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  1. participle love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. A form of verb that in some languages, such as English, can function independently as an adjective, as the past participle baked in We had some baked beans, and is used with an auxiliary verb to indicate tense, aspect, or voice, as the past participle baked in the passive sentence The beans were baked too long.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. Whatever partakes of the nature of two or more other things; something that is part one thing and part another; a mongrel.
  2. n. In gram., a verbal adjective that participates or shares in the construction of the verb to which it belongs, and so has in a certain manner and degree a place in the verbal system; a word having the value of an adjective as 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. Thus, ‘giving him a book,’ like ‘I give him a book’ ‘the book given him,’ or ‘lent him,’ or ‘handed him’ and so on. There are but two simple participles in English, usually called the present and the past or passive:as, loving, loved; singing, sung; in some languages there are more, as for example in Greek. The division-line between participle and ordinary adjective is indistinct, and the one often passes over into the other: thus, a charming girl, a learned man. Participles are much used in many languages, especially in English, in forming verb-phrases by combination with auxiliaries: thus, I am giving,I have given, it is given,etc.

Wiktionary

  1. n. grammar A form of verb that may function as an adjective or noun. English has two types of participles: the present participle and the past participle.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. (Gram.) A part of speech partaking of the nature of both verb and adjective; a form of verb, or verbal adjective, modifying a noun, but taking the adjuncts of the verb from which it is derived. In the sentences: a letter is written; being asleep he did not hear; exhausted by toil he will sleep soundly, -- written, being, and exhaustedare participles.
  2. n. obsolete Anything that partakes of the nature of different things.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. a non-finite form of verb; in English it is used adjectivally and to form compound tenses

Etymologies

  1. From Old French participle (1388), ‘a noun-adjective’, variant of participe, from Latin participium. (Wiktionary)
  2. Middle English, from Old French, variant of participe, from Latin participium (translation of Greek metokhē, sharing, partaking, participle), from particeps, particip-, partaker; see participate. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

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  • heypacksees verb as adjective (cf. gerund, attributive) Jan 23, 2011

  • uselessness Writing carefully, dangling participles must be avoided. Jan 25, 2007

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‘participle’ has been looked up 3074 times, loved by 3 people, added to 16 lists, commented on 2 times, and has a Scrabble score of 16.