Equative
Encyclopedia
The term equative is used in linguistics
to refer to constructions where two entities are equated with each other. For example, the sentence Susan is our president, equates two entities (Susan and our president). In English, equatives are typically expressed using a copular verb
such as "be" (although this is not the only use of this verb). Equatives can be contrasted with predicative constructions where one entity is identified as a member of a set (e.g. Susan is a president).
Note that the term equative is also sometimes applied to comparative-like constructions in which the degrees compared are identical rather than distinct: e.g., John is as stupid as he is fat.
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
to refer to constructions where two entities are equated with each other. For example, the sentence Susan is our president, equates two entities (Susan and our president). In English, equatives are typically expressed using a copular verb
Copula
In linguistics, a copula is a word used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate . The word copula derives from the Latin noun for a link or tie that connects two different things.A copula is often a verb or a verb-like word, though this is not universally the case...
such as "be" (although this is not the only use of this verb). Equatives can be contrasted with predicative constructions where one entity is identified as a member of a set (e.g. Susan is a president).
Note that the term equative is also sometimes applied to comparative-like constructions in which the degrees compared are identical rather than distinct: e.g., John is as stupid as he is fat.