oxford english dictionary case study

Words and phrases

Personal account.

Access or purchase personal subscriptions
Get our newsletter
Save searches
Set display preferences

Institutional access

Recommend to your librarian

Institutional account management

Information

Academic case studies and articles.

Here you will find all the links to our OED case studies, which (together with our OED event recordings ) examine how the OED has proved helpful in real scenarios, and how it has been used in academic research.

The OED and research: academic case studies

World Englishes: academic articles

Browse information

Examining the OED

What does the OED tell us about the English language?

Examining the OED (EOED) sets out to investigate the principles and practice behind the Oxford English Dictionary , an extraordinary achievement of scholarship and labour and the greatest dictionary of English ever compiled. The project is wholly independent of the OED itself. Its main aim is to explore and analyse OED’s quotations and quotation sources, so as to illuminate the foundations of this dictionary’s representation of the English language.

See About the project for more information, and EOED content or Site map for a conspectus of the material put up so far.

New posts and pages

More Like This

Show all results sharing this subject:

Quick Reference

A research method that engages in the close, detailed examination of a single example or phenomenon. In some instances, it may be a version of ideographic rather than nomothetic investigation—seeking ...

From: case study in Dictionary of the Social Sciences »

Subjects: Social sciences

WORD FORMATION PROCESSES IN ENGLISH NEW WORDS OF OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY (OED) ONLINE

December 2018
Celtic A Journal of Culture English Language Teaching Literature and Linguistics 5(2):24
CC BY-SA 4.0

State University of Malang
This person is not on ResearchGate, or hasn't claimed this research yet.

Discover the world's research

25+ million members
160+ million publication pages
2.3+ billion citations
Maria Jelimun

Elena Gabrielova

Vera Magria
Asridayani Asridayani
Rosa Winda Sari
Kadek Dian Asvini

Oon Suzana Rahman

Lia Maulia Indriyani

Muzaffar Ali

Ghani Rahman

Charles F. Meyer

Claire Thomas
Jean Aitchison
Ronald Wardaugh
Henry M. Hoenigswald
Albert Sechehay
Ferdinand de Saussure
Wade Baskin
Eiji Nishimoto

Kirsten Fudeman
Recruit researchers
Join for free
Login Email Tip: Most researchers use their institutional email address as their ResearchGate login Password Forgot password? Keep me logged in Log in or Continue with Google Welcome back! Please log in. Email · Hint Tip: Most researchers use their institutional email address as their ResearchGate login Password Forgot password? Keep me logged in Log in or Continue with Google No account? Sign up

The Oxford English Dictionary
OED Researchers Advisory Group
The OED Community
Research sub
Language Datasets
Indian Language Datasets
Oxford Dictionaries API
Lexical Data for NLP
Dictionary Solutions
Pronunciations Data
Educational Assessment Platforms
Assisted Writing Solutions
Gamified Learning
Semantic English Language Database

Dictionaries

Dictionaries for your products
Dictionary Apps
Oxford Dictionaries Premium
For English Learners
For Children
Creating Content
Word of the Year
Branding resources

Case Studies

Our dictionary data

Discover how companies are using Oxford Languages data to enhance their products.

Explore how HumanWare uses Oxford Languages' dictionary data to help people with visual impairments improve their lexical comprehension.

WellSaid Labs

Learn more about how WellSaid Labs uses pronunciations data from Oxford Languages to enhance their artificial intelligence voice platform.

AssistiveWare

AssistiveWare utilize Oxford Languages Thesaurus data to power their pioneering augmentative and alternative communication tool, enabling users to develop their language, vocabulary, and literacy skills.

Ecosia use Oxford Languages' data to improve their UX by providing dictionary definitions and content at the top of their search results.

Kielikone utilizes Oxford Languages language data in their market leading dictionary platform for corporate users.

Oxford Languages and Kobo worked together to develop a bespoke solution for their built-in dictionary feature, creating a seamless experience for their users.

Powered by Oxford Languages dictionary data, C-Pen’s assistive learning tools encourage independent learning, and level the odds for people with reading and learning disabilities.

Astrid use Oxford Languages data to validate their voice-based, AI-powered language learning platform, enabling their users to communicate confidently in English.

End-of-Life Decisions for Isolated Patients Under New York's Family Health Care Decisions Act

Article sidebar.

Main Article Content

Photo ID 6232629 © Mykola Velychko | Dreamstime.com

The most challenging end-of-life cases involve patients who lack capacity and have no surrogate decision-makers. New York's Family Health Care Decisions Act provides alternative criteria for withdrawing or withholding treatment in such cases, including the requirement that the patient "will die imminently, even if the treatment is provided." This article clarifies the interpretation of "imminent" and offers recommendations to improve end-of-life policies, including greater reliance on Ethics Review Committees (ERCs).

INTRODUCTION

Probably the most distressing end-of-life cases involve patients who lack capacity and who are socially isolated – that is, who do not have a health care agent, family member, or friend who knows them, cares about them, and will make decisions for them. [1] Health care professionals caring for these socially isolated patients struggle with exceedingly difficult professional, ethical, and legal issues. [2] Several states have enacted laws with standards and procedures for such decisions. [3] In New York, the Family Health Care Decisions Act (FHCDA) governs end-of-life decisions for most socially isolated patients. [4] This article examines the provisions for socially isolated patients in the FHCDA. While the FHCDA is just one state’s statute, the clinical, ethical, policy, and even interpretive issues addressed here will be instructive to health care professionals and policymakers in other states as well.

Special attention is given to the FHCDA provision that requires, as a basis for withdrawing or withholding treatment from socially isolated patients, a finding that the patient “will die imminently, even if the treatment is provided.” [5] That critical phrase is a source of uncertainty, both with respect to time period that qualifies as “imminently” and to the application of the phrase to DNR orders. [6] A clear, uniform understanding of the “will die imminently clause” will reduce both undertreatment and overtreatment of socially isolated patients at the end of life.

But an additional policy change is needed. This article recommends that, once standards for ethics review committees are strengthened, the FHCDA should be amended to allow the attending physician to decide to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment for a socially isolated patient based on the standards that now apply to surrogate decisions, subject to approval by an ethics review committee. The FHCDA already allows decisions on this basis for socially isolated patients in hospice; [7] the approach should be broadened.

I. The Family Health Care Decisions Act

The FHCDA governs decisions for patients in hospitals, nursing homes, and hospices who lack capacity and who did not, prior to losing capacity, make the decision personally or appoint a health care agent. [8] The statute governs consent to treatment and decisions to withdraw or withhold life-sustaining treatment.

In general, the FHCDA provides for the designation of a surrogate decisionmaker from a priority list. The highest priority category on that list is a court-appointed guardian when there is one. After that, the list proceeds through levels of close relatives and ends with the category “close friend.” [9]

a. A Surrogate Decision to Withdraw or Withhold Life-Sustaining Treatment

Under the FHCDA, a surrogate may decide to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment from the adult patient who lacks decision-making capacity based on the patient’s wishes, if known or ascertainable through reasonable efforts or when the patient’s wishes are unknown and not reasonably ascertainable, on best interests. Whether the patient’s wishes or the best interest standard is applied, certain clinical ethical standards must be met. For example, either:

(i) treatment would be an extraordinary burden to the patient and the patient has an illness or injury which can be expected to cause death within six months, whether or not treatment is provided; or the patient is permanently unconscious; or

(ii) the provision of treatment would involve such pain, suffering, or other burden that it would reasonably be deemed inhumane or extraordinarily burdensome under the circumstances, and the patient has an irreversible or incurable condition. [10]

This standard, referred to in this article as the “surrogate decision-making standard,” does not require a finding that the patient is imminently dying.

b. FHCDA Provisions Regarding Socially Isolated Patients

FHCDA section 2994-g governs decisions for most incapable adult patients without surrogates. Subsections 5 and 5-a establish the three alternative bases for ordering the withdrawal or withholding of life-sustaining treatment for socially isolated adult patients. As explained further below, life-sustaining treatment can be withdrawn or withheld from a socially isolated patient based on:

(1) judicial approval;

(2) the “will die imminently” test; or

(3) decisions regarding hospice care.

c. Judicial Approval

First, the FHCDA allows treatment to be withdrawn or withheld from a socially isolated patient if a court finds that the decision meets the surrogate decision-making standard (terminally ill, permanently unconscious, or extraordinary burden). [11] Prior to the FHCDA, a court had no such authority; it could approve the decision only if it found “clear and convincing evidence” of the patient’s “firm and settled commitment” to forgo treatment under the circumstances. [12]

d. The “Will Die Imminently” Test

Second, treatment can be withdrawn or withheld from the socially isolated patient where:

The attending practitioner, with independent concurrence of a second practitioner, determines to a reasonable degree of medical certainty that:

(i) life-sustaining treatment offers the patient no medical benefit because the patient will die imminently, even if the treatment is provided; and

(ii) the provision of life-sustaining treatment would violate accepted medical standards. [13]

As noted previously, there is uncertainty among clinicians and others regarding the meaning of “will die imminently” [14] — what does it mean and how long a time period is “imminently”? Or to use a legal lens: how would the phrase “will die imminently” be construed in an administrative or judicial legal proceeding?

As explained below, the phrase “imminently” clearly includes a period of hours or a few days, probably includes a week and perhaps two weeks, but probably does not include a month or more.

i. Administrative And Judicial Definition

There is no NYS Department of Health regulation or guidance that further defines the phrase “will die imminently.” [15] Such state agency regulation or guidance would have been entitled to considerable deference if a court found that the interpretation required specialized knowledge or expertise. [16]

Moreover, no published judicial opinion interprets the meaning of “will die imminently” in the FHCDA, so there is no binding precedent.

The words “imminent” and “imminently” appear in several other New York state statutes. For example, under New York Mental Hygiene Law, confidential mental health information can be disclosed to an endangered individual based on the practitioner’s determination that the patient presents “a serious and imminent danger” to the endangered individual. [17] The Family Court Act defines “neglected child” to mean a child “in imminent danger of becoming impaired....” [18] Several courts have interpreted those words for the purpose of those other statutes. In a child neglect case, the NYS Court of Appeals explained that “’ imminent danger’” must be “near or impending, not merely possible.” [19] However, the interpretation of “imminent” for the purpose of statutes other than the FHCDA is not dispositive of its meaning in the FHCDA.

The phrase "imminent death" is also used in Georgia and Vermont laws as a basis for a DNR order. [20] But the phrase is not defined in those statutes either.

ii. Principles Of Statutory Construction

In the absence of administrative guidance or judicial precedent, a court would define “will die imminently” by using familiar principles of statutory construction. [21] Initially it would look to the plain, customary meaning of the words as well as the statutory context. If the court needed further guidance, it would consider the legislative history and then possibly professional or scholarly interpretations. A court would be mindful of policy implications, but it could not twist the plain meaning of the words to achieve policy ends.

iii. Plain Meaning

Courts typically start with dictionary definitions “as guideposts to determine a word’s ordinary and commonly understood meaning.” [22] Webster’s International Dictionary, Third Edition (1993) defines “imminent” to mean “Ready to take place; near at hand; impending; hanging threateningly over one’s head; menacingly near.” [23] The Oxford English Dictionary defines “imminent” to mean “Of an event (almost always of evil or danger): Impending threateningly, hanging over one's head ready to befall or overtake one close at hand in its incidence coming on shortly.” [24] Merriam-Webster, a commonly used online reference, defines “imminent” as “ready to take place: happening soon.” [25]

Not surprisingly, none of these definitions specify a time period; the term is intentionally imprecise. It is a qualitative, not quantitative, concept. But it unmistakably means “soon.”

iv. Statutory Context

Courts will also construe a statute as a whole and consider sections together with reference to each other. [26] In this instance, the statutory context is revealing: one of the other bases in the FHCDA for a surrogate decision to forgo life-sustaining treatment is that “the patient has an illness or injury which can be expected to cause death within six months....” [27] Accordingly, “imminently” must mean something sooner than “within six months.” The Legislature would not have used different phrases for the same time period. Put differently, if the Legislature meant “within six months,” it knew how to say it. It used “imminently” to mean something sooner. [28]

v. Legislative History

The legislative history of the phrase “will die imminently” is the most revealing guide to its meaning. The FHCDA was based on the 1992 report and recommendations of the New York State Task Force on Life and the Law, When Others Must Choose – Deciding for Patients Who Lack Capacity . [29] The Task Force recommended two bases for a decision to forgo treatment for socially isolated patient:

(1) A decision by the attending physician to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment, based on the standard that would apply to a surrogate, subject to ethics review committee approval; or

(2) “health care without benefit” is defined as follows:

a. An attending physician determines, in accordance with accepted medical standards and to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, that the patient will die within a short time period despite the provision of treatment and that treatment should be withdrawn or withheld; and

b. one other physician selected by the hospital concurs in this determination. [30]

The Task Force’s proposed clause in paragraph (2), “will die within a short time period,” is the direct forerunner to PHL 2994-g’s “will die imminently” clause. Moreover, as discussed below, the Task Force regarded “a short time period” and “imminently” as having the same meaning.

The Task Force report devotes a full chapter to “Deciding for Adults Without Surrogates,” with a section on “Treatment Without Medical Benefit.” Its discussion in that chapter in support of the “will die within a short period” standard uses all of these phrases for the same concept:

(i) “during the final days and hours of the dying process”

(ii) “the final days of their dying process”

(iii) “at the end stage of their dying process”

(iv) “will die within a short period even if treatment is provided”

(v) “patients who are imminently dying”

Ultimately, the NYS Legislature deleted the first option of allowing a decision for a socially isolated patient based on the surrogate decision-making standard subject to ethics review committee review proposed by the Task Force. Further below, this article recommends revisiting that option.

More to the point for present purposes, the Legislature modified the Task Force proposed phrase “will die within a short time period” to “will die imminently.” But neither phrase is quantifiable and, as noted above, the Task Force used them interchangeably.

This article cannot provide an authoritative definition of the precise time period conveyed by the phrase “will die imminently.” That would need to come from a court, the legislature or a state agency. But in the absence of such definition, principles of statutory construction indicate that “imminently” clearly includes a time period of hours or a few days, probably includes a week and perhaps two weeks, but probably does not include a month or more.

This conclusion may seem unremarkable. But it may help counter interpretations at opposite ends of the spectrum. If “imminently” is read to mean that the patient must be expected to die within minutes or hours for treatment to be withheld or withdrawn, clinicians may feel compelled to provide highly aggressive treatment to the dying socially isolated patient that most would regard as extraordinarily burdensome in light of minimal benefit. On the other hand, if “imminently” is read to mean that the patient will probably die sometime in the next few months but not the next few weeks, a decision to withhold or withdraw treatment from the socially isolated seems to involve more of a value judgment than a medical judgment.

d. DNR Orders

Applying the term “will die imminently” to DNR orders raises special issues. As explained below, the phrase, as applied to a DNR order means that a DNR order can be written based on a finding that in the event of cardiac arrest, the patient will die imminently even if the treatment is provided. The phrase does not require a finding that the patient is imminently dying at the time the DNR order is written.

A do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order directs the medical staff not to attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation if and when, at some point in the future, the patient goes into cardiac arrest. New York’s former DNR law, in effect from 1988 to 2010, created a process and standards for securing surrogate consent to a DNR order. [31] For socially isolated patients, it provided that a DNR order could be entered based on an attending physician and concurring physician determination that resuscitation would be “medically futile.” Per the former statute, “medically futile” means that “cardiopulmonary resuscitation will be unsuccessful in restoring cardiac and respiratory function or that the patient will experience repeated arrest in a short time period before death occurs.” [32]

Significantly, the standard to enter a DNR order for socially isolated patient did not require a finding about the patient’s condition or life-expectancy at the time of writing the order; it just required a finding about whether, in the event of a future cardiac arrest, resuscitation would work.

The FHCDA was developed to extend the DNR Law to a broader range of life-sustaining treatments. [33] The Task Force and legislature, in proposing the FHCDA, adopted or adapted DNR Law provisions on, among other topics, determining incapacity, a surrogate priority list, clinical predicates to support a surrogate decision to forgo life-sustaining treatment, the patient‘s wishes or best interest standard, and the use of an ethics committee.

With respect to socially isolated patients, the FHCDA could not simply reproduce the DNR Law’s provision on medical futility because the DNR Law provision was treatment-specific: it referred only to the effectiveness of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The FHCDA needed to extend the DNR concept of medical futility to encompass decisions about ventilators, feeding tubes, dialysis, antibiotics, and more. Accordingly, the DNR provision on the futility of resuscitation, extended to other treatments, became in the Task Force’s proposal a finding “that the patient will die within a short time period despite the provision of treatment.” In the final FHCDA, that phrase was changed to a finding that “the patient will die imminently, even if the treatment is provided.”

That background illuminates the meaning of the FHCDA term “will die imminently” as applied to a DNR order: It means that a DNR order can be written for a socially isolated patient based on a finding that in the event of cardiac arrest, the patient will die imminently, even if the treatment is provided.

The language of the provision supports the above conclusion. “Will die imminently even if the treatment is provided” ties the phrase “will die imminently” to the time the treatment, resuscitation (when the patient has a cardiac arrest), is provided.

Consider a socially isolated patient dying from cancer that has metastasized. The attending practitioner considering a DNR order may not be able to state with certainty that the patient “will die imminently.” But the physician may well be able to say with certainty that when the disease finally causes the patient’s heart to stop, the patient “will die imminently, even if the treatment is provided.”

This is the standard that was in effect under the DNR Law from 1988 to 2010. Neither the Task Force nor the NYS Legislature intended to disturb that standard in proposing and enacting the FHCDA. As others have noted, “Although the law now uses different words, there are few, if any, cases in this ... category where a DNR order legally could have been issued before FHCDA but could not be issued under FHCDA.” [34]

A NYS Bar Association website, “The Family Health Care Decisions Act Resource Center,” endorses this view. [35] It includes an FAQ that states as follows:

Health Care Decisions for Adult Patients Without Surrogates. N.Y. PHL § 2994-g) Q – Under the former DNR law, a DNR order could be entered for an incapable patient who did not have a surrogate if the physician and a concurring physician determined that resuscitation would be “medically futile” (if CPR would “be unsuccessful in restoring cardiac and respiratory function or that the patient will experience repeated arrest in a short time period before death occurs”). Can a practitioner still do that? A – The language of the standard has changed, but it still ordinarily supports the entry of a DNR order if resuscitation would be “medically futile” as defined above. Under the FHCDA, the practitioner and a concurring practitioner would need to determine that (i) attempted resuscitation (in the event of arrest) would offer the patient no medical benefit because the patient will die imminently, even if the treatment is provided; and (ii) the attempt would violate accepted medical standards. (Emphasis added).

This NYS Bar Association FAQ, while not an authoritative source of law, was written, reviewed and approved by a broad range of experienced health lawyers and provides strong support for a facility or practitioner that follows this approach.

Moreover, an article by clinicians and bioethicists at the New York City Health + Hospitals, including bioethicist Nancy Dubler, adopted this position as well:

Life-sustaining treatment decisions should be seen as situation-specific, as they depend on the treatment in question and on the medical condition and prognosis of the individual at the time the adverse event occurs, such as cardiopulmonary arrest. Based upon the dismal CPR survival data for nursing home residents with dementia, in the event of cardiac arrest, CPR likely will result in imminent death. [36]

The DNR laws in other states specify this temporal concept. For instance, a provision in Vermont’s DNR law allows a physician to write a DNR order for any patient (not just isolated patients) upon a certification “that resuscitation would not prevent the imminent death of the patient, should the patient experience cardiopulmonary arrest. . . .” [37]

It would seem that the same conclusion can be reached for a do-not-intubate (DNI) order, a nursing home do-not-hospitalize order, or any other order that directs the withholding or withdrawal or life-sustaining treatment in the event of a future clinical contingency. Such orders are distinguishable from noncontingent orders meant to be carried out immediately, such as discontinuing a ventilator or feeding tube. But these treatments may raise different clinical and ethical issues. In any case, the clearest case, based on words and history, relates to DNR orders.

To be sure, it would have been preferable if the drafters of the FHCDA specified, as Vermont did, that for the purpose of a DNR order, the test is whether, in the event of cardiac arrest, the patient will die imminently, even if the treatment is provided. And it would be helpful if policymakers clarified this point now. [38] Legislative bills to accomplish this have been introduced repeatedly. [39] The state Department of Health could also accomplish such clarification by a “Dear CEO/Administrator Letter,” [40] or by revising the MOLST checklist for adults without surrogates. [41] Such clarification would help decrease uncertainty and misunderstanding among health care professionals and their advisers and allow DNR decisions for socially isolated patients based on longstanding, ethically sound principles.

But even without an official pronouncement, the words and history of the “will die imminently” provision make clear what was meant.

As an aside, advances in resuscitative techniques, such as the increased deployment of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO), are increasing the duration of patient survival after resuscitation. [42] ECMO raises complex medical and ethical issues regarding, among other matters, whether a patient is a candidate for the procedure, [43] when to discontinue ECMO after it has commenced, and what a DNR order means as applied to a patient on ECMO. [44] These fraught issues are beyond the scope of this article. In any case, if and when ECMO becomes a standard of care response to an inpatient cardiac arrest, the FHCDA test for a “do not ECMO order” for a socially isolated patient would seem to be whether, in the event of cardiac arrest, the patient will die imminently even if ECMO is provided. This could lead to a different result than applying the standard to a non-ECMO resuscitation. But this rote application of the FHCDA test would not take into account the exceptionally scarce availability of ECMO equipment and staff, which compels distributive justice considerations, specifically resource allocation, well beyond those raised by CPR. It makes the treatment akin in many ways to decisions about scarce transplantable solid organs, or ventilators in a pandemic. So, there is an ethical argument for devoting ECMO to patients who have a prospect of post-ECMO life. Again, these are issues beyond the scope of this article.

f. Decisions Regarding Hospice Care

A 2015 amendment to the FHCDA added a third FHCDA basis for withdrawing or withholding treatment from a socially isolated patient. [45] It authorizes the attending practitioner to make “decisions regarding hospice care” for the patient, subject to several oversight requirements. [46] The decision must be made in consultation with staff directly responsible for the patient’s care, with the concurrence of another practitioner, and – significantly — with the review and approval of an ethics review committee. [47]

The FHCDA defines “decisions regarding hospice care” to mean “the decision to enroll or disenroll in hospice, and consent to the hospice plan of care and modifications to that plan.” [48] The reference to “plan of care” signifies that the attending is not simply making the hospice enrollment decision, but the treatment plan as well. The provision requires the practitioner to base his or her decisions regarding hospice care for the socially isolated patient on the principles that would apply to surrogate decisions, including the surrogate decision-making standard for end-of-life decisions. [49] That standard does not require a finding that the patient “will die imminently.”

Data is not available to the extent to which New York hospitals, nursing homes, and practitioners are invoking or even aware of this hospice-related provision as a basis for decisions for socially isolated patients. But by referring to the surrogate decision-making standard, as opposed to the “will die imminently” standard, the provision gives the practitioner and ethics committee a role akin to that of a joint surrogate for the hospice-eligible socially isolated patient. In fact, it approximates the Task Force’s original proposal, which would have allowed the withdrawal or withholding of life-sustaining treatment from an isolated patient based: a decision by the attending physician applying the standard that would apply to a surrogate, subject to ethics review committee approval. [50]

II. Policy Recommendation

This paper proposes to strengthen ethics review committee standards, then allow the attending practitioner to make end-of-life decisions for a socially isolated patient based on the surrogate decision-making standard, subject to ethics review committee approval.

Clarifying the “will die imminently standard” will improve the quality of care for dying socially isolated patients. But will not remedy another gap – the need to allow carefully considered end-of-life decisions for socially isolated patients who are not expected to die imminently, but who meet the criteria described in the surrogate decision-making standard (a decision based on the patient’s wishes or, if those are not reasonably known, the patient’s best interests and, summarized, a finding that the patient is terminally ill or permanently unconscious, or the proposed treatment would impose an extraordinary burden on the patient). [51]

The Task Force’s original 1992 proposal would have addressed this gap by allowing a decision by the attending physician to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment for an isolated patient based on the surrogate decision-making standard, subject to ethics review committee approval. [52] This option would allow for humane, patient-centered, comfort care-oriented end-of-life decisions for socially isolated patients in cases that are not in the “will die imminently” category.

Moreover, this option dovetails well with the “will die imminently” option: The physician/ERC option addresses cases that include prominent ethical or nonmedical questions. For example, what are this socially isolated patient’s wishes or best interests? What are the benefits and burdens of the treatment? These questions make it necessary and appropriate to convene an ERC to review and possibly approve a decision. In contrast, the “will die imminently” basis is primarily a medical question (will the treatment work?). An ERC has no apparent role in that determination unless there is a dispute. [53]

Indeed, allowing the physician/ERC option may reduce concerns about the meaning of “will die imminently” and the reliability of a prognosis that the patient will die imminently. If the attending practitioner is uncertain about whether the patient “will die imminently” but believes comfort care is appropriate for the patient, she or he would be able to refer the recommended course of treatment to the ERC.

Reliance on institutional ethics committee approval for end-of-life decisions for isolated patients is a hardly novel idea. [54] The FHCDA itself already relies upon an ERC to approve the practitioner’s decision about hospice, including a hospice plan of care. [55] It also makes three other types of end-of-life decisions that are subject to ERC approval. [56] Moreover, some New York hospitals or nursing homes require ERC approval for end-of-life decisions even when applying the “will die imminently” standard. [57]

Elsewhere, some state’s laws recognize a role for ethics committees in decisions for socially isolated patients (Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, and Tennessee place ethics committees into the priority list of default surrogates) and in other states, hospitals rely upon ethics committees for such decisions without statutory authority. [58]

There is a strong case in New York for allowing end-of-life decisions for socially isolated patients who do not meet the “imminently dying” criteria based on a practitioner applying the FHCDA’s surrogate decision-making standard, subject to ERC approval.

III. Criticism of Reliance on Ethics Review Committees

This proposal will encounter serious substantive criticisms, particularly regarding the role of the ERC. [59]

The foremost criticism is a concern that, in some cases, the attending physician and ERC may make decisions that undervalue the life of the socially isolated patient who is severely and irreversibly ill but not imminently dying. That risk is even greater for socially isolated patients who face health system discrimination for other reasons: people with physical, mental, or developmental disabilities, poor patients, minority patients, patients with substance abuse-related conditions, prisoners, and very elderly patients.

That concern is very real. But the remedy should not be to compel aggressive treatment in all such cases; that approach fails to consider the particulars of each case and can also cause terrible harm to socially isolated patients. The option of involving a court—apart from the delay and expense—does not really address the concern: it transfers decision-making to a judge who is apt to be inexperienced in these matters and may exhibit the same bias.

One argument for referring such cases to courts is that courts, unlike ERCs, will apply procedural due process in reaching a decision. [60] Typical due process elements are written notice, hearing, legal representation, right to present evidence, rules about the admissibility of evidence, an impartial decisionmaker, written decision, or appeal rights. But these principles are designed to ensure fairness in adversarial procedures. There is a strong case to apply them when the ERC hears and is empowered to resolve a dispute. However, the ERC role envisioned here does not involve dispute resolution. It involves reviewing a decision made on behalf of a socially isolated, incapable, non-objecting patient, based on the patient’s wishes, if known, or else the patient’s best interests. This is a part-medical and part-ethical inquiry. It is emphatically not an adversarial procedure seeking to deprive the patient of rights.

To be sure, procedural due process is intended to achieve fairness and thoroughness, and some elements of due process would enhance any formal review, including an ERC review. Moreover, if any person connected with the case brings an action to challenge or block an ERC decision, far more processes will be due. The full panoply of judicial-type due process elements should not be grafted onto a physician and ERC’s non-adversarial review of a decision on behalf of the socially isolated patient.

There is another persuasive argument for caution: FHCDA ethics review committees have existed in New York since 2010, yet there is little to no information on how well they work in their statutory role. Who is on them? Do they have significant conflicts of interest? What are their credentials? Do they have training in the legal and ethical principles they should follow? How do they collect information about patient wishes and values? Particularly little is known about their current role in approving end-of-life decisions for socially isolated patients in hospice.

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital conducted a retrospective cohort study of ethics committee consultations involving decision-making about life-sustaining treatment for socially isolated patients from 2007 to 2013. [61] They recommended caution before endorsing ethics committees as final decision maker for socially isolated patients.

Another prominent study surveyed hospitals regarding ethics consultants and ethics consulting. [62] It does not address the role of the ethics committee in making decisions for socially isolated patients. However, some of its inquiries would also be relevant to ethics committees with decision-making authority, including: Is their financial support adequate? How do they gather information? What records do they keep? How are they evaluated?

Before expanding the role of ERCs to include end-of-life decisions for socially isolated patients, there is a need for further study. (As of this writing, the Empire State Bioethics Consortium [63] is undertaking just such study.) Depending in part on the findings of a study, consideration must also be given to improving the ERC structure and practices. For instance, hospitals and ERCs could be encouraged, or even required, to follow model policies regarding:

(i) Addressing conflicts of interest;

(ii) Addressing bias against patient subpopulations;

(iii) Training in relevant principles of medical ethics and law;

(iv) Procedural steps to follow in end-of-life decision cases, including steps to ascertain patient wishes; Institutional retrospective review of ERC decisions in end-of-life cases (e.g., by the hospital quality assurance committee or other body);

(v) Data collection, subject to QA confidentiality and privilege protections.

In short, ERCs need to adopt some of the formalities that apply to institutional review boards. [64]

With additional rules and safeguards, and with increased professionalism of ERCS, end-of-life decisions for socially isolated patients could be based on a physician applying the surrogate decision-making standard, subject to ERC approval.

Additional rules and safeguards, informed by data from studies, will enhance the professionalism of ERCs and the quality of their decision-making. After that step, the FHCDA should be amended to add a fourth basis for an end-of-life socially isolated patient: a decision by the attending physician based on the surrogate decision-making standard, subject to ERC approval. This would allow for patient-centered end-of-life care for the socially isolated patient.

New York’s Family Health Care Decisions Act authorizes the withdrawal or withholding of life-sustaining treatment from an incapable, socially isolated patient, among other instances, if the attending practitioner finds that the patient "will die imminently, even if treatment is provided.” That phrase is a source of uncertainty, both with respect to time period that qualifies as “imminent” and to the application of the phrase to DNR orders. This study of the phrase, particularly the legislative history of the phrase, indicates that the term “imminently” clearly includes a time period of hours or a few days, probably includes a week and perhaps two weeks, but probably does not include a month or more.

Moreover, with respect to DNR orders, a study of the phrase and its legislative history indicates that a DNR order can be written for a socially isolated patient based on a finding that in the event of cardiac arrest, the patient will die imminently even if the treatment is provided. The clause does not require a finding that the patient is imminently dying at the time the DNR order is written.

Clarifying the “will die imminently standard” will improve the quality of care for dying socially isolated patients, but it will not allow carefully considered end-of-life decisions for socially isolated patients who are not imminently dying, but who meet the criteria described in the surrogate decision-making standard. Policymakers should consider strengthening the standards for ethics review committees to make them more professional. With such changes, the FHCDA should be amended to authorize the attending physician to make an end-of-life decision for an incapable isolated patient based on the same standards that would apply to a surrogate (not the “imminently dying” standard), subject to ERC review and approval. This change will result in more humane, patient-centered end-of-life decisions for socially isolated patients in New York.

[1] N. Karp and E. Wood, Incapacitated and Alone: Health Care Decision-making for Unbefriended Older People. (American Bar Association, Commission on Law and Aging. 2003 Washington, D.C.).

[2] See e.g., H. Kaplan, “Representing Unrepresented Patients,” (Letter from the Editor) AMA Journal of Ethics 21:7:549 (2019) https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/representing-unrepresented-patients/2019-07; T. Dempsey and E.S. DeMartino, “How Should Clinicians Navigate Decision Making for Unrepresented Patients?” AMA Journal of Ethics, Case and Commentary. 21:7:559 (2019); N. Sharadin, “Should Aggregate Patient Preference Data Be Used to Make Decisions on Behalf of Unrepresented Patients?”, AMA Journal of Ethics, Case and Commentary.21:7:566 (2019) https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/should-aggregate-patient-preference-data-be-used-make-decisions-behalf-unrepresented-patients/2019-07; D. Ozar, “Who Are “Unrepresented Patients” And What Counts As “Important” Medical Decisions for Them?” AMA Journal of Ethics, Medicine and Society, 21:7:611 (2019) https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/who-are-unrepresented-patients-and-what-count-important-medical-decisions-them/2019-07; T. Pope, “Five Things Clinicians Should Know When Caring for Unrepresented Patients.” AMA Journal of Ethics 21:7:582 (2019) https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/five-things-clinicians-should-know-when-caring-unrepresented-patients/2019-07.

[3] Meisel, A., K.L. Cerminara and T.M. Pope, Right to Die: The Law of End-of-Life Decision-making (Third Edition 2004.) §8.05; T. Pope, 2017.

[4] N.Y. Public Health Law Art. 29-CC. https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PBH/A29-CC The FHCDA does not govern (i) end-of-life decisions for people with developmental disabilities; those are governed by NY Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act §1750-b; or (ii) certain health care decisions for people in mental health hospitals or units, which are governed by Office of Mental Health regulations. Decisions for isolated patients who have a developmental disability or mental illness can be made by a Surrogate Decision Making Committee (SDMC) established by N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law Article 80.

[5] N.Y. Public Health Law § 2994-g.5(b). https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PBH/2994-G

[6] This statement is largely based on my experience as counsel to a health care system, my participation in professional conferences on this issue, and my discussions with clinicians, bioethics professionals, and health care attorneys. But also, compare e.g., Howard J. Finger, James Zisfein, Khoi Luong, Cheryl A. Dury, Ravindra Amin, Steven Hahn, Albina Shkolnik, and Nancy Neveloff Dubler, “Life-Sustaining Treatment Decisions for Unbefriended Nursing Home Resident: Application of a Clinical Ethics Algorithm,” NYSBA Health Law J , Fall 2018 at p.81 https://nysba.org/NYSBA/Publications/Section%20Publications/Health/PastIssues1996present/2018/HealthLawJournal-Fall2018.pdf#page=82 (“imminently” is longer than “immediately” but should be no longer than a few weeks or months”) with Robert S. Olick, K. Faber-Langendoen, “Caring for Patients without Surrogates Under the Family Health Care Decisions Act,” https://www.upstate.edu/bioinbrief/articles/2011/2011-03-case-study-patients-without.php (“likely to die within a matter of days to weeks (not weeks to months)”). With respect to confusion about the application of the FHCDA standard to DNR orders, see Elizabeth Dzeng, Thomas Bein, and J Randall Curtis, “The Role of Policy and Law in Shaping the Ethics and Quality of End-of-life Care in Intensive Care,” Intensive Care Med. 2022 Mar; 48(3): 352-354 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8883558/

[7] N.Y. Public Health Law § 2994-g.5-a. https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PBH/2994-G

[8] R. Swidler, “New York’s Family Health Care Decisions Act: The Legal and Political Background, Key Provisions and Emerging Issues,” New York State Bar Journal, June 2010. https://nysba.org/NYSBA/Public%20Resources/Family%20Healthcare%20Decisions%20Act%20Resource%20Center/FHDAC%20Files/SwidlerHealthJournSpr10.pdf Life-sustaining treatment decisions for patients with intellectual or developmental disabilities are governed by separate laws: the “Health Care Decisions Act for People with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities” N.Y. Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act § 1750-b and, for isolated patients with mental disabilities, N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law Article 80 Surrogate Decision-making Committees.

[9] N.Y. Public Health Law §2994-d.1. https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PBH/2994-D

[10] N.Y. Public Health Law §2994-d.5. https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PBH/2994-D

[11] N.Y. Public Health Law §2994-g.5(a). https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PBH/2994-D

[12] Matter of O’Connor (Westchester County Med. Ctr. ), 72 N.Y.2d 517 (1988) https://casetext.com/case/matter-of-oconnor-40; Matter of Storar and Matter of Eichner v Dillon , 52 N.Y.2d 363 (1981) https://casetext.com/case/matter-of-eichner-fox , https://casetext.com/case/matter-of-storar-2

[13] N.Y. Public Health Law § 2994-g.5(b). https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PBH/2994-G

[14] See note 7 supra. Most of the language in the provision is not problematic. The meaning of “no medical benefit” is clear because the clause itself supplies the definition: it means that “the patient will die imminently, even if the treatment is provided.” With respect to the requirement that “the provision of life-sustaining treatment would violate accepted medical standards,” if the patient will die imminently, even if the treatment is provided, the treatment has no medical benefit. Providing a treatment that has no medical benefit is not consistent with accepted medical standards. American Medical Association Code of Ethics 2024, § 5.5. https://code-medical-ethics.ama-assn.org/ethics-opinions/medically-ineffective-interventions (Although, despite medical standards, treatment is sometimes provided toward the end-of-life for non-medical reasons, such as acceding to patient or family requests, or to avoid real or perceived legal risk. See New York State Task Force on Life and the Law 1992, supra note 7, p.169.)

Finally, the requirement that the determination must be made with “a reasonable degree of medical certainty,” employs a phrase that is commonly used in the FHCDA and other New York health laws. E.g., N.Y. PHL § 2994-c (determination of incapacity); N.Y. PHL §2994-d.5 (surrogate decision-making standard).

As an aside, a recent study provides reassurance that clinicians are generally accurate at identifying patients who are expected to die within 60 days and particularly good at identifying patients who are likely to die within 14 days. M. Orlovic, et al., “Accuracy of Clinical Predictions of Prognosis at The End-Of-Life: Evidence from Routinely Collected Data in Urgent Care Records,” 2023, BMC Palliative Care 22:51 (2023) https://bmcpalliatcare.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12904-023-01155-y.

[15] The NYS Department of Health approved a Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) form and posted it on its website. https://www.health.ny.gov/professionals/patients/patient_rights/molst/ . That site includes Checklist 4 for “Adult without FHCDA Surrogate.” But the checklist simply recites the “imminently dying” test without further guidance.

[16] Wang v. James , 40 N.Y.2d 497 (2023). https://law.justia.com/cases/new-york/court-of-appeals/1976/40-n-y-2d-814-0.html A recent decision of the United States Supreme Court struck down the “Chevron Doctrine” whereby courts had been directed to defer to an agency’s interpretation of statutes the agency administers. Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, U.S. S.Ct. Slip Op. 22-451 (June 28, 2024.) But that decision does not affect the deference state courts accord to state agency interpretations of state statutes.

[17] N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law §33.13(c)(6) https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/MHY/33.13

[18] N.Y. Family Court Act § 1012(f)(i). https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/FCT/A10P1

[19] Nicholson v. Scoppetta , 3 N.Y. 3d 357, 368, (2004). https://www.nycourts.gov/LegacyPDFS/IP/cwcip/Training_Materials/FP_Training/Nicholson_V_Scoppetta-3N.Y.3D357.pdf

[20] O.C.G.A. §31-39-1.1 (Georgia) https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-31/chapter-39/; 18 V.S.A. §9708(d)(3)(B) (Vermont) https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/18/231/09708.

[21] People v. Williams , 37 N.Y.2d 314 (2021). https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/broughton-v-state-no-887340191

[22] People v. Williams , 2021.

[23] Webster's Third New International Dictionary of The English Language, Unabridged (1993).

[24] Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition (1989) Oxford, U.K.

[25] Merriam-Webster online . https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/imminent.

[26] Peyton v. NYC Board of Standards and Appeals , 36 N.Y.3d 271 (2020). https://casetext.com/case/hoffman-v-nyc-bd-of-standards-appeals-in-re-peyton-ex-rel-peyton

[27] N.Y. Public Health Law §2994-d.5(a)(i). https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PBH/2994-D

[28] H.G. Finger, C.A. Dury, G.R. Sansone, R.N. Rao, N.N. Dubler. “An Interdisciplinary Ethics Panel Approach to End-of-Life Decision Making.” Journal of Clinical Ethics . 33:2 (2022).

[29] New York State Task Force on Life and the Law, When Others Must Choose: Deciding for Patients Without Capacity. 1992. Albany, NY. ISBN: 1881268004. https://purl.nysed.gov/nysl/27683657 . For a description of the Task Force, its background and reports, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_State_Task_Force_on_Life_and_the_Law . I was Staff Counsel to the Task Force from 1985 – 90, and a member of the Task Force from 2011 to the present but was not affiliated with the Task Force at the time it issued this report. I also authored the Wikipedia article cited in this note.

[30] New York State Task Force on Life and the Law, pp. 259-60 (Emphasis added). https://purl.nysed.gov/nysl/27683657

[31] N.Y. Public Health Law Article 29-B, repealed by NY Laws of 2023, Chapter 23. https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2023/S8059

[32] Former New York Public Health Law § 2962.12. https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PBH/12

[33] New York State Task Force on Life and the Law 1992, Preface and Chapter 12. https://purl.nysed.gov/nysl/27683657

[34] K. Lipson and J. Karmel, “Honoring Patient Preference at The End of Life: The MOLST Process and the Family Health Care Decisions Act,” NYSBA Health Law Journal 16:1 (2011). https://molst.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Lipson.Karmel.HealthLawJournal.MOLST_.2011.pdf . But see Dzeng, 2022 (the FHCDA standard for DNR futility is being interpreted as narrower than the former DNR Law standard for futility).

[35] New York State Bar Association (2020) Family Health Care Decisions Act Resource Center . https://nysba.org/fhcda-resource-center. I was the principal author of the FAQ cited above, but all the FAQs were reviewed and approved by seven other editorial board members.

[36] Finger, 2022.

[37] 18 V.S.A. § 9708(c)(3)(B) https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/18/231/09708; O.C.G.A. §31-39-1 et. seq. https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-31/chapter-39/

[38] J.J. Fins, and R.N. Swidler, “A Proposal to Restore Medical Futility as A Clinical Basis for A DNR Order Under New York Law,” NYSBA Health Law Journal 22:1 (2017).

[39] The most recent versions are (NY Senate Bill 2894 (Rivera) (2023) and NY Assembly Bill 7178 (Dinowitz) (2023).

[40] NYS Department of Health – Dear Chief Executive Letters https://www.health.ny.gov/professionals/hospital_administrator/letters/.

[41] https://www.health.ny.gov/professionals/patients/patient_rights/molst/docs/checklist_4.pdf.

[42] H. Ouyang, “The Race to Reinvent CPR,” NY Times , March 27, 2024, NY Times online https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/27/magazine/ecpr-cardiac-arrest-cpr.html.

[43] I. Wolfe, “On Not Recommending ECMO, Hastings Center Report ,” September-October 2020 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/hast.1177.

[44] E.C. Metzer, N.S. Ivascu and J.J. Fins, “DNR and ECMO: A Paradox Worth Exploring,” Journal of Clinical Ethics 25, note 1 (Spring 2014):13-9 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24779313/.

[45] Chapter 107, New York Laws of 2015, enacting Public Health Law § 2994-g.5-a. https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PBH/2994-G

[46] T. Kirk and R. Seigel, “Decisions Regarding Hospice Care for Isolated Patients: A Guide to the 2015 Amendment of The Family Health Care Decisions Act”, NYS Bar Association Health Law Journal 21:3 (2016) https://philpapers.org/rec/KIRDRH; A. Hulkower, G. Garijo-Garde and L. Flicker, “Should Dialysis Be Stopped for An Unrepresented Patient with Metastatic Cancer? American Medical Association Journal of Ethics 21:7, 575 (2019) at 588 https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/should-dialysis-be-stopped-unrepresented-patient-metastatic-cancer/2019-07.

[47] N.Y. Public Health Law § 2994-g.5-a. https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PBH/2994-G

[48] N.Y. Public Health Law §2994-a.5-a. https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PBH/2994-A

[49] N.Y. Public Health Law §2994-g.5-a. https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PBH/2994-G

[50] New York State Task Force on Life and the Law, https://purl.nysed.gov/nysl/27683657

[51] Under the surrogate decision-making standard, life-sustaining treatment can be withdrawn or withheld when: (i) treatment would be an extraordinary burden to the patient and the patient has an illness or injury which can be expected to cause death within six months, whether or not treatment is provided; or the patient is permanently unconscious; or (ii) the provision of treatment would involve such pain, suffering or other burden that it would reasonably be deemed inhumane or extraordinarily burdensome under the circumstances; and the patient has an irreversible or incurable condition. N.Y. Public Health Law §2994-d.5. https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PBH/2994-D

[52] New York State Task Force on Life and the Law, pp 259-60. https://purl.nysed.gov/nysl/27683657

[53] New York State Task Force on Life and the Law, pp 259-60. https://purl.nysed.gov/nysl/27683657

[54] F. Rosner, “Hospital Medical Ethics Committees: A Review of Their Development,” Journal of the American Medical Association 253(18); (1985) 2693-97.

[55] N.Y. Public Health Law § 2994-g.5-a. https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PBH/2994-G

[56] Specifically: in a nursing home, ERC approval is required for a surrogate decision to withdraw or withhold life-sustaining treatment from a patient who is not terminally ill or permanently unconscious (based on extraordinary burden. PHL §2994-d.8(b); In a general hospital, ERC approval is required for the withdrawal or withholding of artificial nutrition and hydration if the attending practitioner objects to such decision by a surrogate. PHL §2994-d.8(c); ERC approval is required for a decision to withdraw or withhold life sustaining treatment from an emancipated minor Public Health Law §2994-3.(3)(a). https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PBH/2994-D

[57] Finger,2022.

[58] Pope, 2019.

[59] ERCs will also be denounced by some as “death panels.” This article focuses on substantive ethical and policy criticisms but recognizes that there is a volatile political dimension to this as well.

[60] T. Pope, “The Growing Power and Healthcare Ethics Committees Heightens Due Process Concerns,” Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution 15:425 (2014) https://open.mitchellhamline.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1278&context=facsch.

[61] A.M. Courtwright, J. Abrams and E. Robinson. “The Role of a Hospital Ethics Consultation Service in Decision Making for Unrepresented Patients.” Journal of Bioethics Inquiry 14(2): 241-250 (2017).

[62] Ellen Fox, Marion Danis, Anita J. Tarzian & Christopher C. Duke, “Ethics Consultation in U.S. Hospitals: A National Follow-Up Study, The American Journal of Bioethics, 22:4, 5-18, DOI: 10.1080/15265161.2021.1893547. https://doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2021.1893547 . However, while the article describes the prevalence of ethics review committees, it does not address their role as decisionmakers at the end of life.

[63] See http://www.empirestatebioethics.org . The author was a founding member of and a current director of the Empire State Bioethics Consortium, as well as a member of the ESBC team conducting the survey of ethics review committees.

[64] Institutional Review Boards, 21 Code of Federal Regulations Part 56, https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-56.

Robert N. Swidler

MA Binghamton University, JD Columbia Law School, and adjunct faculty at the Alden March Bioethics Center at Albany Medical College. Former General Counsel for St. Peter's Health Partners, past President of the NYS Bar Association Health Law Section, and served on the NYS Task Force on Life and the Law.

The author would like to acknowledge and thank Joseph J. Fins, MD, D Hum Litt, MACP, FRCP and Thaddeus T. Pope, JD, PhD, HEC-C. for their review of an early draft of this article, and their valuable comments.

Article Details

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License .

Words and phrases

Personal account.

Access or purchase personal subscriptions
Get our newsletter
Save searches
Set display preferences

Institutional access

Recommend to your librarian

Institutional account management

Information

Glossary of grammatical terms.

This glossary provides explanations of the meanings of grammatical terms as they are used in the OED , with examples from the dictionary.

absolute ( absol .)

The term absolute refers to the use of a word or phrase on its own when it would usually be accompanied by another word or phrase.

Examples in the OED :

In the OED , absolute (abbreviated absol. ) describes nouns which stand alone when they are usually used as modifiers. For example, NEW HALL n. is used as a modifier ‘designating china or porcelain produced at New Hall, Shelton, Staffordshire’, as in ‘New Hall porcelain is difficult to identify.’ New Hall can also occasionally be used on its own, not as a modifier, for example in ‘four milk white cups and saucers which..might be early New Hall.’ This use is described as ‘Also absol. : New Hall ware.’
Similarly, Asperger’s syndrome (at ASPERGER n.) can be abbreviated as Asperger’s , as in ‘people with Asperger’s’; this use is described as ‘in the genitive, used absol. ‘

In unrevised OED entries, the label absol. is used in various additional ways, especially:

To describe uses such as the rich in ‘the rich are different from you and me.’ Adjectives normally modify nouns (e.g. ‘the rich people’ or ‘those people are rich’), but in ‘the rich are different from you and me’, rich does not modify another noun, but instead functions as a noun. In revised OED entries, such uses are treated as nouns.
To describe an intransitive use of a verb when the direct object is implied or understood. For example, in ‘I like to bake’, bake is intransitive, but we can infer a direct object such as ‘bread’ or ‘cakes’ (that is, ‘I like to bake’ means ‘I like to bake cakes, bread, etc.’). In revised OED entries, such uses are described as intransitive.

An abstract noun denotes something immaterial such as an idea, quality, state, or action (as opposed to a concrete noun , which denotes a physical object, place, person, or animal).

ABIDING adj. 2 is defined as ‘Lasting, enduring; long-lived; permanent. Now usually modifying an abstract noun.’ Examples with abstract nouns include ‘abiding memories’ and ‘abiding love’.
At PITH n., the branch with ‘Abstract uses’ includes senses such as ‘physical strength or force’ (as in ‘Mr. Starrs’s pith and vigor belie his 60ish age’) and ‘succinctness, conciseness’ (as in ‘He writes with pith and humour’).

In some inflected languages, the accusative case is used to indicate nouns and pronouns (as well as adjectives used to modify them) which function as the direct object of a verb .

Old English, which was an inflected language, possessed an accusative case, and it survived into the Middle English period, but then fell almost entirely out of use. The nearest equivalent in modern standard English, the objective case, is marked only in the objective pronouns me , him , etc., which are used as direct objects in sentences such as ‘I like him’. The objective pronouns reflect a merger of the accusative and dative forms.

WEND v. 1 8a, ‘To betake oneself; to make one’s way’, includes a note commenting: ‘In Old English with reflexive pronoun in the accusative or (as with other verbs of motion) in the dative.’ This applies to uses such as hine (the accusative form of he in Old English) in ‘He wende hine lithwon fram him & weop’ (meaning ‘He moved away from them a little and wept’).
HIM pron. 1b, ‘As the object of a preposition’, includes a note commenting: ‘Also with prepositions that originally took a complement in the accusative in Old English, replacing hine (see HINE 1b)’. This reflects the merger of the dative and accusative case in the pronouns (in Old English dative him and accusative hine ).

In an active sentence or clause , the grammatical subject typically refers to the person or thing which carries out or causes the action expressed by the verb .

For example, ‘My dog broke your vase’, ‘The authorities will prosecute trespassers’, ‘John speaks Spanish’, and ‘The wind howled’ are all active sentences. Many types of active sentence can be converted into passives, for example ‘Your vase was broken by my dog’ (see passive ).

The verb form used in an active clause is called an active verb: for example, broke is active whereas was broken is passive.

Example in the OED :

Active uses are sometimes mentioned by way of contrast with passive uses. For example, SPOUSE v. 1 covers the use ‘as an active verb’ in the sense ‘To give in marriage’, as in ‘I haue spoused you to one husband.’ This sense is now obsolete, but the corresponding passive sense ‘To be married or betrothed to’ is still current, as in ‘Ogden was twice spoused to Indian women.’

An adjective is a word expressing an attribute and qualifying a noun , noun phrase , or pronoun so as to describe it more fully. For example, the underlined words in the following are adjectives: the old man; a delicious piece of cake; nuclear weapons; she is sensible .

The category of adjectives is one of the parts of speech .

See also participial adjective , possessive adjective .

Entries for adjectives have the part-of-speech label adjective (or adj .), for example CHEERFUL adj., RENDERED adj. Some entries are divided into more than one part of speech: for example, ROBOTLIKE adj. and adv. is divided into a section showing its use as an adjective (as in ‘some little robot-like noise’, where it is an adjective modifying the noun noise ) and a section showing its use as an adverb (as in ‘he plodded robotlike through college’, where it is an adverb modifying the verb plod ).
At EYE n. 1 1c, examples such as ‘dazzling blue eyes’ and ‘the frank brown eyes’ are described as being ‘modified by an adjective (as blue , brown , etc.)’.

adverb ( adv. )

An adverb is a word which modifies the meaning of a verb , an adjective , another adverb, or a whole clause or sentence, and which typically expresses manner (e.g. he spoke quietly ), degree (e.g. she is very clever ), or a circumstance such as place, direction, or time (e.g. come here ; they arrived yesterday ).

In English, adverbs (especially adverbs of manner) are often formed from adjectives with the addition of the suffix -ly , e.g. angrily (from angry ), nicely (from nice ), and strangely (from strange ). Some adverbs have the same form as the related adjective: for example, fast is an adjective in ‘a fast car’, and an adverb in ‘she drives fast’.

In English, adverbs of direction are frequently used with verbs to form phrasal verbs , for example run away , fall down , take off , heat up . Words like down, off, and up can also take noun phrases as complements, in which case they are prepositions : for example, down is an adverb in he fell down but a preposition in he fell down the stairs.

The category of adverbs is one of the parts of speech .

adverbial, adverbially

If a word or phrase is adverbial , or is used adverbially , it is used as or like an adverb .

An adverbial is one of the five possible elements of a sentence or clause , the others being subject , verb , object , and complement . An adverbial frequently takes the form of an adverb (e.g. happily, often, there ), adverb phrase (e.g. quite happily, very often, over there ), or prepositional phrase (e.g. with happiness, at the weekend, on a bench ). Like adverbs, adverbials typically express manner, time, or place. Adverbials are often optional, and their position in a sentence is usually flexible, as in ‘I visited my parents at the weekend’/’At the weekend I visited my parents.’

One of the senses of the phrase kind of is ‘Used adverbially: in a way, in a manner of speaking; to some extent or degree, somewhat; in some way, somehow.’ In this use, kind of functions like an adverb in that it modifies adjectives and verbs, for example in ‘It’s kind of terrible’ and ‘You kind of feel sorry for him.’
Adverbial is used in the OED to describe compounds in which the first element is a noun or adjective functioning like an adverb. For example, NIGHT n. contains a compounds section with the heading ‘Adverbial, in the sense “by night”, “during the night”.’ The compounds include night-haunted (‘some night-haunted ruin’) and night-warbling adj. (‘the night-warbling frogs’), in which night behaves like an adverb in that it modifies the adjectives haunted and warbling .
TRAIN v. 1 sense 14 ‘ To go by train, travel by railway’ is described as ‘Usually with adverbial’, because in this sense train is usually used with adverbials expressing direction or destination, as in ‘The men..all trained from Winchester to Farnham.’

An agent noun is a noun that is derived from a verb and denotes the person or thing that carries out the action expressed by that verb. In English, agent nouns are formed by adding the suffix – er or -or to a verb, for example teacher, fastener, editor, accelerator.

CUSTOMARY n. 5b is defined as ‘Modifying an agent noun: that habitually does the action specified.’ Examples include customary offender (a person who habitually offends) and customary smoker (a person who habitually smokes).
At CHOCOLATE n. C2, compounds such as chocolate lover (a person who loves chocolate) and chocolate maker (a person who makes chocolate) are described as ‘with agent nouns’.

agree, agreement

Grammatical agreement refers to the fact of two (or more) elements in a clause or sentence having the same grammatical person , number , gender , or case . In modern English, the main type of agreement takes place between the subject and the verb of a clause. For example, in ‘This apple tastes delicious’, both the subject ( This apple ) and the verb ( tastes ) are in the singular form: they have singular agreement . In ‘These apples taste delicious’, both the subject ( These apples ) and the verb ( taste ) are in the plural form: they have plural agreement .

Sometimes a noun (or sense of a noun) has a plural form, but agrees with a singular verb. For example, in ‘Politics is interesting’, the plural noun politics is the subject of the singular verb form is : it has singular agreement. By contrast, in ‘His politics are fascistic’, politics is the subject of the plural verb form are : it has plural agreement.

In some varieties of English, collective nouns, which have a singular form but a collective meaning (for example audience, family, and team ) may be used with either singular or plural agreement. For example, in British English it would be acceptable to say either ‘The team has lost’ (singular agreement) or ‘The team have lost’ (plural agreement); in American English, however, the latter is much less common.

CUSTOM n. 3b is defined as ‘In plural (with singular or plural agreement). The government department or agency which levies and collects customs duties, and which controls the flow of goods into and out of a country.’ In this sense, the plural form customs is used, but the agreement may be either singular (as in ‘Customs has widened its net’) or plural (as in ‘Canadian customs are notoriously hard-assed about drugs’).
In English, adjectives can often be converted into nouns referring to groups of people, for example the rich, the poor, the needy. These often have plural agreement, which is specified in OED . For example, RIGHT-THINKING n. is defined as ‘With plural agreement. With the . Right-thinking people as a class’, with examples such as ‘If the right-thinking are to achieve their great aim of abolishing war [etc.]’.

An anaphoric word or phrase is one which refers back to a word or phrase previously used in a text or conversation. Pronouns are frequently used anaphorically: for example, in ‘Clare arrived late, so I was really annoyed with her’, her is anaphoric, referring back to Clare . A related term is cataphoric , which describes words or phrases which refer forward.

THEY pron. 2 is defined as ‘In anaphoric reference to a singular noun or pronoun of undetermined gender : he or she’, covering examples such as ‘When somebody becomes prime minister they’re immediately put on a pedestal’. Here, they refers anaphorically to somebody .
TIME n. 2 is defined as ‘A particular period indicated or characterized in some way, either explicitly (usu. with of ) or by anaphoric reference (as at the time , etc.).’ The type with of includes examples such as ‘In the time of our childhood…’ The type with anaphoric reference includes examples such as ‘We had a happy childhood. At that time…’, where that time refers anaphorically to a happy childhood.

An antecedent is a word or phrase which is referred back to by a pronoun or other pro-form . For example, in ‘Michael took the children with him’, Michael is the antecedent of the pronoun him. Specifically, an antecedent is a word or phrase referred back to by a relative pronoun or other relative word. For example, in ‘I went to get my coat, which I had left in the hall’, my coat is the antecedent of the relative pronoun which.

HE pron. II covers uses of he ‘as antecedent pronoun with postmodifying clause or phrase.’ Examples include uses of he followed by a relative clause: for example, in ‘He who communicates information affects its impact’, he is the antecedent of the relative pronoun who .

anticipatory

In a sentence such as ‘It is nice to meet you’, it is the grammatical subject but stands in for or ‘anticipates’ the semantic subject, which is the clause ‘to meet you’: the sentence could be rephrased as ‘To meet you is nice’. When used in this way, it is described as anticipatory . The anticipated clause is typically an infinitive (as in ‘It is nice to meet you’) or a that -clause (as in ‘It is nice that you could come’).

It is sometimes used as an anticipatory object : that is, as a direct object which anticipates a following clause. For example, in ‘I took it that he wasn’t too happy about the prospect’, it anticipates the clause that he wasn’t too happy about the prospect .

At CUSTOMARY adj. 4a there is a note ‘In later use frequently in predicative use with it as anticipatory subject and infinitive as complement’, referring to examples such as ‘It was customary to have very long troops of kindred and friends at the betrothal.’
RUMOUR v. 2a is described as ‘Frequently in passive with anticipatory it as subject and subordinate clause’, referring to examples such as ‘It was rumoured amongst the common People.. that the Plague was in the City.’

apodosis and protasis

Conditional sentences such as ‘If I had more money, I would buy it’ are made up of two clauses : one clause, which usually begins with if , expresses the condition (in this case, ‘If I had more money’) and the other clause expresses the consequence (in this case, ‘I would buy it’). The clause expressing the condition is called the protasis , and the clause expressing the consequence is called the apodosis .

DO v. 32b(b) describes the use of did in place of an if -clause ‘in the protasis of a conditional sentence’, giving examples such as ‘my dear friend, did I want your aid I would accept it.’
CAN v. 1 16 describes the use of could ‘in the main clause (apodosis) of a conditional sentence’, giving examples such as ‘I could get that open if I had my metal card’ and ‘we could have gone public if we wanted to.’

When two or more grammatical units (especially nouns or noun phrases ) in a sentence refer to the same person or thing, and (typically) have the same role within the sentence, they are said to be in apposition . For example, in ‘Her father, the vicar, would have been shocked’, the noun phrases ‘Her father’ and ‘the vicar’ are in apposition: they refer to the same person, and both function as the subject of the sentence.

At TOWN n., sense 4c is defined as ‘In apposition to a place name, as London town , Dublin town , etc.’ The quotation paragraph illustrating this sense includes further examples, such as Liverpool town and Oxford town .

An appositive compound is one in which the compound ‘X-Y’ means ‘both X and Y’ (i.e. the two elements are in apposition ). Such compounds can be either nouns or adjectives .

Appositive compounds are often nouns, in which both the first and second elements are nouns. For example, BABY n. contains a compounds section with the heading ‘Appositive’, including baby girl (a girl that is a baby), baby sister (a sister that is a baby), and baby bird (a bird that is a baby). Other examples of appositive compounds are actor-manager (a person who is both an actor and a manager), pianist-composer (a person who is both a pianist and a composer), and fridge-freezer (an appliance possessing separate refrigerator and freezer compartments).
Appositive compounds can also be adjectives, in which both the first and second elements are adjectives: for example, rhythmic-melodic (both rhythmic and melodic), metaphysical-epistemic (both metaphysical and epistemic).

An article is one of a small set of words (in English, the , a , and an ) which limit the application of nouns . Articles are either definite or indefinite. The main function of the definite article (in English, the ) is to specify the noun given, while the indefinite article (in English, a or an ) marks a noun as being generic.

The examples at EASTWARD n.2 are described as ‘With definite article’. In these examples, eastward occurs with the , as in ‘A small river dropped over a steep cuesta a quarter-mile to the eastward.’
KNOWLEDGE n. 4c is described as ‘Also with indefinite article’, because knowledge can occur with a in uses such as ‘I had been born with a knowledge of its sleights and deceptions.’
The examples at CHURCH n. 1 1b are described as ‘Without article’. In these examples, church occurs without the or a , such as ‘people going in and out of church’ or ‘time spent in church’.
NOUVEAU ROMAN, n. is described as ‘Occasionally with French definite article’ because this noun, borrowed from French, can occur with French le (‘the’), as in the example ‘The novelists of le nouveau roman devise the techniques and situations.’

attributive

An attributive adjective directly modifies a noun or noun phrase, usually preceding it (e.g. ‘a warm day’) but sometimes following it as a postmodifier (e.g. ‘the astronomer royal’ ). Attributive adjectives are contrasted with predicative adjectives, which are linked to a noun or noun phrase by a verb (e.g. ‘the day was warm’ ).

POOR adj. in the sense ‘That provokes sympathy or compassion’ (in quotations such as ‘He looked dreadfully weak still, poor fellow!’) is labelled attributive , because poor in this sense is not used predicatively (you would not say, with the same meaning, ‘That fellow was poor’).

A noun or phrase which modifies another noun or phrase may also be described as attributive .

FOOTBALL n. has several compounds sections described as attributive , covering uses of football modifying another noun, e.g. football team and football tournament .
The definition of just the facts ma’am is followed by ‘Also attributive ‘ because this phrase is also used as a modifier, as in a just-the-facts-ma’am historian .

[This sense of attributive is used in unrevised OED entries and in entries revised before 2019. In entries or parts of entries revised since 2019, examples of this type are described as uses of the noun or phrase ‘as a modifier’.]

auxiliary verb, auxiliary

An auxiliary verb is one of a small category of verbs which have a grammatical rather than a lexical role; they are used in combination with other verbs, for example to form particular tenses and constructions. For instance, have is an auxiliary verb (forming the perfect ) in ‘They have sold their house’, where it is used in combination with the main verb sold . By contrast, have is a main verb in ‘They have a lovely house’, where it has lexical meaning (‘own, possess’) and is not used to support another verb.

In English, the primary auxiliary verbs are be, have, and do; modal verbs such as can, must, etc., are also a type of auxiliary verb. An auxiliary verb is sometimes referred to simply as an auxiliary .

DO v. is divided into two sense branches: I. ‘As a main verb’ and II. ‘As an auxiliary.’ The latter shows the various uses of do as an auxiliary verb, for example in many types of negative sentences (e.g. ‘If you do not give a plain answer‥you will be committed’, in which it supports the main verb give ) and questions (e.g. ‘What do you mean?’, in which it supports the main verb mean ).
WANT v. sense 7b is defined as ‘In passive without auxiliary verb. In advertisements, notices, etc.: sought, required.’ This sense covers uses such as ‘Wanted, experienced Advertising Assistant’, where wanted is in the passive but without the auxiliary verb be which is usually used to form the passive. (The example with the auxiliary verb be would be ‘An experienced Advertising Assistant is wanted.’)

bare infinitive

See infinitive .

The base form of a verb is the form without any inflections : for example, walk is the base form, and the inflected forms are walked, walks, and walking.

MUST- comb. form is defined as ‘Prefixed to the base form of a verb, forming nouns and adjectives which denote things that are essential, obligatory, or highly recommended.’ An example is ‘the must-mention statistics’, where must is prefixed to the base form of the verb’
USE v. 21b(c) describes uses ‘In negative contexts in base form with do -construction ( did not use to )’, for example ‘It didn’t use to be like this’. The form here is the base form use , whereas related constructions show the past tense form used, as in ‘It used to be like this’ or ‘It used not to be like this’.

More generally, the base form of a word is the main part to which other elements (such as prefixes and suffixes ) may be added. For example, child is a base form, to which may be added the suffix – ish, to form childish.

A case is an inflected form of a noun , pronoun , or adjective which expresses its grammatical relationship with other words. For example, the fact that a noun is in the nominative case indicates that it is the subject of the verb .

Old English had four full cases: nominative, accusative , genitive , and dative , as well as traces of instrumental and locative cases. However, this case system largely disappeared during the Middle English period, and the functions served by cases in Old English are mostly performed by other means in Modern English. The only survivals of the case system are the inflected forms of pronouns (e.g. he , him , his ) and the possessive marker ‘s in, for example, John’s book , which is the modern equivalent of the old genitive case ending -es .

A cataphoric word or phrase is one which refers forward to a word or phrase used subsequently in a text or conversation. Pronouns are frequently used cataphorically: for example, in ‘If you see him, please tell Bob to call’, him is cataphoric, referring forward to Bob. A related term is anaphoric , which describes words or phrases which refer back.

KNOW v. 11e is defined as ‘With it, that, the fact , etc., used anaphorically or cataphorically in place of a fact referred to.’ An example is ‘The Prime Minister doesn’t know it yet but he’s going to get a visit’, in which it is cataphoric, referring forward to he’s going to get a visit .
ANY pron. 2a is defined as ‘With anaphoric or cataphoric reference: one or some (of that previously or subsequently mentioned).’ An example is ‘If you have any, you should sell your rings’, in which any is cataphoric, referring forward to rings .

A causative verb (or sense of a verb) is one that expresses causation: for example, raise can be described as a causative verb (as it means ’cause to rise’) and spill is causative in ‘I spilled the milk’ (meaning ‘I caused the milk to spill’).

SEE v. 23c is defined as ‘Of a time, place, or other context: to be the setting in which (an event, development, etc.) takes place. In later use sometimes with causative sense: to result in (an event, development, etc.).’ An example of the causative sense is ‘An injury-time goal saw the team go out to Levski Sofia’: the goal by the other team was the cause of the loss.

A clause is a grammatical unit which typically contains a verb (or verb phrase ), and which may be a complete sentence in itself or may form part of a sentence.

For example, the sentence ‘I like folk music’ consists of one clause, while the sentence ‘I like folk music but I’m not keen on jazz’ consists of two clauses linked by but. Clauses (specifically, subordinate clauses ) often function as direct objects , for example in ‘She admitted that she wasn’t keen on jazz.’

See also main clause , non-finite , relative clause , that -clause .

At AUGUR v. 1, meaning ‘to predict; to anticipate’, there is a set of quotations described as ‘With clause as object’. For example, in ‘I do not pretend to augur what the courts will do’, the clause ‘what the courts will do’ functions as the direct object of augur.
AND conj. 1 describes uses ‘Connecting coordinate clauses or sentences’. An example containing several clauses linked by and is ‘He saw the priest bend down and kiss the altar and then face about and bless all the people.’

cognate object

When the direct object of a verb is related to that verb in both form and meaning, it is a cognate object . For example, in she sang a beautiful song and I dreamed a dream , the nouns song and dream are cognate objects, as they are related to the verbs sing and dream.

LAUGH v. 4b is defined as ‘With cognate object. To emit (a laugh or laughter).’ Examples include ‘Theodore laughs a big wheezy laugh’ and ‘Laugh out whatever laughter at the hearth rings clear.’ The nouns laugh and laughter are both related to the verb laugh : they are cognate objects.

collective noun

A collective noun is a noun which, in its singular form, refers to a group of people or things considered collectively. Collective nouns in English include audience, committee, family, parliament, and team.

THROUGH prep. 2 is defined as ‘With plural or collective noun as complement: between or among (the individual people or things in a group or mass)…’ In this sense, through may be followed either by a plural noun (e.g. ‘I went on, as fast as I could get along through the boxes’) or a collective noun (e.g. ‘She slipped through the crowd’).

collocation, collocate

When two or more words are juxtaposed, especially when they are habitually juxtaposed, they are said to collocate or to be in collocation . A pair or group of words that are habitually juxtaposed is a collocation, or fixed collocation .

LAUGH v. P1i is described as ‘In collocation with cry , as one of two equally appropriate responses to a situation, event, etc.’ The examples show various uses in which laugh collocates with cry, g. ‘The viewer does not know whether to laugh or cry’ and ‘I’m so relieved I could laugh or cry.’
HAPPY adj. 2, in the sense ‘Of an event or period: marked by good fortune; fortunate, lucky, auspicious; prosperous; favourable, propitious’, is said to be ‘Now only in certain fixed collocations (as happy accident, happy coincidence, happy position ).’
At LONGCOAT n. 1, ‘Any of various garments covering the upper body and reaching below the waist’, there is a comment: ‘Perhaps not a fixed collocation in some early quots.’ That is, some of the early uses of longcoat or long coat may not be fixed uses referring to a specific type of garment, but may simply mean ‘a coat that is long’.

combination

A combination is any word or phrase made up of two or more words or elements . One word or other element may be described as in combination with another.

combining form (comb. form)

A combining form is an element used in combination with another element (either at the beginning or the end) to form a new word.

The adjective ANGLO-AMERICAN is formed by attaching the combining form ANGLO- to the adjective AMERICAN.
The noun BIOLOGY is made up of two combining forms: BIO- and -LOGY.

The difference between a combining form and a prefix or suffix has been drawn in different ways by different authorities. In the OED, a combining form carries full meaning on its own and typically functions like a noun or an adjective. Combining forms are often Latin or Greek in origin.

common noun

A common noun is a noun which is not a name of an individual person, place, etc., but instead refers to a class of people, animals, places, things, etc., or any example of that class, or to an abstract concept or quality. Examples of common nouns in English include man , giraffe , countryside , mountain , automobile , time , beauty , and sadness .

Compare proper noun | proper name .

The term common noun is sometimes used in the OED by way of contrast with proper noun .

The use of tomfool ‘as a common noun’ meaning ‘a foolish or stupid person’ is treated at TOMFOOL n. 1b. An example is ‘Any tomfool can pull people in once.’
BRUIN n., meaning ‘a bear’, is described as ‘formerly chiefly as a proper name, now more usually as a common noun’. One of the examples in which it is used as a common noun is ‘The bruin was feeding on the lower end of an avalanche slide.’

comparative

A comparative adjective or adverb is one which expresses a higher degree of the quality or attribute denoted by an adjective or adverb.

In English the comparative degree is usually expressed by adding – er (e.g. fast er ) to the adjective or adverb, or by using more as a modifier (e.g. more polite ). However, in some cases it is expressed by a word from a different root (e.g. better is the comparative of good , and worse is the comparative of bad ).

Compare positive , superlative .

At WAY adv. 2c, ‘by a great amount; much, far’, uses ‘preceding too or a comparative adjective or adverb’ are exemplified. An example in which way precedes a comparative adjective is: ‘You’re way prettier than she is.’ An example in which it precedes a comparative adverb is: ‘Arrive way sooner.’

A complement is a word, phrase , or clause that completes the meaning of another word. For example, in ‘She is fond of chocolate’, the phrase of chocolate is the complement of fond ; in ‘He resented the fact that she was always late’, the clause that she was always late is the complement of fact.

The phrase to death at DEATH n. P1a is defined as ‘As complement expressing a physical consequence: so that the person or animal in question dies.’ This covers uses such as starve to death, in which to death is the complement of starve .

More specifically, a complement may be a noun , adjective , or phrase which describes or refers to the subject of the clause, and is linked to the subject by a copular verb such as be, become, or For example, in ‘Jane is a dentist’, a dentist is the complement (describing the subject Jane ); in ‘The answer seemed obvious’, obvious is the complement (describing the subject the answer ). Such complements are subject complements .

Similarly, a complement may be a noun , adjective , or phrase which expresses the state or condition of the object of the clause resulting from the action of the verb. For example, in ‘They elected her president’, president is the complement (describing the object her ); in ‘Chocolate usually makes children happy’, happy is the complement (describing the object children ). Such complements are object complements .

Examples in the OED:

LOOK v. 11b is defined as ‘With various complements. To have the appearance, or give the impression, of being; to seem to the sight or to the mind.’ This covers uses of look with various subject complements including adjectives (‘It looks good to me’), nouns (‘The sports ground looked a treat’), and phrases (‘Henry looked in great anxiety’).
At NICKNAME v. 2, ‘To give a nickname to (a person); to call by a nickname’, there is a group of quotations described as ‘With complement’. An example is ‘The satirists of the age nicknamed him Lord Allpride’, where Lord Allpride is the object complement of the verb.

complementary

A complementary compound is a compound (usually an adjective ) in which the first element expresses the complement of the verb underlying the second element. The first element is usually an adjective and the second element is usually a present participle relating to appearance or impression, e.g. -looking , -seeming , – sounding . For example, strange-looking means ‘that looks strange’ (in which strange is the complement of look ).

CHEERFUL adj., has a compounds section with the heading ‘Complementary’. Included here are cheerful-looking (that looks cheerful) and cheerful-sounding (that sounds cheerful), as well as quotations for cheerful-seeming (that seems cheerful) and cheerful-appearing (that appears cheerful).

compound, compounding

A compound is a word or lexical unit formed by combining two or more words (a process called compounding ). Compounds may be formed in many ways: common types in English include noun + noun (e.g. bookcase ), adjective + noun (e.g. blackbird ), noun + adjective (e.g. tax-free ), noun + past participle (e.g. handmade ), and verb + adverb (often based on phrasal verbs , e.g. lookout ).

Some compounds are typically spelled as single words (e.g. blackbird, handmade ), some as separate words (e.g. atom bomb, living room ), and some with hyphens (e.g. tax-free, mother-in-law ). With many compounds there is variation among these options.

For specific classifications of compounds in the OED, see appositive , attributive , complementary , instrumental , locative , objective , parasynthetic , and similative .

See how the OED displays compounds within the dictionary

A concrete noun denotes a physical object, place, person, or animal (as opposed to an abstract noun, which denotes something immaterial such as an idea, quality, state, or action).

At PITH n., the branch with ‘Concrete uses’ includes senses such as ‘the soft internal tissue of a plant part’ (as in ‘Peel the oranges with a sharp knife, discarding all the bitter white pith’).

conditional

A conditional clause is a clause , typically beginning with if or unless, which expresses a condition. For example, in ‘If my car breaks down again, I will have to buy a new one’, the clause if my car breaks down again is a conditional clause. A sentence or statement which contains a conditional clause may be described as a conditional sentence or statement.

AGREEABLE adj. 3, ‘Of a person: willing to agree to something’, is described as ‘In later use chiefly in conditional statements.’ An example is: ‘Well, sir, if Ann’s agreeable, I say ditto.’
BE v. P3d describes the use of were it not for and if it were not for in forming ‘conditional clauses expressing exception’. An example of a conditional clause introduced by if it were not for is: ‘A small-print floral dress in lilac—very like a housecoat print, if it were not for the exotic background of inky black.’

conjunction (conj.)

A conjunction is a word used to connect other words, phrases , clauses , or sentences. And , but , or , if , when , although , because , and unless are all common conjunctions in English. Some conjunctions consist of more than one word, for example as soon as ; these may be described as compound conjunctions .

The category of conjunctions is one of the parts of speech .

Entries for conjunctions have the part-of-speech label conjunction (or conj. ). For example, the use of unless as a conjunction, as in ‘I am never angry with anybody unless they deserve it’, is treated at UNLESS conj.
ACCOUNT n. P1d(b) describes the use of the phrase on account as a ‘compound conjunction’ meaning ‘on account of the fact that; because’, giving examples such as ‘the priests said give her work on account she was a charity’.

construction

A construction is any group of words functioning together grammatically. For example, the string of words want to come is a construction consisting of a verb and an infinitive ; the phrase be going to in ‘I’m going to leave now’ is a construction used to express future time; and the phrase Maureen’s coat is a genitive construction.

The phrase by a long shot at LONG SHOT n. 2b, ‘by a considerable amount, by far; at all, to any extent’, is described as ‘Chiefly used emphatically in negative constructions’, as it is normally used in patterns such as not by a long shot.
If a word is normally used with another grammatical element, a use of that word on its own may be described as ‘Without construction’. For example, BELONG v. is normally followed by a prepositional phrase (e.g. ‘This hat belongs to me’) or adverb (e.g. ‘She doesn’t belong here’). In uses like ‘People also feel they want to belong’, there is no following preposition or adverb, and this use is described at sense 4c.: ‘Without construction. Of a person: to have the right personal or social qualities to be a member of a particular group; to fit in.’

construed (const., constr.)

In unrevised OED entries, the abbreviations const. and constr. are often used to indicate that a word is construed with – that is, combined grammatically with – another word or phrase. For example, in the unrevised version of OBLIVIOUS adj., uses such as ‘he was soon oblivious of this’ were described as ‘Const. of ‘. In the revised version, they are described as ‘With of ‘.

copular verb | copula

A copular verb links the subject of a sentence with a complement (usually a noun or adjective ) which describes or gives more information about the subject. For example, in the sentence ‘Jane is a dentist’, the verb is (a form of be ) is a copular verb, linking the subject ( Jane ) with a complement ( a dentist ) which tells us more about Jane. The main copular verb in English is be; others include become (e.g. in ‘Jane became a dentist’), remain (e.g. in ‘it remained a mystery’), seem (e.g. in ‘everything seems in order’), taste (e.g. in ‘this soup tastes awful’), and the like.

A copular verb is sometimes referred to simply as a copula .

Branch III. of BE v. is described as ‘With adjective, noun, or adjectival phrase, acting as simple copula: stating of what sort or what something is.’ This branch covers uses of be such as ‘I might not be unhappy’, ‘they are two months old’, and ‘my Disorder was a Haemorrhage’. (Other branches show non-copular uses of be , for example its use in the sense ‘exist’, as in ‘I think, therefore I am’, and its use as an auxiliary verb, as in ‘The bells were ringing’.)
At the phrase on the ( also one’s) way at WAY n. 1 P2g, there is a section described as ‘As the predicate of to be (or occasionally another copular verb).’ Most of the examples show the phrase following be (for example ‘The young men‥were on their way home’ and ‘The scheme was well on its way towards realization’) but other copular verbs are possible (for example, one could say ‘The scheme seemed well on its way towards realization’).

A count noun is a noun which typically has both a singular form and a plural form, can be used with a numeral, and in the singular must be used with an article or other determiner .

Car , strawberry , and laptop are all typically count nouns: you can say I have one car , We had strawberries for dessert , or She was working on her laptop (but you would not say I have car, We had strawberry for dessert , or She was working on laptop ). Compare mass noun.

Some nouns can be used either as a count noun or as a mass noun . For example, noise is a count noun in ‘I can hear a strange noise’, but a mass noun in ‘Stop making noise’.

The use of knavery to mean ‘an act that is characteristic of a knave’ is treated at KNAVERY n. 1b, where the definition is introduced by ‘as a count noun’. One of the examples quoted is ‘there are men and women living on crusts in garrets because of his knaveries’.
The use of blood to mean ‘the blood of an individual, species, etc.’ is treated at BLOOD n. 1a, where the definition for this strand is introduced by ‘also (as a count noun)’. One of the examples of this use is ‘at marriage, their bodies were cicatrised and bloods mixed’.

In some inflected languages, the dative case is typically used to indicate nouns and pronouns (as well as adjectives used to modify them) which function as the indirect object of a verb .

Old English, which was an inflected language, possessed a dative case, and it survived into the Middle English period but then fell almost entirely out of use. The nearest equivalent in modern standard English, the objective case, is marked only in the objective pronouns me , him , etc., which are used as indirect objects in sentences such as ‘I gave him the book’. The objective pronouns reflect a merger of the dative and accusative forms.

ABOW v. 1b, ‘To bow down to, to pay homage to’, is noted as being constructed ‘in Old and early Middle English with dative’. This applies to examples such as þam deofle ‘to the devil’ in ‘næfre þam deofle ne abugan to forwyrde’ (meaning ‘never bow down to the Devil to its [i.e. the soul’s] destruction’).
SHOW v. 3a, ‘To expose or exhibit to view’, is described as ‘Often with the viewer as indirect object (in Old English in dative)’. The Old English example ‘He sceolde‥sceawan him alle þa ðing’ (meaning ‘He was‥to show him all the things’) contains the dative pronoun

declarative

A declarative sentence or clause typically makes a statement, and has basic word order, with the subject followed by the verb . For example, ‘I must leave now’ is a declarative sentence. Declaratives are contrasted with interrogatives (such as ‘Must you leave now?’) and imperatives (such as ‘Leave now!’).

At DO v., examples such as ‘He did design a new house’ are described as showing do ‘In affirmative declarative sentences’, while examples such as ‘I don’t see smoking as a ritual’ are described as showing do ‘In negative declarative sentences’.

definite article

see article.

demonstrative

A demonstrative is one of a small set of words which limit the application of nouns by indicating the person or thing referred to. In modern standard English, the demonstratives are this, these, those , and that . There are two main types of demonstratives: demonstrative pronouns (which stand in place of a noun, as in ‘this is my book’) and demonstrative determiners (which precede a noun, as in ‘this book is mine’).

The examples at ALL adv. 1b.(b) are described as ‘With it or a demonstrative pronoun as the subject of the verb’. Examples with a demonstrative pronoun as subject include ‘This is all Cherokee to me’ and ‘This is all the labour of his hypocritish emissary’.
THEY adj. 1 is described as a ‘demonstrative determiner’ because it has the same function as the demonstrative determiner those in certain contexts, for example in ‘they ribbons do flare out’ and ‘I thought it was they raiders coming to get us’.

direct object

See object .

direct question

A direct question is a question which is quoted as actually spoken (that is, in direct speech ), rather than being reported.

For example, in ‘“What did the doctor say?” asked Sue’, w hat did the doctor say? is a direct question because it is quoted. As an indirect question this would be: ‘Sue asked what the doctor said.’

At ASK v. 3a, examples are given of uses ‘with indirect or direct question as the second object’. An example with a direct question is: ‘then I asked him, “Is this goodbye?”.’

direct speech

Direct speech is speech which is quoted as actually spoken, rather than being reported (see indirect speech ). Speech of this type is typically indicated using quotation marks.

For example, in ‘“I demand my rights,” roared Paul’, I demand my rights is direct speech because it is quoted without modification. In indirect speech this would be: ‘Paul roared that he demanded his rights.’

MISGUESS v. 2a is described as sometimes occurring ‘with clause or direct speech as object’. An example with direct speech is: ‘“You’re having a baby!” her mother, longing for a grandchild, joyously mis-guessed.’

double object

In some contexts, a verb may take both a direct object and an indirect object . For example, in ‘I gave the children their dinner’, their dinner is the direct object and the children is the indirect object. This pair of objects may be referred to as a double object .

ASK v. 3 is defined as ‘With double object (the person and the matter in question).’ An example is ‘I ask him what that entailed’: what that entailed is the direct object, and him is the indirect object.

In modern English, nouns and pronouns may be either singular , referring to one person or thing ( child, table, I, he, etc.) or plural , referring to more than one person or thing ( children, tables, we, they, etc.). Some languages also have a dual category which distinguishes two people or things as opposed to one or to more than two. In Old English and early Middle English, there was a dual category of pronouns: for example, the pronoun WIT pron. was a dual pronoun meaning ‘we two’.

An element is a word, combining form , prefix , or suffix which is a component part of a larger construction (a compound word, a clause , etc.).

In the OED , element most often refers to a component part of a compound. For example, ABIDING adj. 3 describes uses of abiding ‘As the second element in compounds forming adjectives’, with the sense ‘remaining true to, standing by (what is denoted by the first element)’. The quotation paragraph includes the compound adjectives Constitution-abiding , rule-abiding , and code-abiding .

ellipsis, elliptical

Ellipsis occurs when a word or group of words is omitted from a sentence or utterance but is understood from the context. A sentence or use of words involving ellipsis is described as elliptical .

KNOW v. 11g(b) is defined as ‘In elliptical use: to have knowledge of a fact previously mentioned or contextually implied.’ An example is ‘I do not care how they travel, and I do not want to know.’ The fuller form of this sentence would be ‘I do not care how they travel, and I do not want to know how they travel’: the final clause is omitted as it can be understood from the context.
At GONNA v., meaning ‘am/is going to’, sense 2a(a) covers uses with a subject, e.g. ‘what I gonna do’ (with the subject I ). Sense 2a(b) covers uses ‘with ellipsis of subject’: for example, in ‘Gonna be a burner today’, the subject ( it ) is omitted.

In modern English, feminine forms are those which refer to females: the pronouns she , her , hers , herself , the possessive adjective her , and a few suffixes such as -ess .

In languages with grammatical gender , feminine nouns and related words often refer to females but do not necessarily do so. Old English had three grammatical genders (masculine, feminine, and neuter), and while many feminine nouns referred to women or female animals (for example cwen ‘woman’, ‘queen’), others did not (for example tunge ‘tongue’).

A filler , or conversational filler , is a word or phrase used without lexical meaning, simply to fill in what might otherwise be an unwanted pause in an utterance or conversation.

AH int. 7 is defined as ‘As a conversational filler, expressing hesitation, inarticulacy, etc.’, with examples as ‘Of course—ah—as I said—it wouldn’t be much—but—ah—it should care for the—ah—bank loan.’
I mean at MEAN v. 1 is defined as ‘used parenthetically in conversation (or in writing imitating conversational style) as a filler, with little or no explanatory force.’ One of the examples given is ‘Well I mean a lot of these things that are happening, well they just don’t quite ring true’, where there is no sense that the speaker is explaining what he means: I mean is simply filling in a pause.

A finite verb form is one that is marked for tense . For example, in ‘The children ate’, ate is a finite verb, marked for past tense. Finite verbs are often used in combination with non-finite verbs: for example, in ‘The children were eating’, the verb phrase were eating is made up of the finite verb were (which is the past tense plural form of be ) and the non-finite verb eating (the present participle of eat ).

A clause which contains a finite verb (even if it also contains a non-finite verb) is a finite clause . For example, ‘The children were eating’ is a finite clause.

At as though at AS adv. and conj. P2b, uses such as ‘as though Magnus was more afraid of Harold than of Sweyn’ and ‘I thanke you as much as though I did’ are described as ‘With finite clause’, as the clauses contain verbs that are marked for tense ( was and did ). These contrast with uses ‘With non-finite clause’, for example ‘as though performing an incantation’.

first person

Pronouns in the first person indicate the person (or group of people) speaking or writing. The first person pronouns (and related possessive adjectives ) in modern standard English are I, me, my, mine, myself; we, us, our, ours, ourselves. See also person , second person , third person .

In many languages, and in English in earlier periods, verbs also take different person forms. In modern English, the only verb which has a different form for the first person is be, with the first person singular present form am (as in ‘I am’).

ME pron. is described as ‘The objective case of the first person pronoun I .’
The phrase what do you say (if)… , meaning ‘how about…?’, is described as ‘typically with a first-person pronoun as the grammatical subject of the if -clause’. That is, typical uses are with I, as in ‘What do you say if I go run-hunting with you?’ or with we, as in ‘what do you say if we make a bargain?’

In some languages, nouns , pronouns , and related words are classified into categories called genders , which are distinguished by particular inflections . Grammatical genders include masculine , feminine , and neuter , but they are usually only loosely associated with particular sexes, and many words have a grammatical gender which does not correspond to the sex of the referent. For example, Old English wifmann ‘woman’ had masculine gender.

Old English possessed three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. However, the loss of the case system in Middle English meant that the distinctions between grammatical genders vanished almost completely.

Modern English is said to possess natural (rather than grammatical) gender, in that third person pronouns and possessive adjectives are classified according to the sex of the referent: he/she/it, his/her/its, etc.

In some inflected languages, the genitive case is used to indicate possession, close relationship, and similar concepts. Old English, as an inflected language, possessed a genitive case, which is reflected in modern standard English in pronouns and determiners (e.g. his , our) and in the ‘s in, for example, John’s book , which is the modern equivalent of the old genitive case ending -es . These survivals of the genitive case in modern English are generally classified as possessive .

MASTER n. 15b, in the form master’s (meaning a master’s degree) is analysed as ‘in the genitive, used ‘
FIREMAN n. has a compounds section with the heading ‘With the first element in the genitive ( fireman’s ).’ This contains lemmas such as fireman’s axe and fireman’s lift .

A gerund is a word (in modern English, ending in -ing ) which derives from a verb and has some verb -like properties but also some noun -like properties. For example, in ‘Eating your dinner noisily is impolite’ the gerund eating functions like a noun in that it is the subject of the sentence, but is similar to a verb in that it takes a direct object ( your dinner ) and is modified by an adverb ( noisily ).

A gerund is similar to a verbal noun , but a verbal noun does not have the verb-like properties that a gerund does.

At the phrase with a view to (VIEW n. P3b) meaning ‘with the aim or object of; with the intention to’, there is a section describing uses ‘followed by a gerund or (occasionally) verbal noun’. In ‘her father sent off some pictures of her to a modelling agency, with a view to establishing her as an actress’, the phrase is followed by a clause beginning with a gerund ( establishing ).
LIKE v. 1 4c describes the sense ‘to enjoy, have a taste for, or take pleasure in (an action, activity, condition, etc.)’ as ‘with gerund or verbal noun as object’. ‘I don’t like being recognised in the street’ is an example of its use with a gerund.

See also present participle and participial adjective .

The head of a grammatical phrase is the principal and typically obligatory part of that phrase. For example, the noun dress is the head of the noun phrase her long white dress; the adjective good is the head of the adjective phrase quite surprisingly good.

A adj. 1b describes uses of a ‘Following a determiner or adjective and preceding the noun head.’ For example, in ‘Is he really that big a sap?’, a directly precedes the noun sap, which is the head of the noun phrase that big a sap.

imperative (imper.)

An imperative form of a verb is used to express a command, request, or entreaty.

In English, the base form of a verb is used as the imperative, and imperative clauses typically lack a grammatical subject. For example, ‘Come here!’ is an imperative clause, and the verb come is in the imperative.

The imperative is one of the grammatical moods .

The phrase to get real at REAL adj. 2 P6 is described as ‘Now frequently in imperative , used to suggest that an idea or statement is foolish, overly idealistic, or quite wrong.’ An example of imperative use is ‘“Shit, Jo. I didn’t know he meant anything to you.” “Get real. He doesn’t.”’
YE pron. 2 is defined as ‘Used after an imperative, with singular or plural reference.’ Examples include ‘Hear ye! Hear ye!’ and ‘Go ye unto the villages’, in which ye follows verbs in the imperative ( hear and go ).

When a third person singular verb (such as thinks or owes ) is used without a grammatical subject , it is described as impersonal . Impersonal verbs are mainly found in Old and Middle English, and later in archaic use.

The obsolete verb AGRISE has a sense defined as ‘ To terrify’. This is illustrated with quotations such as ‘him agros’: him is not the grammatical subject (the subject form would be he ), but instead refers to the person affected; ‘him agros’ means ‘it was terrifying to him’.
METHINKS v. is labelled Methinks, which was originally written as two words, me thinks, comes from the obsolete verb THINK v. 1 meaning ‘to seem, appear’ (etymologically distinct from its homonym in current use, THINK v. 2 ). Me is not the grammatical subject (the subject form would be I ), and methinks means ‘it seems to me’; when Gertrude says ‘The lady doth protest too much, methinks’ ( Hamlet iii.2), she means ‘it seems to me that the lady protests too much’. Methinks has survived as an archaism in modern English, partly because it is easily reinterpreted as meaning ‘I think’.
The indefinite article in English is a or an : see article .
A pronoun is indefinite when it does not refer to a specific person or thing, but has vague, generic, or undefined reference. For example, something in ‘I heard something’ and one in ‘One should drink in moderation’ are indefinite pronouns.
The definition of the phrase to do (something) about (at ABOUT adv., prep. 1 , adj., and int. P2) includes ‘with what or indefinite pronoun as object’, because the direct object of do in this phrase is always either what or an indefinite pronoun such as something , anything, or nothing, as in ‘Do let us try to do something about these young men.’

The indicative is the most commonly used grammatical mood , used to express factual statements and beliefs (as opposed to commands, wishes, conditions, etc.). Statements such as ‘The children were playing’, ‘I am hungry’, ‘James left early’, ‘The prime minister made a terrible mistake’, and so on, are all in the indicative.

The term indicative is usually used by way of contrast with other grammatical moods such as the subjunctive.

At AFRAID adj. A. 1d(a) it is stated that the indicative (instead of the subjunctive) is used after to be afraid that in order to portray a feared situation as more factual or real: ‘with indicative, indicating an unpleasant probability or contemplated reality.’ Examples include ‘He was afraid that he was suffering from a brain-tumor’ and ‘Sarah was afraid that she had provoked a wild goose chase.’

indirect object

Indirect passive.

In the sentence ‘The teacher gave the children new books’, new books is the direct object of give, and the children is the indirect object . There are two ways of changing this sentence into a passive . The first is the usual type of passive in which the direct object becomes the subject: ‘New books were given to the children [by the teacher].’ The second type is the indirect passive , in which the indirect object becomes the subject: ‘The children were given new books [by the teacher].’

indirect question

An indirect question is a question which is reported in indirect speech , rather than being quoted as actually spoken (i.e. in direct speech ). Compare direct question .

For example, in ‘Jane asked what the doctor said’, what the doctor said is an indirect question because it is a report of the question Jane asked. As a direct question this would be: ‘“What did the doctor say?” asked Jane.’

At ASK v. 3a, examples are given of uses ‘with indirect or direct question as the second object’. An example with an indirect question is: ‘“He was in ‘a crew’”, he says. I ask him what that entailed.’

indirect speech

Indirect speech is speech which is reported and modified in person , tense , etc., rather than being quoted as actually spoken (see direct speech ).

For example, in ‘Paul roared that he demanded his rights’, that he demanded his rights is indirect speech because it is a report of what Paul roared. In direct speech this would be: ‘“I demand my rights,” Paul roared.’

At ANSWER v. 1b(b), uses ‘with direct or indirect speech’ are exemplified. An example with indirect speech is: ‘It was answered to him that‥the Abbot must stay in his monastery of St. Edmund’s.’

The infinitive form of a verb is the basic form, unmarked for tense , person , or number . In English, the infinitive is often preceded by to (in which case it is sometimes called a to- infinitive ), as in these examples:

I want to leave.
To err is human; to forgive, divine.
You must leave.
Help me open this.

In the OED , infinitive is used as the default term to refer to the infinitive with to ; to-infinitive is used if there is a contrast with the bare infinitive.

AFRAID adj. 1c is defined as ‘With infinitive: in fear of the consequences (to oneself) of doing something; not having courage to’. Examples include ‘He was afraid to go home’ and ‘Perhaps she has a Spanish lover and is afraid to tell you.’
At NEED v. 2 10, uses such as ‘We need not be anxious about their feelings for us’ are described as ‘With bare infinitive’. Uses such as ‘Wintu speakers need not to bother with tense’ are described as ‘With to -infinitive.’
At REFUSE v. 1 I, ‘To decline to do something’, a group of examples are described as ‘With infinitive clause as object.’ These include ‘My trembling Limbs Refuse to bear their Weight’ and ‘She refused to admit fags were bad for her.’

inflection, inflected, inflectional

In some languages, the form of a word varies according to its grammatical function (e.g. whether a noun is singular or plural , or whether a verb is in the present or past tense ). These forms are called inflections , and a word which possesses such forms is said to be inflected . For example, in English the word walked is inflected, showing the past tense form of walk ; the suffix -ed is an inflectional suffix.

Old English possessed a large number of inflected forms: for example, forms for case , gender , and number in nouns, pronouns , and adjectives ; and forms for tense , person , number , and mood in verbs. However, as the language changed, many of these word forms became difficult to distinguish from each other, and other means of expressing the grammatical relationships between words became more important, such as word order and the use of prepositions and auxiliary and modal verbs . In modern English, verbs are still inflected for tense ( walk / walked ), and to a limited extent for person and number ( walk / walks ; was / were ); pronouns inflect for case ( I/me, he/him, etc.), number ( I/we ), and gender ( he / she/it ); some adjectives inflect for comparative and superlative forms ( -er , -est ); and nouns inflect for number ( banana/bananas ). However, the old case system has mostly disappeared, as have the three grammatical genders, and the surviving inflections are far fewer in number than before.

In the OED, case-inflected forms of pronouns are all treated as separate words (e.g. HE pron., HIM pron.), whereas verb, noun, and adjective inflections are normally treated as part of the same word.

instrumental

An instrumental compound is a compound (usually an adjective ) in which the first element expresses the means by which the action expressed by the second element is carried out, or the cause of the state of affairs expressed by the second element. For example, God-given means ‘given by God’, candlelit means ‘lit by a candle or candles’, grass-covered means ‘covered with or by grass’, work-weary means ‘weary because of work’, and love-blind means ‘blind due to love’.

ALCOHOL n. contains a compounds section with the heading ‘Instrumental’. Examples given include alcohol-fuelled (‘fuelled by alcohol’) and alcohol-laced (‘laced with alcohol’).
GOVERNED adj., ‘that is or has been governed’, is used both attributively and ‘as the second element in instrumental compounds’. The quotation paragraph includes examples of such compounds, such as throttle-governed (‘controlled by means of a throttle’) and hell-governed (‘ruled by hell’).

In some inflected languages, the instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate the means by which something is done. Old English did not possess an instrumental case except for residual case forms of pronouns and adjectives, and any traces were subsequently lost along with almost all of the case system.

intensifier

An intensifier is a word, phrase, or prefix which gives force or emphasis. Intensifiers are often adverbs (e.g. very, extremely, utterly ) or adjectives (e.g. complete in ‘He’s a complete fool’).

MURDEROUSLY adv. is defined as ‘As an intensifier: to a great or overpowering extent; extremely’, with examples such as ‘Cash money was still murderously scarce.’
FRIGHTSOME adj. is defined as ‘Causing fright; frightening, frightful. Also in weakened use as an intensifier.’ For example, in ‘The eery black an’ frightsome night’, frightsome means ‘frightening’, but in ‘If we could work it we’d get frightsome big bags o’ game’, frightsome is an intensifier meaning ‘very’, ‘extremely’.

interjection

An interjection is a word which functions independently of other words and typically represents an exclamation or command. Examples in English include alas , eureka , hush , and oops .

The category of interjections is one of the parts of speech .

Entries for interjections have the part-of-speech label interjection (or int. ). For example, the use of Mamma mia as an interjection, as in ‘Mamma mia! The cost of it!’, is treated at MAMMA MIA int. (and n.). The use of hard cheese as an interjection, as in ‘ “Hard cheese!” condoled Mr. Davenant’, is treated at HARD CHEESE n. (and int.) 2, with the wording ‘also as int ‘.
LOL n. 2 describes the use of the noun to mean ‘an instance of the written interjection “LOL”’.
WHOA v. 1a describes the sense ‘to call out “whoa” as a general interjection expressing surprise, delight, etc.’

interrogative

An interrogative is a word, clause , or sentence used to ask or express a question. For example, the question ‘Who is responsible?’ is an interrogative sentence. In ‘I asked who was responsible’, who was responsible is an interrogative clause. Interrogative words include who, what, when, where, which, and how : for example, in ‘Who is responsible?’, who is an interrogative pronoun .

JUDGE v. 1d is defined as ‘With interrogative clause as object. To determine, tell.’ For example, in the sentence ‘I leave yourselves to judge which kind of a farmer you are’, the clause which kind of a farmer you are is an interrogative clause, expressing the question ‘Which kind of farmer are you?’
The phrase to have the heart at HEART n. P3e(a) is described as ‘In later use chiefly in negative and interrogative contexts.’ An example of the phrase in an interrogative context is the question ‘Did I really have the heart to deny them a grandfather?’

intransitive

A verb is intransitive when it does not take a direct object . An intransitive verb may stand alone, or it may take a complement (for example, a prepositional phrase , adverb , or adjective ).

When a verb does take a direct object it is transitive .

In the OED , transitivity labels are applied to senses of verbs and phrasal verbs. The following are examples with the label intransitive.

‘Take a minute to drift off and daydream’ (at DAYDREAM v. 1): daydream stands alone without a complement.
‘I paid for it. I didn’t quibble about the price’ (at QUIBBLE v. 2a): quibble is complemented by the prepositional phrase about the price .
‘That should give the rhubarb time to cool off’ (at COOL v. 1 1): cool is complemented by the adverb off .
‘The whole situation is so terrifying that I feel sick’ and ‘To make him feel a coward’ (at FEEL v. 5c): feel is complemented by the adjective sick in the first example, and by the noun a coward in the second. (Note that coward in this example is, even though a noun, not a direct object but a subject complement: see complement.)
‘Tigers will bluff-charge the same way bears do’ (at BLUFF-CHARGE v. 1): bluff-charge is complemented by the adverbial phrase the same way .
‘No harm shall happen you’ (at HAPPEN v. 1c): happen is complemented by the indirect object you (meaning ‘to you’), and there is no direct object. This type of construction is most common in earlier periods of English.

A locative compound is a compound in which the first element (typically a noun) , indicates where some action or process is carried out (typically one expressed or implied by the second element, often a past participle or other word derived from a verb ). Such compounds are most commonly adjectives.

HOME n. 1 and adj. contains a compounds section with the heading ‘Locative, combining with participles to form adjectives with the sense “in one’s home country”, “at home, esp. as opposed to in a shop, factory, or similar establishment”’. Examples include the adjectives home-baked (baked at home), home-based (based at home), and home-staying (staying at home).

In some inflected languages, the locative case is a grammatical case used to indicate location or position. Old English did not possess an independent locative case, and any traces were subsequently lost along with almost all of the case system.

main clause

A main clause is a clause which is not subordinate to or dependent on another clause. A main clause may:

form a complete sentence in itself, e.g. ‘I like folk music.’
be coordinated with another main clause, e.g. ‘I like folk music but I’m not keen on jazz.’
be used with a subordinate clause . The underlined clauses in the following are the main clauses:

After we had lunch, we went back to work .

I am glad that you came.

He sat in the garden , reading the paper.

If you see anything suspicious, report it to the police .

At the phrase when the going gets tough, the tough get going at GOING n. P4, it is noted that there is also ‘variation of the main clause, frequently with humorous intent.’ The main clause here is the tough get going , and examples with variations of this clause include ‘When the going gets tough, the tough eat chocolate’ and ‘when the going gets tough, the tough go to Baghdad’.

A main verb is a verb which carries lexical meaning and may be used on its own without another verb; the term is usually used in contrast with auxiliary verb . For example, have is a main verb in ‘They have a lovely house’, where it means ‘own, possess’ and is not used to support another verb. By contrast, have is an auxiliary verb (forming the perfect ) in ‘They have sold their house’, where it is used in combination with the main verb sold .

DO v. is divided into two sense branches: I. ‘As a main verb’ and II. ‘As an auxiliary’. The former shows the various uses of do as a main verb, in senses such as ‘perform, carry out’ (e.g. ‘The researchers did experiments on mice’, in which did is the only verb). By contrast, branch II shows uses of do with a grammatical function in combination with other verbs (g. in questions such as ‘What do you mean?’, in which it supports the main verb mean ).
OUT adv. 5b covers uses such as murder will out and the truth will out , and describes these as ‘With modal auxiliary… With main verb implied.’ The normal phrasing of the truth will out would be the truth will come out, with will as a modal verb and come as the main verb. In the idiomatic expression the truth will out, the main verb come is omitted but implied.

Another meaning of main verb is a verb in a main clause as opposed to a subordinate clause . For example, in ‘I frowned, not understanding him’, frowned is the main verb because it is in the main clause ‘I frowned’; understanding is not the main verb because it is in the subordinate clause ‘not understanding him’.

MY adj. 1c is defined as ‘Modifying a verbal noun, gerund, or gerundival clause, forming an embedded phrase corresponding to a clause consisting of I and a main verb.’ For example, in ‘she was afraid of my seeing your letters’, my seeing your letters is a subordinate clause corresponding to the main clause I saw your letters , in which saw is a main verb.

In modern English, masculine forms are those which refer to males: the pronouns he , him , his , himself , and the possessive adjective his .

In languages with grammatical gender , masculine nouns and related words often refer to males but do not necessarily do so. Old English had three grammatical genders (masculine, feminine , and neuter ), and while many masculine nouns referred to men or male animals (for example cyning ‘king’), others did not (for example wifmann ‘woman’ and stan ‘stone’).

A mass noun is a noun which does not have a plural form, and cannot be used with a numeral. It can be used without an article or other determiner .

Furniture , traffic , and welfare are all typically mass nouns: you can say welfare is important , I have some furniture , or because of the traffic (but you would not say ‘a welfare is important’, ‘I have three furnitures’, or ‘because of the traffics’). Compare count noun.

Some English nouns can be used either as a mass noun or as a count noun. For example, noise is a mass noun in ‘Stop making noise’, but a count noun in ‘I can hear a strange noise’.

The use of film to mean ‘the making of films considered as an art form, genre, or industry’ is treated at FILM n. 10b, where the definition is introduced by ‘as a mass noun’. One of the examples quoted is ‘in other respects too film has developed like other industries’.
The use of toilet roll to mean ‘toilet paper in the form of a roll’ is treated as part of TOILET ROLL n. 2, where the definition for this strand is introduced by ‘also (as a mass noun)’. One of the examples of this use quoted is ‘snap off handfuls of toilet roll’.

modal verb, modal auxiliary verb, modal auxiliary

Modal verbs are a type of auxiliary verb used to express meanings such as necessity, possibility, and obligation. The main modal verbs in modern English are can/could , may/might , must , shall/should , will/would . Other verbs such as ought and need share some characteristics with modal verbs.

A modal verb is sometimes referred to as a modal auxiliary verb or a modal auxiliary .

The entry for MUST v. 1 begins with a statement that it is ‘A modal auxiliary’.
ASK v. 17b covers the senses ‘to invite to do something’ and ‘to request permission (of)’, and notes that in these senses ask is used ‘With if or whether and modal verb.’ Examples include ‘She asked Rebecca if she could come to tea at their house’ and ‘I blew the gaff by asking the lady if I might speak to Mr Hanley.’

modify, modifier

A modifier is a word, phrase or clause which limits or qualifies the meaning of another word, phrase, or clause. For example, in school trip , school modifies trip ; in just next to him , just modifies next to ; in city of dreaming spires, of dreaming spires modifies city .

Modifiers may be described more specifically as premodifiers or postmodifiers , depending on whether they come before or after the modified word, phrase, or clause.

CHEESE n. 3a is defined as ‘With modifier. A conserve of the specified fruit or nut, having the consistency of soft cheese.’ In this sense, cheese is always modified by another word, for example in ‘quince cheese’ and ‘almond cheese’.
At RIGHT-DOWN adv., a distinction is made between sense 1 ‘Modifying a verb: without any limitation or reserve; completely, absolutely; outright’ (with examples such as ‘I right down enjoyed it’) and sense 2 ‘Modifying an adjective: completely, thoroughly; downright’ (with examples such as ‘right-down silly’, ‘right-down honest’).

The mood of a verb refers to whether the clause in which it occurs expresses a fact, command, hypothesis, etc. For example, the indicative is used to express fact or strong belief, the imperative to make commands, the interrogative to indicate questions, and the subjunctive to express hypothesis or non-factuality.

A morpheme is a unit of language that cannot be analysed into smaller units. English morphemes include prefixes , suffixes , word stems , and combining forms . For example, misspellings contains four morphemes: the prefix mis- , the stem spell , and two suffixes, -ing and the plural suffix -s . Words can also consist of a single morpheme, such as know , residue , and over .

At MOUSE n. the etymology section notes that occasionally, and especially in regional use, the plural of mouse is formed by ‘addition of a regular plural morpheme to the singular stem ( mouses , mousen )’, rather than by mutation of the stem vowel ( mice ).
At PLEASE v. there is a note that ‘The β form [ ple ] apparently results from reanalysis of the present subjunctive [ please ] as if ending in the 3rd person singular morpheme [ -s ].’
The word homeward contains two morphemes: home and the suffix – ward . At HOMEWARD adv. and adj. there is a note explaining that Middle English forms with an a , such as hammard , are due to the shortening of the first vowel ‘before the consonant cluster mw within the compound (i.e. across the morpheme boundary).’

In languages with grammatical gender , neuter nouns and related words often refer to inanimate objects but do not necessarily do so. Old English had three grammatical genders ( masculine , feminine , and neuter), and while many neuter nouns referred to inanimate objects (for example scip ‘ship’), others did not (for example wif ‘woman’).

nominal relative, nominal relative clause

A nominal relative clause is a type of relative clause which functions in some ways like a noun phrase . It is introduced by a word (called a nominal relative ) which acts like a noun and a relative pronoun (or other relative word) together.

For example, in ‘Whoever did that should be punished’, whoever did that is a nominal relative clause, functioning in the same way as a noun phrase such as the person who did that. The nominal relative whoever is a relative pronoun which also contains the meaning of the noun it refers to (i.e., ‘the person’). Other examples of nominal relative clauses are: ‘I do what I like’ (= I do the things that I like ) and ‘This is where she lives’ (= This is the place where she lives ).

The main words which can function as nominal relatives in English are what, whatever, when, whenever, where, wherever, which, whichever, who, whom, whoever, and whomever.

AS conj. 8e covers the obsolete use ‘Before a nominal relative clause: as being he who, that which, etc.’ An example is ‘so consequently before Christ, as who sitteth by God the father’: who sitteth by God the father is a nominal relative clause, with who having the sense ‘he who’.

In some inflected languages, the nominative case is used to indicate nouns and pronouns (as well as adjectives used to modify them) which function as the subject of a verb . Old English possessed a nominative case, but the loss of the case system in Middle English means that in modern standard English it is marked only in the pronouns which denote the subject of a verb, such as I , he , she , etc. In the context of modern English, these are now generally regarded as belonging to the subjective case, and the term ‘nominative’ is no longer widely used in this context.

HAVE v. 47 contrasts the familiar construction he had better , formed ‘with have and the nominative’, with an earlier construction of equivalent meaning, him were better , formed with be and the dative.
WOE adj. similarly contains a comment that I am wo developed out of an earlier construction me is wo by a process in which an original dative was converted into a nominative.

A non-finite verb form is not marked for tense . In English, infinitives (such as to eat ) and participles (such as eating and eaten ) are non-finite. They are often used in combination with finite verbs: for example, in ‘The children were eating’, the verb phrase were eating is made up of the finite verb were (which is the past tense plural form of be ) and the non-finite verb eating (the present participle of eat ).

A clause containing only a non-finite verb is called a non-finite clause . Such clauses are subordinate clauses (dependent on another part of the sentence): for example, in ‘Before leaving the house, I checked all the windows’, before leaving the house is a non-finite clause, containing the non-finite verb leaving .

NOT adv. 5 covers uses ‘Preceding a non-finite verb’, including uses with infinitives (e.g. ‘Miss..begged me not to turn’), and uses with participles (e.g. ‘A mind not hardened by impenitency’).
At as though at AS adv. and conj. P2b, uses such as the following are described as ‘With non-finite clause’: ‘as though to better observe this Parsi lingering outside’ (with the infinitive to observe ), ‘as though performing an incantation’ (with the present participle performing ), and ‘as though done by a sharp pruning knife’ (with the past participle done ). By contrast, uses such as ‘as though Magnus was more afraid of Harold than of Sweyn’ (with the past-tense verb was ) are described as ‘With finite clause’.

non-referential

In a sentence such as ‘It is raining’, it is the grammatical subject but does not refer to anything: its function is grammatical rather than semantic. When used in this way, it is described as non-referential . It can also be used as a non-referential object, for example in the idiomatic phrase hold it! (meaning ‘wait’). There can also be non-referential, for example in ‘There’s no-one in the room.’

At FOG v. 1 1b, uses such as it is fogging are described as ‘With non-referential it as subject’.
At HAVE v., phrases such as to have it in for are in a section with the heading ‘Phrases with non-referential it as object’.

noun phrase

A noun phrase is a group of words consisting of a noun or pronoun along with any modifiers of that noun or pronoun (such as determiners , adjectives , postmodifying phrases, etc.). A noun phrase functions in a sentence exactly like a noun. The underlined phrases in the following are examples of noun phrases: ‘That’s the most popular summer sport ‘, ‘ The news of his death came as a great shock’, ‘Did you see anything interesting ?’

WORTH adj. 1(a) is described as ‘With noun or noun phrase as complement.’ An example of worth with a noun phrase is ‘It is worth ten pieces of gold’: ten pieces of gold is a noun phrase consisting of the noun pieces premodified by ten and postmodified by the phrase of gold.

Number is a grammatical category used to classify word forms according to how many people or things they refer to. In modern English, the two number categories are singular and plural . See also dual .

object, direct object, indirect object

An object is a noun , noun phrase , pronoun , or clause which forms the complement of a transitive verb and typically refers to something or someone that is affected by the action denoted by that verb.

There are two main types of object: direct object and indirect object .

A direct object typically refers to something or someone that is directly affected by the action denoted by the verb: for example all the cake in John ate all the cake. In English, the direct object usually comes after the verb.

A direct object may also be used together with an indirect object, which typically refers to the recipient or goal of the action denoted by the verb: for example Louise in Give Louise some cake. In English, the indirect object usually comes after the verb and before the direct object.

parasynthetic

A parasynthetic compound is one created by two or more processes of word formation operating together. In English, it usually denotes an adjective formed using both compounding and derivation.

Most parasynthetic adjectives in English are of the form ‘X-Yed’, where X is an adjective, Y is a noun, and the suffix -ed means ‘having or provided with ——’; the suffix applies to the entire adjective + noun compound, and not just to the noun to which it is attached. For example, BLACK adj. has a compounds section with the heading ‘Parasynthetic’, containing adjectives such as black-haired. Black-haired is formed from the compound black hair and the suffix -ed , and means ‘having black hair’. Further examples of this type are brown-eyed , long-armed , high-backed .
The first element can also be a noun (e.g. in balloon-shaped, ‘having a balloon shape’, and rosewood-coloured, ‘having a rosewood colour’) or an adverb (e.g. in strongly-legged, ‘having strong legs’).

parenthetical, parenthetically

A parenthetical word, phrase , or clause is inserted into a sentence as an explanation or afterthought, and is usually marked off by brackets, commas, or dashes. Such a word, phrase, or clause is said to be used parenthetically .

GASP int. is defined as ‘Used parenthetically to express mock horror, shock, surprise, dismay, etc.’ The illustrative quotations include uses of gasp inside brackets, e.g. ‘Let’s examine this point in the context of (gasp!) a hypothetical’, and uses inside dashes, e.g. ‘A column about the couple’s decision to— gasp —date other people.’
KNOW v. 7d, ‘To be familiar with the habits, preferences, behaviour, etc., of (a person)’, is described as ‘Chiefly in introductory or parenthetical statements, as you know me , knowing you , etc.’ An example in a parenthetical statement is ‘If you’ve read as far as this—which I rather doubt, knowing you—you will probably wonder what I’m getting at.’

part of speech

A part of speech is a category to which words are assigned based on their similar grammatical functions. The eight major parts of speech used in the OED are noun ( n. ), adjective ( adj. ), pronoun ( pron. ), verb ( v. ), adverb ( adv. ), preposition ( prep. ), conjunction ( conj. ), and interjection ( int. ). Some entries are divided into more than one part of speech.

participial adjective

A participial adjective is an adjective that is derived from, and identical in form with, a present participle or a past participle . Examples of participial adjectives in English are knitted in a knitted sweater and interesting in an interesting idea.

ENGLISH adj. Compounds 1b shows uses of English ‘With participial adjectives’, such as English-born and English-educated .
STRONG adv. Compounds shows uses of strong ‘With present participial adjectives’, such as strong-growing and strong-smelling , and ‘With past participial adjectives’, such as strong-made and strong-set .
[It is often difficult to draw a distinction between participial adjectives and the participles from which they are derived. Earlier editions of the OED treated participial adjectives as a separate part of speech from other adjectives, but in the revised edition such words are treated as adjectives.]

participle, past participle, present participle

A participle is a form of a verb used with auxiliary verbs in complex constructions or alone in non-finite clauses. There are two types of participle in English, past and present.

Past participles are used to form the perfect (for example taken in they had taken the train ) and the passive (for example denied in the allegations were denied ). They are also used alone in non-finite clauses (e.g. in Puzzled , he stared out of the window ). In English, past participles often have the same form as the past tense of the verb, often ending in -ed (e.g. walked, denied ); others end in -en (e.g. taken, eaten ); and others have irregular forms (e.g. been, gone, swum ) or are identical with the base form (e.g. hit, put ).

Present participles are used to form progressive constructions (e.g. thinking in I am thinking ). They are also used alone in non-finite clauses (e.g. in Thinking , he stared out of the window ). In English, present participles end in -ing.

Participles may also be used as adjectives (as in a knitted jumper, an interesting idea ) in which case they are called participial adjectives .

RETURN v. 1c, having the overarching definition ‘To come or go back to a place or person’, illustrates the construction ‘In past participle with to be ‘. Examples include ‘They saw much of the Lambs, who lived close by and were just returned from a visit to Coleridge at Keswick’ and ‘Is she returned from lunch yet?’
FULLY adv. 1b(a), having the overarching definition ‘In a full manner or degree;…completely, entirely’, shows examples ‘Modifying a verb (frequently a past participle).’ Examples with past participles include ‘they were fully prepared’ and ‘day had fully dawned’.
DRUM-FISH v. (defined as ‘to fish for drum-fish’) is described as occurring ‘chiefly as present participle’. Examples include ‘A number of fishermen were drum-fishing’ and ‘Senator Quay..was discovered..knee-deep in the surf at Atlantic City, drum-fishing.’

In a passive sentence, the grammatical subject typically refers to the person or thing which undergoes or is affected by the action expressed by the verb. For example, ‘Your vase was broken by my dog’ is a passive sentence: your vase is the grammatical subject, and the vase has undergone the breaking .

You can often convert an active sentence into a passive sentence, by making the direct object of the active verb the grammatical subject of the passive verb, and either expressing the subject in a phrase with by or omitting it altogether. For example:

Active: My dog broke your vase. Passive: Your vase was broken [by my dog].

Active: The authorities will prosecute trespassers. Passive: Trespassers will be prosecuted [by the authorities].

In English, passives are usually made by combining a form of the verb be with a past participle , for example was broken, be prosecuted, is made, are changed. Passives can also be formed with the verb get, as in ‘Your vase got broken.’

See also indirect passive , prepositional passive .

Since passive uses are a regular feature of English, they are mentioned in the OED only if especially common or noteworthy.

LONGLIST v., ‘To place on a longlist’, is described as ‘Usually in passive .’ Passive uses are the norm (e.g. ‘The novel was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize’), although active uses are possible (you could say, for example, ‘ The judges longlisted thirty novels’).
SPREAD v. 12b is defined as ‘In passive. Of people, animals, etc.: to be scattered, dispersed, or distributed over or throughout an area.’ All the examples of this sense show passive use, for example ‘The Rook is spread over the greater part of Europe’ and ‘the Monophysites‥were spread throughout Syria, Anatolia and Egypt.’

If a sentence is not grammatically passive but has a meaning similar to that of a passive, it can be described as ‘with passive meaning’. For example, you can say ‘I boil-washed the shirts’ (active) or ‘The shirts were boil-washed’ (passive); you can also say ‘These shirts boil-wash well’, which is not passive in form but is passive in meaning (= ‘These shirts can be boil-washed’). At BOIL-WASH v., this type of use is noted: ‘Also occasionally intransitive with passive meaning.’

passive infinitive

An infinitive such as to eat or to question may be used in a passive form: to be eaten or to be questioned . Such forms are called passive infinitives . Passive infinitives often function as complements of adjectives or objects of verbs, for example ‘It was strange to be questioned’ or ‘These apples need to be eaten.’

At REMAIN v. 2b, ‘To be left outstanding after the rest has been done or dealt with in some way’, there is a set of examples described as ‘With infinitive (now frequently passive infinitive), expressing what still needs to be done.’ This covers uses such as ‘Much remains to be learned’, ‘The headlands will remain to be ploughed separately’, and also the phrase to remain to be seen .

past participle

See participle .

The past tense of a verb typically expresses an action that happened in the past or a state that previously existed. For example, in ‘Susan helped her brother’, helped is the past tense form of the verb help, and expresses an action that took place in the past. In ‘Joshua was happy’, was is a past tense form of the verb be and expresses a previous state.

In English, past tense forms of regular verbs end in -ed , for example help ed , walk ed , complet ed . There are also many irregular past tense forms: for example, ran is the past tense form of run, did is the past tense form of do , and was and were are past tense forms of be.

At the phrase to fall off the back of a lorry (also truck , etc.) at FALL v., there is a note ‘Chiefly in the past tense or the perfect.’ The majority of example sentences at this sense show the verb fall in its past tense form fell , as in ‘it fell off the back of a lorry’ and ‘it fell off of a truck’.

The perfect is a verb construction which typically indicates that an action took place or a situation existed before some stated or implied time. In modern English, the perfect consists of a form of the auxiliary verb have plus a past participle; for example, ‘Sasha has decided what to paint ‘ , ‘she had left by the time he arrived’, ‘you will have completed the task by Thursday’, and ‘having done all we could, we left the problem to them’.

In earlier periods of English, the perfect was often formed of the auxiliary verb be (rather than have ) plus a past participle , for example ‘He is arrived’ (meaning ‘He has arrived’). See BE v. 16b.

The phrase to have got on at GET v., meaning ‘to be wearing’, is described as a use of get ‘In the perfect’. In uses such as ‘She had got a new cotton blouse on’, had got is a perfect construction, formed of have and the past participle of get .
At SPRING v. 1 9b(a), ‘Of a mast, boom, etc.: to split, to crack’, it is noted that in this sense spring is ‘Chiefly in the perfect (in early use formed with to be ).’ Early examples mainly show perfect constructions formed with be, e.g. ‘The mast is sprung’, while modern examples show perfect constructions formed with have, e.g. ‘The mast has sprung’.

periphrasis, periphrastic

Periphrasis refers to the use of two or more words to express a meaning which could otherwise be expressed by a single word: for example, the phrase have a bath (equivalent to the single word bathe ) is periphrastic . Specifically, periphrasis refers to the use of two or more words to express a grammatical relation which could otherwise be expressed by inflection : for example, more heavy (equivalent to the single word heavier ) is periphrastic, as is did go in ‘She did go’ (equivalent to the single word went in ‘She went’).

Several senses of DO v. are described as ‘As periphrastic auxiliary’. For example, do is periphrastic in ‘Do not speak’, where it forms a negative construction. (The equivalent non-periphrastic form, which is now archaic, is ‘Speak not’.)

Person is a grammatical category used to classify word forms according to whether they refer to the speaker(s)/writer(s), the addressee(s), or a third party. In modern English, pronouns (and related possessive adjectives ) have different forms according to person. For example, I is a first person pronoun, you is a second person pronoun, and he, she, and it are third person pronouns.

In English in earlier periods (as in many other languages), verbs were also marked for person. In modern English, there are few remaining distinctions of this kind: the main exception is in third person singular verbs in the present tense , which are usually marked by the addition of -s or -es . That is, we say he/she/it run s , but I run, you run, we run, they run, etc.

personal pronoun

A personal pronoun is a pronoun denoting one of the three grammatical persons . The personal pronouns in modern standard English are I, me, we, us ( first person , referring to the speaker(s) or writer(s)); you ( second person , referring to the addressee(s)); and he, him, she, her, it, they, them ( third person , referring to a third party).

Related to personal pronouns are reflexive pronouns ( myself, yourself, etc.), possessive pronouns ( mine, yours, etc.), and possessive adjectives ( my, your, etc.).

ON prep. 2f covers a group of senses ‘Usually with a personal pronoun, indicating the possessor of some (permanent or temporary) attribute.’ Examples under the various senses include ‘got a pen on you?’, ‘the hunger was on him’, and ‘she had a face on her that’d fade flowers.’
At LOT n. 16, meaning ‘a group of people’, there is a sense described as ‘Used for emphasis after a plural personal pronoun. Esp. in you lot .’ Examples include you lot, us lot, and them lot, as in ‘So, us lot stick to ourselves, them lot do likewise.’

phrasal verb

A phrasal verb consists of a verb and an adverb or preposition (or sometimes both), functioning together as a single semantic and grammatical unit. Often the meaning of a phrasal verb is not obvious from the meanings of the component words, as in the following examples (in which the underlined groups of words are phrasal verbs):

His car broke down.
They took out a loan.
Look it up in the dictionary.
Shall I see to lunch?
She has always looked down on me.
I’ll take it up with the relevant authorities.
Idiomatic phrasal verbs are usually treated in a separate section with the heading ‘Phrasal verbs’. Such sections are often divided into uses ‘With adverbs in specialized senses’ and uses ‘With prepositions in specialized senses’. For example, the phrasal verbs at LIVE v. 1 are grouped into two such divisions: the former includes for example to live in (e.g. ‘The nurse girl‥didn’t live in’), to live up (e.g. ‘Those who lived it up in the cocktail lounges’), and to live up to (e.g. ‘the pressure to live up to his reputation’); the latter includes for example to live through— (e.g. ‘he lived through some anxious moments’) and to live with— (e.g. ‘You make the wrong choice, you got to live with it’).
Phrasal verbs are frequently converted into nouns and adjectives: for example, a person who calls something off is a caller-off ; if your roof falls in it is a fallen-in roof; you can wash up the dishes or do the washing-up . In OED , the definitions of such nouns and adjectives often make reference to the relevant phrasal verbs: for example, LOOKING n. C2 is described as ‘With following adverb, forming nouns of action corresponding to phrasal verbs (see LOOK v.), as looking back, looking out , etc.’ One example is ‘He did it ill, with constant exasperating stoppings and lookings-back.’

phrase (phr.)

A phrase is a group of words expressing a single notion or acting together as a unit.

Idiomatic phrases are often placed in a separate section. For example, the phrases to mind one’s own business , to get down to business , business as usual , business before pleasure , and any other business are all covered in the Phrases section at BUSINESS n.
Phrases are sometimes treated as separate entries, in which case they have the part-of-speech label phrase (or phr .). This is frequently the way that foreign phrases are treated when they are borrowed in their entirety into English, e.g. C’EST LA VIE phr. and TEMPUS FUGIT phr.

There is also a more specific grammatical meaning of phrase : a grammatical unit at a level between a word and a clause , and typically functioning in the same way as a word on its own. For example, an adjective phrase consists of an adjective and any modifying adverbs or complements (e.g. quite difficult ), and a verb phrase consists of a main verb and any auxiliary verbs (e.g. must have gone ). See also noun phrase , prepositional phrase .

(Technically, a grammatical phrase may consist of a single word – that is, furniture is a noun phrase consisting of the noun furniture – though for ease of understanding the term phrase is usually used in the OED to refer to combinations of two or more words.)

pleonasm, pleonastic

Pleonasm is the use of more words in a phrase or clause than are necessary to express the meaning, typically because one word or phrase expresses an idea already expressed by another word or phrase. For example, the clause ‘to see with the eyes’ is pleonastic: ‘to see’ requires the eyes, so the phrase ‘with the eyes’ is not necessary to express the meaning. Pleonasm is sometimes regarded as a fault of style, but it may also be used for emphasis or clarity, as in ‘Look with your eyes, not with your hands.’

Phrases such as to see with one’s own eyes and the obsolete phrases to see with eye , to see with sight , and variants can be found at SEE v. Phrases 1, where they are called ‘pleonastic or emphatic phrases with eye (or † sight ).’
The construction to enter in is covered at ENTER v. 15a(c), as in the example ‘they had to enter in through the kitchen.’ The definition describes this use of enter as ‘With pleonastic or emphatic in ‘. The adverb in is pleonastic because to enter already means ‘to come or go in’.
Compounds such as fellow companion , fellow partner , and fellow compatriot are covered at FELLOW n. Compounds 1d, where fellow is defined as ‘Pleonastically modifying nouns which themselves imply companionship or participation.’

A plural form of a noun is generally used to refer to more than one person, thing, or group. In modern English, the plural of a noun is usually formed by adding -s or -es to the singular (as in table → table s , box → box es ); sometimes there is a change in the final letter(s) (as in famil y → famil ies , hoo f → hoo ves ); and some plural forms are irregular ( child → children , mouse → mice , etc.) or unchanged ( aircraft , mackerel, etc.).

Pronouns referring to more than one person or thing are plural ( we, us, they, etc.) as are corresponding possessive adjectives and some determiners ( our, their, these, etc.). In many other languages, and in English in earlier periods, other types of adjectives also have distinct singular and plural forms, but this distinction is not generally made in modern English except in some foreign loanwords.

Verbs also have singular and plural forms. Most verbs in modern English are only marked for singular and plural in the third person present tense forms, i.e. he/she/it runs (singular) vs. they run (plural). See also agreement .

Irregular plural forms are specified in the ‘Forms’ section. For example, the plural of reindeer is usually reindeer , although reindeers does occur. The Forms section at REINDEER n. reads ‘Plural unchanged, ( rare ) reindeers ‘, while the Forms section at MALTESE n. notes the unchanged plural form Maltese as well as obsolete plural forms such as Malteses .
At SPORT n. C1c, ‘Designating clothing, shoes, etc., for informal or sporting wear’, compounds ‘With the first element in plural form’, as sports clothes , sports skirt , etc., are treated separately from those ‘With the first element in singular form’, as sport shoe , sport skirt , sport suit , etc.
A sense specific to the plural form papers is included at PAPER n. 10: ‘A newspaper or journal. Also in plural , with the : newspapers collectively; the press.’
THEY pron. is described as ‘The subjective case of the third person plural pronoun; the plural of he , she , or it .’
The irregular plural forms of BE v. are specified in the Inflections section, as ‘Present indicative:..2nd singular and plural are ‘, ‘past indicative..2nd singular and plural were’ , etc.

A positive adjective or adverb is one which is in its unmarked basic form, simply expressing a quality or attribute, rather than a higher degree or the highest degree of that quality or attribute (see comparative , superlative ). An example of a positive adjective is happy . Happier is the related comparative adjective and happiest is the related superlative adjective.

At MUCH 1c, meaning ‘very’, uses ‘modifying a positive adjective or adverb’ are exemplified. An example in which much modifies a positive adjective is ‘She’s not much old’, and an example in which it modifies a positive adverb is ‘I don’t know the road much well.’ This construction is now rare except in U.S. regional use, whereas uses modifying comparative adjectives and adverbs (e.g. much older and much better ) are widespread.

The term possessive usually appears in possessive pronoun or possessive adjective in designating possession or a close relationship of a particular type. Possessive can also be used as a general term for any member of the set of words expressing possession, including genitive constructions.

KINDRED n. 2a, ‘A person’s relatives or kinsfolk collectively’, is described as ‘usually with possessive’. In this sense, kindred is usually used either with a possessive adjective (e.g. ‘The mouldering relics of my kindred’) or in a genitive construction (e.g. ‘the lord’s kindred’).

possessive adjective

A possessive adjective is a word related to a possessive pronoun and used before a noun to indicate possession. The main possessive adjectives in modern English are my , our , his , her , its , and their , as in ‘these are my books’.

HOME AFFAIRS n. 2 is described as occurring ‘With possessive adjective’. In ‘bend my Genius to my Home-Affairs’ and ‘conducting his home affairs’, home affairs occurs with the possessive adjectives my and his , respectively.
BOTH C. adj. 4b is described as ‘Preceding a plural possessive adjective’. This is seen in the following examples where both comes before the plural possessive adjectives their and your : ‘He could put an end to both their agony right now’ and ‘It’s both your fault!’

See also pronoun and possessive pronoun .

possessive pronoun

A possessive pronoun is a type of pronoun which indicates possession. The main possessive pronouns in modern English are mine , ours , yours , his , hers , and theirs , as in ‘these books are mine’.

The definition of HERS pron. 1 states that it is ‘the possessive pronoun corresponding to HER adj. 2 ‘. This is illustrated in the examples ‘fifty of the pictures are hers’ and ‘They must be hers of her own right.’

See also pronoun and possessive adjective .

postmodify, postmodifier

A postmodifier is a word, phrase or clause which comes immediately after another and limits or qualifies its meaning. For example, in city of dreaming spires, of dreaming spires postmodifies city ; in something strange, strange postmodifies something ; in chicken jalfrezi, jalfrezi postmodifies chicken.

BANKRUPT adj. 2a, ‘Entirely lacking in a specified good quality, value, etc.’, is described as ‘With modifying adverb or postmodifying of – or in -phrase’. Examples with postmodifying phrases include ‘bankrupt of ideas’ and ‘bankrupt in character’.
MANQUÉ adj. is defined as ‘As postmodifier. That might have been but is not, that has missed being’. For example, in ‘Casaubon..is an intellectual manqué’, the adjective manqué postmodifies the noun intellectual.

predicative

A predicative adjective is linked to the word it modifies by a verb such as be , become , or seem : for example, warm in ‘the day was warm’ is predicative. Predicative adjectives are contrasted with attributive adjectives , which directly modify nouns or noun phrases (for example, warm in ‘a warm day’).

premodify, premodifier

A premodifier is a word, phrase or clause which comes before another and limits or qualifies its meaning. For example, in school trip , school premodifies trip ; in just next to him , just premodifies next to ; in all you can eat buffet, all you can eat premodifies buffet.

MARCHER n. 1b, ‘A person who takes part in a protest or demonstration march’, is described as ‘Frequently with premodifier’, because the purpose of the protest or demonstration is often specified by a preceding word, for example in ‘hunger marcher’ and ‘anti-bomb marcher’.
HEART adv. meaning ‘Heartily, from the heart;.. utterly, completely’, is described as ‘Only as a premodifier of adjectives’: that is, heart as an adverb is only ever placed before adjectives, for example in ‘I felt heart sorry’ and ‘I was heart afraid’.

preposition (prep.)

A preposition is a word which typically precedes a noun , noun phrase , or pronoun and expresses a relationship between it and another word in the sentence. After, at, by, for, from, in, on, to, and with are all common prepositions in English. Prepositions often express position (e.g. ‘her bag was under the chair’), direction (e.g. ‘he looked at me’), or time (e.g. ‘they arrived on Sunday’). Some prepositions are made up of more than one word, for example out of and up to.

In English, prepositions are often used idiomatically with verbs to form phrasal verbs, for example fall for (meaning either ‘be taken in by’ or ‘fall in love with’) and see to (meaning ‘attend to, deal with’) .

The category of prepositions is one of the parts of speech .

See also prepositional object , prepositional passive , prepositional phrase.

Entries for prepositions have the part-of-speech label preposition (or prep .), for example INCLUDING prep., ON prep., OUT OF prep. Some entries are divided into more than one part of speech: for example, THROUGH prep. and adv. is divided into a section showing its use as a preposition (as in ‘We went through a long passage’) and a section showing its use as an adverb (as in ‘Let me through’).
ZOOM v. 1, ‘To move or travel very quickly…’ is described as ‘Frequently with adverbs and prepositions indicating the direction of travel.’ Examples with prepositions include ‘A couple of humble-bees zoomed against the window pane’, while examples with adverbs include ‘Trams zoom along’.
In phrasal verbs sections, combinations of verbs and prepositions are described as ‘With prepositions in specialized senses’. These combinations are presented with dashes to indicate that a prepositional object of the verb follows: for example to live through— (‘he lived through some anxious moments’) and to live with— (‘Virgil asked me to live with him two months ago’) at LIVE v. 1 .

prepositional object

A prepositional object is a word or phrase (typically a noun , noun phrase , or pronoun ) which forms the complement of, and usually follows, a preposition. For example, in ‘The bag is under the table’, the table is the prepositional object of under ; in ‘Listen to me’, me is the prepositional object of to .

prepositional passive

In the sentence ‘Everyone laughed at the idea’, the idea is the prepositional object of at . It is possible to change this sentence into a passive sentence in which the prepositional object becomes the subject: ‘The idea was laughed at by everyone’, or simply ‘The idea was laughed at’. This type of passive is called a prepositional passive .

prepositional phrase

A prepositional phrase is a group of words consisting of a preposition and its object (typically a noun , noun phrase , or pronoun ). For example, under the table, on Sunday, throughout the entire meeting , and beside me are all prepositional phrases.

At STICK n.1 P20, the sticks is defined as ‘a remote, thinly populated, or rural area; the backwoods; the country. Chiefly in prepositional phrases, esp. from the sticks , ( out ) in the sticks .’
SKIVE v.3 3a in the sense ‘shirk, play truant’ is described as ‘Also with off (in prepositional phrase specifying the activity, duty, etc.)’. This covers uses such as ‘skive off work’ and ‘skive off school’, in which off work and off school are prepositional phrases.

present participle

Present tense.

The present tense of a verb typically expresses an action that is happening now or is habitually performed, or a state that currently exists. For example, in ‘David calls Rosie’, calls is a present tense form of the verb call , and expresses an action that is taking place in the present. In ‘Anika is calm’, is is a present tense form of the verb be and expresses a current state.

In modern English, the present tense form of most verbs is identical to the verb’s base form except in the third person singular , which usually takes the ending – s or – es . For example, we say ‘I run’ for the first person singular but ‘she runs’ for the third person singular of run . The irregular verb be has the forms am, are , and is in the present tense.

SAY v.1 22, ‘Of a sum of money: to stand as a bet or wager (that the specified outcome is the case)’, is described as ‘Usually in the present tense’. In ‘A fiver says he does!’ and ‘A dollar says you don’t have the nerve’, says is the third person singular present tense form of say .

progressive

The progressive is a verb construction that expresses an ongoing state or an action that is in progress at a given time. In English, progressive constructions consist of a form of the auxiliary verb be plus a present participle ; for example, ‘James is making dinner’, ‘she was reading’, and ‘we were living in San Francisco at the time’.

COME v. 12b, ‘To be due (to a person) as something owed, earned, or deserved’, is described as ‘In the progressive’. Quotations at this sense, such as ‘collect what was coming to me’ and ‘if he had what’ s coming to him’, illustrate the verb come in progressive constructions.
At PULVERIZE v. 1a, there is a note explaining that one of the 17th century quotations, ‘I was so careful to keep the Stone from touching Iron, when it was pulverising’, is ‘intransitive in the progressive with passive meaning’. Here, the progressive construction in the stone was pulverising has a sense equivalent to a passive construction, and means ‘the stone was being pulverized’. This use of the progressive was common in earlier periods of English.

pronoun (pron.)

A pronoun is a word which functions like a noun and refers to something or someone mentioned elsewhere in the discourse (for example, in ‘Michael took the children with him’, the pronoun him refers back to the noun Michael ) or identifiable from context or usage (for example, if a person in a shop points to a pair of shoes and says ‘I’d like those’, it is clear that the pronoun I refers to the speaker and the pronoun those refers to the shoes).

The category of pronouns is one of the parts of speech .

There are several types of pronoun: see indefinite , interrogative , personal , reflexive , and relative . See also subjective and objective .

Entries for pronouns have the part-of-speech label pronoun (or pron .), for example ANYONE pron., MYSELF pron. Some entries are divided into more than one part of speech: for example, THINE adj. and pron. is divided into a section showing its use as a possessive adjective meaning ‘your’ (as in ‘Drink to me, onley, with thine eyes’) and a section showing its use as a pronoun meaning ‘yours’ (as in ‘For thyne is the kyngedome and the power, and the glorye’).
GET v. 15d, ‘To understand (a person, the meaning of something)’, is described as ‘Frequently..with a pronoun as object’, because in this sense the direct object is often a pronoun such as it , that , me , or you , as in ‘Do you get it?’, ‘I don’t get you.’

proper noun, proper name

A proper noun (or proper name ) is a name used for an individual person, animal, organization, title, place etc. Proper nouns are usually written with an initial capital letter. Examples in English include Richard, Belgium, the United States (of America), (Mount) Everest, Oxfam, Romeo and Juliet, The Daily Telegraph , and July . Compare common noun .

The terms proper noun and proper name are often used interchangeably, but proper noun is sometimes used specifically to refer to names consisting of a single noun (such as Richard or Belgium ), whereas proper name refers to names more generally, irrespective of whether they consist of a single noun or a noun phrase (such as the United States (of America) or Romeo and Juliet ).

The use of tomfool ‘as a proper noun’ meaning ‘the type of a foolish, stupid, or half-witted person’ is treated at TOMFOOL n. 1a, where one of the examples given is ‘You talk like Tom Fool.’
BRUIN n., meaning ‘a bear’, is described as ‘formerly chiefly as a proper name, now more usually as a common noun’. One of the examples in which it is used as a proper name is: ‘I want to behold Bruin right in his pig red eye so I’ll never have to be so scared again.’

See apodosis and protasis .

In some unrevised OED entries, quasi- (meaning ‘having some but not all of the properties of’, ‘almost, virtually’) is used to modify grammatical terms. For example, a sense of a noun might be described as ‘quasi- adj .’, indicating that the noun is being used as if it were an adjective, or is very close to being an adjective. In revised entries, this term is not used: a word behaving as an adjective, for example, is treated as an adjective .

A reflexive pronoun is a pronoun which refers back to the subject of the verb . The main reflexive pronouns in English are those ending in – self or – selves ( myself , himself , themselves , etc.), but the objective personal pronouns ( me, him, them, etc.) also have reflexive uses, especially in earlier periods of English.

OURSELVES pron. has a section with the heading ‘Reflexive uses’, with quotations such as ‘We may as well amuse ourselves’, in which ourselves refers back to the subject we .
US pron. has a group of senses described as ‘Reflexive’, with quotations such as ‘We flung us on the windy hill’ and ‘Let’s have us a Diet Coke’.

A verb is reflexive when it takes a reflexive pronoun as its direct object .

Reflexive uses of verbs are transitive (because of the direct object), so are labelled both reflexive and transitive in the OED .

PRIDE v. 3a, ‘To take pride in or congratulate oneself’, is labelled transitive ( reflexive ), because the object is always a reflexive pronoun, as in ‘I prided myself on being unflappable’.
OVERFATIGUE v., ‘To fatigue too much; to overtire’, is labelled ‘transitive… Frequently reflexive’ because the object is often a reflexive pronoun (as in ‘Night workers‥over-fatigued themselves’), although other types of object are also used (as in ‘Don’t over-fatigue the Spirits’).

Verbs are sometimes used with a reflexive pronoun implied or understood, and these may be described as ‘with reflexive meaning’. For example, at FILTHY v., ‘To make filthy’, there is a note explaining that one of the quotations is ‘intransitive with reflexive meaning’. The quotation is ‘They haue rather filthied then washed’, where the reflexive pronoun themselves is understood, i.e. ‘They haue rather filthied themselves then washed themselves.’

A relative pronoun is a pronoun which introduces a subordinate clause giving more information about the person or thing referred to by that pronoun. A clause introduced by a relative pronoun is called a relative clause .

In modern English the relative pronouns are who, whom, which , and that . For example, in ‘This is the man who called yesterday’, who called yesterday is a relative clause introduced by the relative pronoun who .

Other types of words may also introduce relative clauses. For example, where and when can be used as relative adverbs , in sentences such as ‘This is the house where I grew up’.

At THEY pron. 5, uses such as ‘they that walked in darkness…’ and ‘they who know right and wrong..’ are described as uses of they ‘Followed by a relative clause’.

second person

Pronouns in the second person indicate the person (or group of people) being addressed. The second person pronouns (and related possessive adjectives ) in modern standard English are you, your, yours, yourself , and yourselves .

In earlier periods of English (as in many other languages) there were two distinct sets of second person pronoun and possessive adjective forms: thee (and related thou, thy, thine , and thyself ) used to address a single person; and you and its related forms used to address a group of people, or to address a single person respectfully or formally. In modern standard English, you is the only surviving form and is used with both singular and plural reference, although distinct plural forms have developed in different varieties of English, as yous , you-all , etc.

In many languages, and in English in earlier periods, verbs also take different person forms.

See also person , first person , third person .

THOU pron. is described as ‘The subjective case of the second person singular pronoun.’
At MUST v.1 3a, in the sense ‘expressing necessity’, there is a note commenting that ‘In the second person, must now chiefly expresses a command or an insistent request or counsel.’ That is, uses such as ‘you must stay a minimum of seven days’ express a command.

sentence adverb, sentence adverbial

A sentence adverb is an adverb which is more detached from the rest of the clause or sentence than other adverbs, and is typically used to express the attitude of the speaker or writer to the given statement, or to claim that the statement is being made in a particular way, for example sadly in ‘Sadly, the forests are now under threat’, as it conveys the opinion of the speaker or writer that the situation expressed in the forests are now under threat is sad. By contrast, sadly is not a sentence adverb in ‘She smiled sadly’, where it modifies smiled and means ‘in a sad way’.

A sentence adverbial is a phrase which functions in the same way as a sentence adverb, for example like it or not or to be honest .

LUCKILY adv. 2 is defined as ‘As a sentence adverb: fortunately; as a result of good luck’, with examples such as ‘Luckily there was a passenger on board who had piloted before.’

A phrase or expression in which something is likened to something else is termed similative .

Some of the more fixed, or otherwise noteworthy, instances of similative expressions are recorded in the OED : for example, at BAD, adj., the definition for bad halfpenny reads ‘used in similative expressions to refer to the unwelcome return of someone or something’, and is illustrated by quotations such as ‘returned, like the bad half-penny’ and ‘As a bad ha’penny is returned to its owner, so have I returned to you.’

A similative compound is one in which the second element is likened to the first in some way. Similative compounds are usually adjectives , with the first element being a noun and the second element an adjective (typically one denoting an attribute or property, such as colour or size): for example sky-blue, jet-black , and mountain-high . Some similative compounds are nouns, with both the first and second element being nouns.

AIR n. contains a compounds section with the heading ‘Similative’. The compounds listed include the adjectives air-clear (as clear as air), air-sweet (as sweet as air), and air-thin (as thin as air).
MILK n. contains a compounds section with the heading ‘Similative’, and a compound noun listed is milk-bloom (a bloom resembling that of milk).

A simple word, phrase , sentence, or grammatical construction is one that is not complex, or that is made up of only one element. Specifically:

A simple object or complement consists of a word (or a word and its modifiers ) as opposed to a clause .

PROPHESY v. 2a, ‘To predict or foretell…’, is divided into two sections, (a) ‘With simple object’ and (b) ‘With clause as object’. An example in (a) is ‘he prophecied fair weather’, where the direct object is the noun phrase fair weather . An example in (b) is ‘I prophesy that I shall die to-night’, where the direct object is the clause that I shall die to-night .

A simple tense is formed by a verb used on its own. In English, the two simple tenses are the simple present (e.g. walk in I walk to work ) and the simple past (e.g. walked in I walked to work ). These simple tenses are contrasted with constructions involving auxiliary verbs, such as the perfect (e.g. the present perfect in I have walked to work ) and the progressive (e.g. the past progressive in I was walking to work ).

At JUST 3b, ‘very recently, in the immediate past’, there is a note that in U.S. usage, just is ‘now frequently with simple past in place of the present perfect.’ An example is ‘My intro letter from Cowell to Copland just came’, where came is in the simple past tense; the version with the present perfect would be ‘My intro letter from Cowell to Copland has just come.’

A simple word consists of a single unit or element. Simple words are usually contrasted with compounds or prefixed words. For example, boat is a simple word, in contrast with the compound steamboat .

A singular form of a noun is used to refer to one person or thing, or to a group of people or things regarded as a single or collective unit. For example, table, child , and family are singular ( tables, children , and families are the corresponding plural forms), as are rice and luck (which are typically mass nouns and therefore do not usually take a plural form).

Pronouns referring to one person or thing are singular ( I, me, he, it , etc.) as are corresponding possessive adjectives and some determiners ( my, his / her /its, this, etc.). In many other languages, and in English in earlier periods, other types of adjectives also have distinct singular and plural forms, but this distinction is not generally made in modern English except in some foreign loanwords.

Verbs also have singular and plural forms. Most verbs in modern English are only marked for singular and plural in the third person present tense forms, i.e. he / she / it runs (singular) vs. they run (plural). See also agreement .

The singular form of a noun is usually the headword form in the OED (for example OFFICE n., SPORT n.). Where the headword is in the plural form, singular forms are specified in the ‘Forms’ section and at any relevant senses. For example, SCISSORS n. is generally a plural noun, but it can sometimes be used in the singular (e.g. ‘If there be any superfluous substance, it can be cut off with a scissor’): such uses are covered at sense 1a, described as ‘In singular form’.
OFFICE n. 7b is defined as ‘In singular or plural. A privy, a lavatory.’ Office may be used in this sense either in the singular form office (e.g. ‘I went to the usual office at the end of the passage’) or in the plural form offices (e.g. ‘The bathroom’s to the right and the usual offices next to it’), with no change in meaning.
At SPORT n. C1c, ‘Designating clothing, shoes, etc., for informal or sporting wear’, compounds ‘With the first element in singular form’, as sport shoe, sport skirt, sport suit , etc., are treated separately from those ‘With the first element in plural form’, as sports clothes, sports skirt , etc.
The irregular singular forms of BE v. are specified in the Inflections section, as ‘Present indicative:..1st singular am ‘, ‘past indicative..1st and 3rd singular was ‘, etc.

A stem is the root, base, or main part of a word to which other elements, such as prefixes or suffixes , may be added.

WELL adv. C6 is defined as ‘Forming adjectives with a verb stem and the suffix – able , as well-orderable, well-wipeable , etc.’ For example, well-orderable is formed on the verb stem order , to which the adverb well and the suffix -able are attached.
-ERATI comb. form is defined as ‘Forming nouns (often humorous nonce-words) designating elite or prominent groups of people who are associated with what is specified by the stem word.’ For example, lounge-erati is formed by attaching the combining form -erati to the noun stem lounge .

See also suffix , prefix , combining form .

The subject of a sentence or clause is the part which:

is usually what the sentence or clause is about;
often denotes the person or thing that performs the action expressed by the verb;
usually comes before the verb;
agrees grammatically with the verb.

The subject is usually a noun , noun phrase , or pronoun .

In each of the following example sentences, the subject is underlined:

All the men arrived late.
A few years ago, Susan was given an award.
It is raining.
PADDLE v.2 2a is defined as ‘Of a person in a canoe, small boat, etc.: to move forward by means of a paddle or paddles. Also with canoe, etc., as subject.’ This indicates that in most cases the subject denotes the person paddling (e.g. ‘We paddled along’) but that in some cases the subject denotes the canoe (e.g. ‘Two canoes paddled towards us’).
SURE adv. 1b is described as ‘Placed between subject and verb as an intensifier’. For example, in ‘It sure was a cold night’, sure is placed between the subject It and the verb was .

When a word functions as the subject of a sentence or clause , it is in the subjective case . In modern English, pronouns have different forms depending on case, and the main subjective pronouns are I , you , he , she , it , we , and they . Subjective pronouns are contrasted with objective pronouns such as me, him , etc. (Note that you and it have the same form in the subjective and objective case.)

SAVE prep. 2b is described as ‘Followed by a personal pronoun in the subjective case’, covering examples such as ‘The creators, save he alone, were destroyed.’ These are contrasted with examples in which the following pronoun is in the objective case, such as ‘All died in a hurricane, save him alone.’
S/HE pron. is defined as ‘Used as subjective third person pronoun to include both genders: he or she.’

subjunctive

The subjunctive is a grammatical mood used to express hypothesis, conditionality, or non-factuality. Contrasted with indicative .

In modern English the subjunctive mood is distinctive only in the third person singular of the present tense (where the – s ending is absent) and in the verb to be (where the present subjunctive form is be and the past subjunctive form is were ). In the following, the underlined verbs are in the subjunctive:

‘I recommended that he write and apologize ‘ (the indicative forms would be writes and apologizes);
‘If that be the case, our position is indefensible’ (the indicative form would be is );
‘If I were you, I’d own up’ (the indicative form would be was ).

In modern English the subjunctive is fairly uncommon, and many of the meanings formerly expressed by the subjunctive are now expressed by modal verbs such as might, could , and should . The subjunctive survives mainly in fixed expressions such as If I were you, God help you, Long live the Queen, and Perish the thought .

ASK v. 17a is defined as ‘With that and modal verb or subjunctive. To request that something be done; to express a desire that something happen or be the case.’ Quotations illustrating use with the subjunctive include ‘I‥also asked that I be appointed her guardian’ and ‘The judge asked that the Attorneys approach the Bench.’
Uses at NOT adv. A. 1 are described as ‘Preceding a simple tense or form of a verb. Now usually (chiefly N. Amer. ) with a subjunctive verb in a subordinate clause.’ Quotations include: ‘Better he not know as yet; perhaps he shall never know’ and ‘McCain quickly asked that he not be considered.’
BE v. 20 is defined as ‘With the infinitive. In the past subjunctive (more recently also past indicative), expressing a hypothetical condition (frequently emphatically).’ Quotations illustrating the past subjunctive include ‘Were peace to be restored, metropolitan France would have [etc.]’ and ‘If he were to peg out, it would be my great chance [etc.].’

subordinate clause

A subordinate clause is a clause which is dependent on another part of the sentence, and which could not stand alone as a complete sentence.

The underlined clauses in the following are subordinate clauses:

After we had lunch , we went back to work.
I am glad that you came .
He sat in the garden, reading the paper .
If you see anything suspicious , report it to the police.
LIKE v.1 5, ‘to wish to do or have; to choose, prefer’, is described as ‘In a subordinate clause introduced by as or an interrogative word’. Examples include ‘You can go where you damn well like’ (in which like is part of the subordinate clause where you damn well like ) and ‘She‥suspected that Mary would do as she liked’ (in which like is part of the subordinate clause as she liked ).
REALIZE v.2 6b is defined as ‘ trans . With a subordinate clause. To understand clearly, be fully aware.’ Examples include ‘Can they realize what we suffer?’ and ‘he had finally realized that Hunt had been right’ (in which the direct objects are the clauses what we suffer and that Hunt had been right ).

A suffix is an element added to the end of a word or stem to form a new word. Suffixes mainly signal an inflection or a change of part of speech . However, suffixes can also form a new word of the same part of speech.

Compare prefix .

The suffix -ED (suffix 1 ) is an inflectional suffix used to form past participles of verbs (for example celebrated in the news was celebrated all over the world ) and hence participial adjectives (for example, CELEBRATED adj. is formed of CELEBRATE v. and -ED suffix 1 ).
The adjective WORKABLE is formed of the verb WORK and the suffix -ABLE. In this case, the suffix changes the class of the word from a verb ( work ) to an adjective ( workable ).
The adjective GREENISH is formed of the adjective GREEN and the suffix -ISH (suffix 1 ). In this case, there is no change in part of speech.

superlative

A superlative adjective or adverb is one which expresses the highest degree of a quality or attribute denoted by an adjective or adverb.

In English the superlative degree is usually expressed by adding -est to an adjective or adverb (e.g. fast est ) or by using most as a modifier (e.g. most polite ). However, in some cases it is expressed by a word from a different root (e.g. best is the superlative of good , and worst is the superlative of bad ).

Compare positive , comparative .

At ABOUT adv. 9c, in the sense ‘very nearly, pretty much; more or less’, uses ‘modifying superlative adjectives’ are exemplified. An example is: ‘It’s about the nearest thing to sensory deprivation she can arrange.’

The tense of a verb indicates the time at which something is viewed as happening or existing, in relation to the time of the utterance.

In many grammatical models, tense specifically refers to the set of inflected verb forms which indicate the time at which something is viewed as happening or existing. In English, there are only two tenses expressed by inflection: the present tense (for example, changes in ‘Everything changes’) and the past tense (for example, changed in ‘Everything changed’). This is the way that the term tense is usually used in the OED .

In other grammatical models, tense has a broader meaning covering other categories of verb constructions used to express time, such as those used in English to express future time. In English, future time is indicated not by means of inflections but by other constructions such as the use of the auxiliary verb will in sentences like ‘The train will leave at 9 o’clock.’

that-clause

A that -clause is a subordinate clause which begins with ‘that’. That -clauses often function as direct objects of verbs (e.g. ‘I hope that you have a nice time’) or complements of adjectives (e.g. ‘I am glad that you came’). Clauses of this type where ‘that’ is omitted (e.g. ‘I hope you have a nice time’, ‘I am glad you came’) are still described as that -clauses (sometimes specifically as ‘zero that -clauses’; see zero ).

At QUIP v. 2b the transitive sense ‘to say or reply as a quip’ is described as ‘chiefly with that -clause or direct speech as object’. One of the examples given in which the verb takes a that -clause as direct object is ‘The public quipped that the new uniform was suitable for a doorman or liftboy.’
At HATE v. 2d the transitive sense ‘to be very unhappy or dissatisfied that ; to find it intolerable that ‘ is described as ‘with that -clause’. One of the examples given is ‘I hated that I was never allowed to feel what I felt.’ Here, as in the previous example, the that -clause is the direct object of the verb .
At NECESSARY adj. 1b the sense ‘it is required or is imperative’ is described as ‘with that -clause or with infinitive, esp. with anticipatory it ‘. One of the examples given in which the adjective takes a that -clause is ‘is it necessary that such a writing as this be confirmed by witness?’

third person

Pronouns in the third person indicate the person, thing, or group being spoken or written about (rather than the speaker/writer or the addressee). The third person pronouns (and related possessive adjectives ) in modern standard English are he, him, his, himself; she, her, hers, herself; it, its, itself; they, them, their, theirs , and themselves . See also person , first person , second person .

In many languages, and in English in earlier periods, verbs also take different person forms. In modern English, the main remaining distinction of this kind is in singular verbs in the present tense , which have a distinct form in the third person, marked by the addition of -s or -es . That is, we say he/she/it run s (but I run, we run, you run, they run, etc.).

At the phrase that’s your lot/you’ve had your lot at LOT n. P8, there is a comment that it is ‘Also occasionally in the first or third person.’ That is, the phrase usually uses second person you/your , but there are some uses in the first person (as in ‘That’s it Bruce, that’s my lot’) and some in the third person (as in ‘Tina Wilson has had her lot tonight’).

to-infinitive

A verb is transitive when it takes a direct object : a noun , pronoun , phrase , or clause which typically refers to the person or thing affected by the action of the verb.

When a verb does not take a direct object it is intransitive .

In the OED , transitivity labels are applied to senses of verbs and phrasal verbs . The following are examples with the label transitive .

‘Carmody punched him viciously about the head’ (at PUNCH v. 7a): the pronoun him is the direct object. ‘I prided myself on being unflappable’ (at PRIDE v. 3a): the reflexive pronoun myself is the direct object.
‘She had better look the definitions up’ (at to look up 2 at LOOK v. Phrasal verbs 1): the noun phrase the definitions is the direct object.
‘You will also observe that I do not have eyes in the back of my head ‘ (at OBSERVE v. 9): the clause that I do not have eyes in the back of my head is the direct object.
‘Funny, mused Franz aloud’ (at MUSE v. 1f): the direct speech ‘ Funny ‘ is the direct object.
‘His silk hat‥had been ruined by the beer-boy spilling a pint of ale into it’ (at RUIN v. 3): this is a passive example, and the underlying structure is ‘the beer-boy spilling a pint of ale into it had ruined his silk hat ‘; the noun phrase his silk hat is the underlying direct object.

unmarked genitive

In English, an unmarked genitive is a use of the genitive without the ending – s (or, in early use, -es ). For example, the phrase ‘my sister’s son’ is a genitive phrase; the unmarked form is ‘my sister son’. The unmarked genitive was common in Old English, but is now rare and mainly survives in archaic compounds such as sister-son and brother-son and in certain fixed expressions such as LADY DAY n.

A verb is a word which typically describes what a person or thing does, or what happens: be, make, build, remember, occur , and seem are all examples of verbs in English. Verbs are generally essential to the structure of a sentence, and they can be inflected to show features such as tense , number , and person : for example, the verb remember can be put in the past tense form remembered or the third person present singular form remembers . In English, verbs are transitive or intransitive .

The category of verbs is one of the parts of speech .

See also auxiliary verb , copula , main verb , modal verb , phrasal verb .

Entries for verbs have the part-of-speech label verb (or v .), for example DAYDREAM v., MUST v., OVERFATIGUE v., PUNCH v., ZOOM v.
At RIGHT-DOWN adv., a distinction is made between sense 1 ‘Modifying a verb’ (with examples such as ‘I right down enjoyed it’) and sense 2 ‘Modifying an adjective’ (with examples such as ‘right-down silly’ and ‘right-down honest’).
THROUGH- prefix contains a section described as ‘Compounded with verbs’. In this section are verbs prefixed with through- , for example through-hike in ‘[she] through-hiked the Trail three times’.

verbal noun

A verbal noun is a word (in modern English, ending in -ing ) which derives from a verb but functions as a noun , in that it can be the subject or object of a sentence and can be modified by an adjective or determiner . For example, in ‘noisy eating is impolite’ the verbal noun eating is the subject of the sentence and is modified by an adjective ( noisy ).

A verbal noun is similar to a gerund , but a gerund also has some verb-like properties that a verbal noun does not.

LIKE v.1 4c describes the sense ‘to enjoy, have a taste for, or take pleasure in (an action, activity, condition, etc.)’ as ‘with gerund or verbal noun as object’. The example ‘he sang in the choir because he liked singing’ shows the use of like with a verbal noun ( singing ).
NEED v.2 7b describes the sense ‘to require (something) essential or very important (rather than merely desirable)’ when it is used ‘with verbal noun as object’. Examples include ‘the story of the poet’s life does not need telling’.

In some inflected languages, the vocative case is used to indicate a person or thing being addressed, invoked, etc. English has never possessed an independent vocative case, but a pronoun , noun , or noun phrase which is being used as a form of address (e.g. boy in ‘come here, boy’, or friend in ‘speak, friend, and enter’) is also referred to as a vocative.

GOD n. and int. Phrases 1e(a) treats interjectional phrases such as oh God, my God, good God , etc., under the definition ‘In the vocative with an interjection or modifier, used to express strong feeling, esp. astonishment or dismay.’

The term zero is used to indicate the absence of a grammatical feature when that feature would normally be present or is present in similar constructions. For example, a zero that -clause is a that -clause in which that has been omitted, as in ‘He said he would be late’ (instead of ‘He said that he would be late’). Similarly, a clause with zero auxiliary is one in which the auxiliary verb has been omitted, as in ‘You coming?’ (instead of ‘Are you coming?’).

Browse information

Dictionaries home
American English
Collocations
German-English
Grammar home
Practical English Usage
Learn & Practise Grammar (Beta)
Word Lists home
My Word Lists
Recent additions
Resources home
Text Checker

Definition of case noun from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

illustration
example something such as an object, a fact, or a situation that shows, explains, or supports what you say; a thing that is typical of or represents a particular group or set: Can you give me an example of what you mean?
case a particular situation or a situation of a particular type; a situation that relates to a particular person or thing: In some cases people have had to wait several weeks for an appointment.
instance ( somewhat formal ) a particular situation or a situation of a particular type: The report highlights a number of instances of injustice.
specimen an example of something, especially an animal or a plant: The aquarium has some interesting specimens of tropical fish.
illustration ( somewhat formal ) a story, an event, or an example that clearly shows the truth about something: The statistics are a clear illustration of the point I am trying to make.
An illustration is often used to show that something is true. An example is used to help to explain something.
a(n) example/case/instance/specimen/illustration of something
in a particular case/instance
for example/instance
circumstances
state of affairs
situation all the things that are happening at a particular time and in a particular place: the current economic situation
circumstances the facts that are connected with and affect a situation, an event, or an action; the conditions of a person's life, especially the money they have: The ship sank in mysterious circumstances.
position the situation that someone is in, especially when it affects what they can and cannot do: She knew that she was in a position of power.
conditions the circumstances in which people live, work, or do things; the physical situation that affects how something happens: We were forced to work outside in freezing conditions.
Circumstances often refers to someone's financial situation; conditions are things such as the quality and amount of food or shelter they have. The circumstances that affect an event are the facts surrounding it; the conditions that affect it are usually physical ones, such as the weather.
things ( somewhat informal ) the general situation, as it affects someone: Hi, Jane! How are things? Think things over before you decide.
the case the true situation: If that is the case (= if the situation described is true) , we need more staff.
state of affairs a situation: Well, this is certainly a sorry state of affairs.
State of affairs is mostly used with this . It is also used with adjectives describing how good or bad a situation is, such as happy , sorry , shocking , and sad , as well as those relating to time, such as present and current . Situation is much more frequent and is used in a wider variety of contexts.
in (a) particular situation/circumstances/position/state of affairs
the/somebody's economic/financial/social situation/circumstances/position/conditions
(a/an) happy/fortunate/unfortunate/sad situation/circumstances/position/state of affairs
to look at/review the situation/circumstances/conditions/things

Take your English to the next level

The Oxford Learner’s Thesaurus explains the difference between groups of similar words. Try it for free as part of the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app

IMAGES

(PDF) A Critical Study of the Word meanings in Dictionaries: a case of
Concise Oxford English Dictionary: Main edition Hard cover
The Concise Oxford Dictionary, Allen R.E.
Oxford English dictionary for schools by Oxford Dictionaries
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED)
The Oxford English Dictionary and the Public

VIDEO

Oxford English Dictionary Review #shortsfeed #enhypen #straykids #jennieblackpink
Case Study
Oxford English dictionary. very cheap price,,,😡😍🌟💣🌟⭐🎊🎄😄💣😍😄🌼😱🆕🎂🔝
Download Speaking Concise Oxford English Dictionary 11th Ed. Revised for free| full version
The Oxford Dictionaries Premium English: virtual tour
Oxford Picture Dictionary, 2nd Edition, pp. 72-73 A Grocery Store

COMMENTS

case study
a person, group of people, situation, etc. that is used to study a particular idea or theory . Athletes make an interesting case study for doctors. See case study in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary See case study in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
case study, n. meanings, etymology and more
OED's earliest evidence for case study is from 1914, in Journal of American Criminal Law & Criminol. case study is formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: case n. 1 , study n.
Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford English Dictionary. The historical English dictionary. An unsurpassed guide for researchers in any discipline to the meaning, history, and usage of over 500,000 words and phrases across the English-speaking world. ... Case studies; Media enquiries; Oxford University Press; Oxford Languages; Oxford Academic; Oxford Dictionary of National ...
case study
Definition of case study noun in Oxford Advanced American Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
Using the OED
The OED in modern languages teaching: English Language, Translation Studies, and World Englishes. Using the OED to assist reading literacy and language acquisition of Arabic-speakers. Expand. Academic case studies and articles. The OED API: exploring word meaning in historical texts with computational methods.
Academic case studies and articles
Here you will find all the links to our OED case studies, which (together with our OED event recordings) examine how the OED has proved helpful in real scenarios, and…
Etymology, Word History, and the Grouping and ...
Philip Durkin is Deputy Chief Editor of the Oxford English Dictionary. He has led the OED's team of specialist etymology editors since the late 1990s. His research interests include etymology, the history of the English language and of the English lexicon, language contact, medieval multilingualism, and approaches to historical lexicography.
The Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary provides an unsurpassed guide to the English language, documenting 500,000 words through 3.5 million illustrative quotations from over 1,000 years of history across the English-speaking world. Explore the Oxford English Dictionary . Find out more about OED subscriptions. Since its inception in 1857, the OED has ...
Examining the OED
Examining the OED (EOED) sets out to investigate the principles and practice behind the Oxford English Dictionary, an extraordinary achievement of scholarship and labour and the greatest dictionary of English ever compiled.The project is wholly independent of the OED itself. Its main aim is to explore and analyse OED's quotations and quotation sources, so as to illuminate the foundations of ...
Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first edition in 1884, traces the historical development of the English language, providing a comprehensive resource to scholars and academic researchers, and provides ongoing ...
American English Dictionary Data
American English Dictionary Data. American English. Dictionary Data. A dictionary dataset that reflects American English as it's used today. The machine-readable format of the New Oxford American Dictionary provides more than 350,000 words and meanings, curated and annotated by our expert lexicographers.
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries
The largest and most trusted free online dictionary for learners of British and American English with definitions, pictures, example sentences, synonyms, antonyms, word origins, audio pronunciation, and more. Look up the meanings of words, abbreviations, phrases, and idioms in our free English Dictionary.
The OED today
The Oxford English Dictionary is a comprehensive historical dictionary that aims to document the English language in all its varieties from the eleventh century to the present day.OED entries describe the origin, meaning, and history of each word by analyzing evidence of usage from the earliest known to the most recent.. An OED entry is like a biography of a word, with senses ordered ...
Case study
Quick Reference. A research method that engages in the close, detailed examination of a single example or phenomenon. In some instances, it may be a version of ideographic rather than nomothetic investigation—seeking ... From: case study in Dictionary of the Social Sciences ». Subjects: Social sciences.
Copyright and Mass Social Authorship: A Case Study of the Making of the
By contrast, the case study explored in this article uncovers copyright issues considered in relation to a 19th-century social authorship precedent: the 70-year process of compiling the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (NED) instigated by the not-for-profit Philological Society in 1858, which involved thousands of casually ...
Word Formation Processes in English New Words of Oxford English
Another study by Ratih, E., & Gusdian, R. I. (2018) uses the Oxford English Dictionary as the study source. These two studies are similar to this study since the studies discuss the same purpose ...
case noun
see also edge case, use case, worst-case Synonyms example example case instance specimen illustration These are all words for a thing or situation that is typical of a particular group or set, and is sometimes used to support an argument. example something such as an object, a fact or a situation that shows, explains or supports what you say; a ...
Case Studies
AssistiveWare utilize Oxford Languages Thesaurus data to power their pioneering augmentative and alternative communication tool, enabling users to develop their language, vocabulary, and literacy skills. Ecosia. Ecosia use Oxford Languages' data to improve their UX by providing dictionary definitions and content at the top of their search results.
study
The study aims to examine bias in television news coverage. The study compares the incidence of bone cancer in men and women. The study group was selected from a broad cross section of the population. The study highlighted three problem areas. The study provided valuable insight into the development of the disease.
End-of-Life Decisions for Isolated Patients Under New York's Family
Plain Meaning Courts typically start with dictionary definitions "as guideposts to determine a word's ordinary and commonly understood meaning."[22] Webster's International Dictionary, Third Edition (1993) defines "imminent" to mean "Ready to take place; near at hand; impending; hanging threateningly over one's head; menacingly ...
The OED in modern languages teaching: English Language, Translation
In their first year, students learn about the History of the English language, and about Historical Semantics in their second year. Particularly for these first two years, the OED is of great help in tracing the etymology of words. In the second year, the OED becomes an indispensable tool to illustrate the different types of semantic change.
Getting started
A step-by-step guide through the process of acquiring a subscription. Purchasing an OED Subscription - PDF. Creating and managing a personal account. In this guide, you will see how to create your account, save searches, and manage your marketing preferences. Creating and managing a personal OED account - PDF.
Glossary of grammatical terms
agree, agreement. Grammatical agreement refers to the fact of two (or more) elements in a clause or sentence having the same grammatical person, number, gender, or case. In modern English, the main type of agreement takes place between the subject and the verb of a clause.
case noun
Definition of case noun in Oxford Advanced American Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more. ... Take your English to the next level. The Oxford Learner's Thesaurus explains the difference between groups of similar words. Try it for free as part of the Oxford Advanced Learner's ...

Words and phrases

Institutional access

Institutional account management

Information

Browse information

What does the OED tell us about the English language?

New posts and pages

Recently viewed (0)

Related Content

More Like This

Quick Reference

Related content in Oxford Reference

WORD FORMATION PROCESSES IN ENGLISH NEW WORDS OF OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY (OED) ONLINE

Case Studies

End-of-Life Decisions for Isolated Patients Under New York's Family Health Care Decisions Act

Main Article Content

Robert N. Swidler

Article Details

Words and phrases

Institutional access

Institutional account management

Information

absolute ( absol .)

adverb ( adv. )

adverbial, adverbially

agree, agreement

anticipatory

apodosis and protasis

attributive

auxiliary verb, auxiliary

bare infinitive

cognate object

collective noun

collocation, collocate

combination

combining form (comb. form)

common noun

comparative

complementary

compound, compounding

conditional

conjunction (conj.)

construction

construed (const., constr.)

copular verb | copula

declarative

definite article

demonstrative

direct object

direct question

direct speech

double object

ellipsis, elliptical

first person

imperative (imper.)

indirect object

indirect question

indirect speech

inflection, inflected, inflectional

instrumental

intensifier

interjection

interrogative

intransitive

main clause

modal verb, modal auxiliary verb, modal auxiliary

modify, modifier

nominal relative, nominal relative clause

non-referential

noun phrase

object, direct object, indirect object

parasynthetic

parenthetical, parenthetically

part of speech

participial adjective

participle, past participle, present participle

passive infinitive

past participle

periphrasis, periphrastic

personal pronoun