Lexic.us

Definition of Function word

1. Noun. A word that is uninflected and serves a grammatical function but has little identifiable meaning.

Definition of Function word

1. Noun. (linguistics) A word that has little meaning when standing alone, but instead serves to express grammatical relationships with other words within a sentence, or specify the attitude or mood of the speaker, such as prepositions, pronouns, auxiliary verbs, or conjunctions. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Function Word

Literary usage of Function word

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. History: Fiction of Science? by Anatoly T. Fomenko (2005)
"1) Sample volume of 16000 words made the function word percentage for each ... The behaviour of the parameter: function word usage for 2000 word samples. ..."

2. A Reference handbook of the medical sciences embracing the entire range of by Albert Henry Buck (1908)
"... 1. l.eslon of the receptive cells constituting the auditory centre causing abolition of function, word deafness and its ..."

3. The Genesis and Dissolution of the Faculty of Speech: A Clinical and by Joseph Collins (1898)
"Lesion of the receptive cells constituting the auditory centre, causing abolition of function : word deafness, and its entailment. 2. ..."

4. The Treatment of Diseases of the Nervous System: A Manual for Practitioners by Joseph Collins (1900)
"Lesion of the receptive cells constituting the auditory centre causing abolition of function, word deafness and its ..."

5. Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage by Inc. Merriam-Webster (1994)
"All of this confusion and contradiction comes from trying to cram an English function word with varying functions into a single mold. ..."

6. The Social Letter by Elizabeth Myers (1918)
"The social letter, in the strict sense of the function word, differs widely from the friendly letter in of that it is written for a distinct social purpose; ..."

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