning a language, suppletive forms will be seen as "irregular" or even "highly irregular". The term "suppletion" implies...
(denominal) adjective, though this is a liberal use of the word 'suppletive'.
See also
External links
- A Nocturnal View of the Lunar Landscape, Verbatim: The Language Quarterly