citation form

1 7.5

The basic form of a word that a dictionary lists

noun
/ˈsaɪteɪʃən fɔrm/

Texting

: forma de cita

This is comparable to the findings of Flipsen et al. (1999a), who recorded a larger number of adolescent speakers (N = 26) but used much more limited speech contexts (10 words produced in citation form).
citation form words

Examples

An alternative to sampling connected speech that avoids these difficulties is provided by eliciting single words in citation form.

Academic text (2015)
An example of this approach is the cycles program (Hodson & Paden, 1983, 1991), in which the entire focus is on citation-form words, without steps for phrases, discourse, or conversation.

Academic text (2013)
After all, although we now use the infinitive as the citation form in our Modern Spanish dictionaries, Hock reminds us that: "in Latin and Greek, the first person singular is used as the citation forms of verbs" (220).

Academic text (2001)
After all, although we now use the infinitive as the citation form in our Modern Spanish dictionaries, Hock reminds us that: "in Latin and Greek, the first person singular is used as the citation forms of verbs" (220).

Academic text (2001)
The citation form is the version of the word you would look up in a dictionary.
In academic writing, using the correct citation form is essential for proper referencing.
When you list a word in a glossary, always provide its citation form for clarity.

Synonyms

form

vscitation form

Specialized

28 2.1

The sound or spelling of a word

is the specific standardized version chosen as the dictionary heading

entry word

vscitation form

Jargon

4.7

The main word shown as the heading in a dictionary

is the standardized version chosen as the canonical dictionary heading

main entry word

vscitation form

Jargon

6.0

The word shown at the top of a dictionary page to find information

is the standard version selected as the dictionary's main heading

headword

vscitation form

Specialized

6.3

The main word at the start of a dictionary entry or phrase shown in bold

is the chosen standardized version used as the dictionary's heading for entries

Surface Forms

citation form singular

citation forms plural

Morphology

citation + form

Although the words 'citation' (reference) and 'form' (shape) are transparent individually, the intended lexicographic sense 'the standard dictionary headword' is specialized and not directly inferable; a B1 learner would likely interpret it as 'a form used when citing a source.' Because the meaning is jargon-like and only partially related to the literal constituents, it is not fully predictable without prior exposure.

Etymology

Citation form comes from the idea of a dictionary choosing one 'name' for a word. Imagine a card that shows the basic form of the word, for example 'run' instead of 'ran'. So, learners learn the citation form first because it is the standard form used to list and find words.