participle

participle
 he participle is a verbal adjective. There are two kinds: present participles, which end in -ing (walking, looking), and past participles, which end in -d (heard), -ed (learned), -n (broken), or -t (bent). The terms present participle and past participle can be misleading because present participles are often used in past-tense senses ("They were looking for the money") and past participles are often used when the sense is the present or future ("She has broken it"; "Things have never looked better"). When present-tense participles are used as nouns, they are called gerunds.

Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors. 2013.

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  • Participle — Par ti*ci*ple, n. [F. participe, L. participium, fr. particeps sharing, participant; pars, gen. partis, a part + capere to take. See {Participate}.] 1. (Gram.) A part of speech partaking of the nature of both verb and adjective; a form of a verb …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • participle — [pärt′i sip΄əl] n. [OFr < L participium < particeps, participating, partaking < participare,PARTICIPATE: from participating in the nature of both v. & adj.] Gram. a verbal form having some characteristics and functions of both verb and… …   English World dictionary

  • participle — (n.) late 14c., a noun adjective, from O.Fr. participle, variant of participe, from L. participium, lit. a sharing, partaking, from particeps partaker (see PARTICIPATION (Cf. participation)). In grammatical sense, the Latin translates Gk. metokhe …   Etymology dictionary

  • participle — ► NOUN Grammar ▪ a word formed from a verb (e.g. going, gone, being, been) and used as an adjective or noun (as in burnt toast, good breeding) or used to make compound verb forms (is going, has been). DERIVATIVES participial adjective. ORIGIN… …   English terms dictionary

  • Participle — In linguistics, a participle (from Latin participium , a calque of Greek μετοχη partaking ) is a derivative of a non finite verb, which can be used in compound tenses or voices, or as a modifier. Participles often share properties with other… …   Wikipedia

  • participle */ — UK [pɑː(r)ˈtɪsɪp(ə)l] / UK [ˈpɑː(r)tɪsɪp(ə)l] / US [ˈpɑrtɪsɪp(ə)l] noun [countable] Word forms participle : singular participle plural participles linguistics the form of a verb used in compound tenses and as an adjective. English uses the… …   English dictionary

  • participle — Synonyms and related words: adjectival, adjective, adverb, adverbial, adversative conjunction, attributive, conjunction, conjunctive adverb, coordinating conjunction, copulative, copulative conjunction, correlative conjunction, disjunctive,… …   Moby Thesaurus

  • participle — [14] The etymological notion underlying participle is of a word that shares or ‘partakes’ of the dual nature of an adjective and a noun. It comes via Old French participle from Latin participium, a derivative of particeps ‘partaker’ (the usage… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • participle — [[t]pɑ͟ː(r)tɪsɪp(ə)l[/t]] participles N COUNT In grammar, a participle is a form of a verb that can be used in compound tenses of the verb. There are two participles in English: the past participle, which usually ends in ed , and the present… …   English dictionary

  • participle — par•ti•ci•ple [[t]ˈpɑr təˌsɪp əl, sə pəl[/t]] n. gram. a nonfinite verbal form that can function as an adjective or be used with certain auxiliaries to make compound verb forms, as burning in a burning candle or devoted in your devoted friend.… …   From formal English to slang

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