Advertisement

Origin and history of participle

participle(n.)

late 14c., in grammar, "a noun-adjective, a word having the value of an adjective as a part of speech but so regularly made from a verb and associated with it in meaning and construction as to seem to belong to the verb," from Old French participle in the grammatical sense (13c.), a variant of participe, and directly from Latin participium, literally "a sharing, partaking," also used in the grammatical sense, from particeps "sharing, partaking" (see participation). In grammatical sense, the Latin translates Greek metokhē "sharer, partaker," and the notion is of a word "partaking" of the nature of both a noun and an adjective.

Owl: "What a scene! A octopus got me!"
Bug: "Phoo! ain’t no octopus is got him!"
Pogo: "Mebbe he mean a octopus did got him."
Bug: "A octopus did got him? Is that grammatiwackle?"
Pogo; "As grammacklewak as rain — ‘is got’ is the present aloofable tense an’ ‘did got’ is the part particuticle."
Bug: "Mighty strange! My teachers allus learnt me that the past inconquerable tense had a li’l’ more body to it."

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to participle

participation(n.)

"act or fact of sharing or partaking in common with another or others; act or state of receiving or having a part of something," late 14c., participacioun, from Old French participacion (13c.) and directly from Late Latin participationem (nominative participatio) "partaking," noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin participare "participate in, share in, partake of; to make partaker, to share, impart," from particeps (genitive participis) "partaker, comrade, fellow soldier," also, as an adjective, "sharing, partaking," from pars (genitive partis) "a part, piece, a division" (from PIE root *pere- (2) "to grant, allot") + -cip-, weak form of stem of capere "to take," from PIE root *kap- "to grasp." Related: Participational "involving or requiring participation" (1952).

participial(adj.)

"having the nature and use of a participle," 1590s, from French participial and directly from Latin participialis, from participium (see participle). As a noun from 1560s.

    Advertisement

    More to explore

    agglutinate
    1580s, "unite or cause to adhere," from Latin agglutinatus, past participle of agglutinare "fasten with glue," from ad "to...Perhaps suggested by the earlier use of the same word in English as a past-participle adjective (1540s) "united as by glue...," from the Latin past participle....
    distraught
    , frantic, deranged," late 14c., an alteration of distract (mid-14c.), which in its older form is long obsolete, a past-participle...adjective from the Middle English verb distracten or else from Latin distractus "distracted, perplexed," past participle...The Middle English alteration in form is perhaps by association with native past-participle forms in -ght, such as caught...Compare distracted, which is a 16c. past-participle adjective from the same verb after the form of this word shifted....
    admixture
    c. 1600, "act of mingling," with -ure + admix (1530s), a back-formed verb from admixt "mingled" (early 15c.), a past-participle...adjective from Latin admixtus "mixed with," past participle of admiscere "to add to by mingling, mix with," from ad "to"...In Middle English admixt was mistaken as the past participle of a (then) non-existent *admix....
    chide
    The past tense and past participle can be chided or chid or even (past participle) chidden (Shakespeare used it); the present...participle is chiding....
    frequentative
    fréquentatif, from Late Latin frequentativus "serving to denote the repetition of an act," from Latin frequentat-, past-participle...Frequentive is considered incorrect, because -ive adjectives are normally formed on the Latin past participle....
    recidivate
    "fall back; relapse, return to an abandoned course of conduct," 1610s (1520s as a past-participle adjective), from Medieval...Latin recidivatus, past participle of recidivare "to relapse" (see recidivist)....
    pulsation
    of the blood, throbbing," from Latin pulsationem (nominative pulsatio) "a beating or striking," noun of action from past-participle...strike, push against' hammer, keep hitting," figuratively "drive forth, disturb, disquiet," frequentative of pellere (past participle...
    verb
    "a word that asserts or declares; that part of speech of which the office is predication, and which, either alone or with various modifiers or adjuncts, combines with a subject to make a sentence" [Century Dictionary], late 14c., from Old French verbe "word; word of God; saying;
    excruciate
    "to torture, torment, inflict very severe pain on," as if by crucifying, 1560s, from Latin excruciatus, past participle of excruciare "to torture, torment, rack, plague;" figuratively "to afflict, harass, vex, torment," from ex "out, out from; thoroughly" (see ex-) + cruciare "ca
    attrition
    early 15c., attricioun, "a breaking;" 1540s, "abrasion, scraping, the rubbing of one thing against another," from Latin attritionem (nominative attritio), literally "a rubbing against," noun of action from past-participle stem of atterere "to wear, rub away," figuratively "to des

    Share participle

    Advertisement
    Trending
    Dictionary entries near participle
    Advertisement