Verbal noun

Verbal noun
Verbal Ver"bal, a. [F., fr. L. verbalis. See {Verb}.] 1. Expressed in words, whether spoken or written, but commonly in spoken words; hence, spoken; oral; not written; as, a verbal contract; verbal testimony. [1913 Webster]

Made she no verbal question? --Shak. [1913 Webster]

We subjoin an engraving . . . which will give the reader a far better notion of the structure than any verbal description could convey to the mind. --Mayhew. [1913 Webster]

2. Consisting in, or having to do with, words only; dealing with words rather than with the ideas intended to be conveyed; as, a verbal critic; a verbal change. [1913 Webster]

And loses, though but verbal, his reward. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

Mere verbal refinements, instead of substantial knowledge. --Whewell. [1913 Webster]

3. Having word answering to word; word for word; literal; as, a verbal translation. [1913 Webster]

4. Abounding with words; verbose. [Obs.] --Shak. [1913 Webster]

5. (Gram.) Of or pertaining to a verb; as, a verbal group; derived directly from a verb; as, a verbal noun; used in forming verbs; as, a verbal prefix. [1913 Webster]

{Verbal inspiration}. See under {Inspiration}.

{Verbal noun} (Gram.), a noun derived directly from a verb or verb stem; a verbal. The term is specifically applied to infinitives, and nouns ending in -ing, esp. to the latter. See {Gerund}, and {-ing}, 2. See also, {Infinitive mood}, under {Infinitive}. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • verbal noun — 1. A verbal noun (also called a gerund) is a form of a verb ending in ing that acts as a noun, for example smoking in the phrase no smoking and in the sentence Smoking damages your health. It should be distinguished from (identically formed)… …   Modern English usage

  • verbal noun — noun (C) a noun that describes an action or experience and has the form of a present participle . For example building is a verbal noun in The building of the bridge was slow work , but simply a noun in The bank was a tall building ; gerund see… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • verbal noun — noun count LINGUISTICS a noun that is formed from a verb and ends in ing, for example swimming in the sentence Swimming is my favorite sport : GERUND …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • verbal noun — ► NOUN Grammar ▪ a noun formed as an inflection of a verb and partly sharing its constructions, such as smoking in smoking is forbidden …   English terms dictionary

  • verbal noun — n. Gram. a noun or nominal derived from a verb and functioning in some respects like a verb: in English, it is either a noun ending in ING (a gerund) or an infinitive (Ex.: walking is healthful, to err is human) …   English World dictionary

  • Verbal noun — A verbal noun is a noun formed directly as an inflexion of a verb or a verb stem, sharing at least in part its constructions. This term is applied especially to gerunds, and sometimes also to infinitives and supines.Examples of the verbal noun in …   Wikipedia

  • verbal noun — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms verbal noun : singular verbal noun plural verbal nouns linguistics a noun that is formed from a verb and ends in ing , for example swimming in the sentence Swimming is my favourite sport …   English dictionary

  • verbal noun — noun A noun that is morphologically related to a verb and similar to it in meaning; in English, this might be a gerund (ending in ing), infinitive, or other noun derived from a verb. Brisk walking is good exercise. Syn: verbal substantive …   Wiktionary

  • verbal noun — noun a noun that is derived from a verb • Syn: ↑deverbal noun • Hypernyms: ↑common noun • Hyponyms: ↑gerund …   Useful english dictionary

  • verbal noun — noun Date: 1652 a noun derived directly from a verb or verb stem and in some uses having the sense and constructions of a verb …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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