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Glite Dictionary
🔤 Irregular word forms ➕ Supplementary
suppletive

suppletive

9.9
A word whose other forms use a completely different word
  • adjective
  • /səˈplɛtɪv/
  • Specialized
translation icon : supletivo
  • A suppletive adjective is one whose comparative or superlative form comes from a different root.

Examples

  • In English, 'go' and 'went' show a suppletive relationship in their verb forms.

  • The verb 'be' is suppletive because its forms include 'am', 'is', and 'are'.

  • The word suppletive is often used in linguistic discussions.

  • In English, the verb 'to be' has suppletive forms like 'am', 'is', and 'are'.

  • In English, the verb 'to go' takes a suppletive form in the past tense as 'went'.

  • The Latin language features suppletive forms, such as 'irregular' and 'elegant' adjectives with completely different stems.

  • An example of suppletive morphology is found in the verb 'to be', which uses 'am', 'is', and 'are' as its different forms.

Surface Forms

suppletive positive

Morphology

suppletive = supplement (semi-transparent) = supplet + ive

The base word 'supplement' is related to 'supply', but the specific linguistic meaning of 'suppletive' is specialized and not immediately obvious.

Etymology

The word suppletive comes from the Latin root supplēre, which means 'to fill up', and it is the same root as common words like supply and supplement. In grammar, a suppletive form 'fills in' when the regular form is missing, so 'went' 'fills in' for 'go'.