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Glite Dictionary
prenominal

prenominal

8.8
An adjective that comes before the noun it describes
  • adjective
  • /ˌpriːnoʊˈmɪnəl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : prenominal
  • An example of a prenominal usage is 'the old house,' where 'old' comes before 'house.'

Examples

  • In English, a prenominal adjective can modify a noun directly, such as in 'the red car.'

  • The proto (prenominal) skilled crafts unions took measures to bar immigrants from their ranks.

    Blog text (28)

  • The prenominal adjective 'happy' appears before the noun 'child' in the phrase 'the happy child.'

Synonyms

attributive
vsprenominal
  • Specialized
7.5

Comes before a noun to describe it, as an adjective does

applies only to adjectives placed before the noun

Surface Forms

prenominal positive

Morphology

prenominal = nominal (semi-transparent) = pre + nomin + al

For learners who know the grammatical adjective 'nominal', adding 'pre-' straightforwardly gives the meaning 'before the noun'.

Etymology

Prenominal starts with pre- meaning 'before' and uses nominal, which comes from a word for 'name' or 'noun'. So, prenominal describes an adjective that comes 'before' the noun it describes.