singulative

Speech parts

1. singulative - Noun

2. singulative - Adjective

Meaning

singulative (not comparable)

(grammar) Of or pertaining to a grammatical form or construction that expresses the individuation of a single referent from a mass noun.
English doesn't have a singulative number in general, but many uncountable nouns have usual singulative constructions.

singulative (plural singulatives)

(grammar) A singulative form or construction.
The singulative of "cattle" is "a head of cattle".
The singulative of "scissors" is "a pair of scissors".

Related terms

Examples

2 Contains the Proto-Altaic singulative suffix -/nV/: "one breast". Source: Internet

In Dutch, singulative forms of collective nouns are occasionally made by diminutives: snoep "sweets, candy" → snoepje "sweet, piece of candy". Source: Internet

However, English has no productive process of forming singulative nouns (just phrases such as "a grain of rice"). Source: Internet

Singulative versus collective main Some languages differentiate between an unmarked form, the collective, which is indifferent in respect to number, and a marked form for single entities, called the singulative in this context. Source: Internet

Therefore, English cannot be said to have a singulative number. Source: Internet

Close letter words and terms