Attribute
Revision as of 23:17, 24 June 2007 by Linguipedia (talk | contribs) (New page: The term '''attribute''' is used to denote the syntactic function of an adnominal modifier, such as genitive NP, adjective phrase, relative clause, i.e. any kind of adnominal [[modifie...)
The term attribute is used to denote the syntactic function of an adnominal modifier, such as genitive NP, adjective phrase, relative clause, i.e. any kind of adnominal modifier.
Examples
genitive NP: English the donkey of Sam, Sam's donkey
adjective phrase: English the old tree
relative clause (restrictive): English the house that is green
Comments
The term with this meaning is particulary common in the grammatical traditions of German (Attribut, Beifügung) and Russian (opredelenie). The term attribute in this sense is not so common in English, though the adjective attributive is widely used.
Polysemy
See also predicative attribute.
Synonyms
Origin
From Latin attributum 'what has been attributed'. First attested in this grammatical sense in the early 19th century.
