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gerund

[jer-uh nd]
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noun Grammar.
  1. (in certain languages, as Latin) a form regularly derived from a verb and functioning as a noun, having in Latin all case forms but the nominative, as Latin dicendī gen., dicendō, dat., abl., etc., “saying.”See also gerundive(def 1).
  2. the English -ing form of a verb when functioning as a noun, as writing in Writing is easy.
  3. a form similar to the Latin gerund in meaning or function.
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Origin of gerund

1505–15; < Late Latin gerundium, Latin gerundum that which is to be carried on, equivalent to ger(ere) to bear, carry on + -undum, variant of -endum, gerund suffix
Related formsge·run·di·al [juh-ruhn-dee-uh l] /dʒəˈrʌn di əl/, adjectivege·run·di·al·ly, adverbnon·ge·run·di·al, adjective

Usage note

See me.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for gerund

Historical Examples

  • He writes omneis at length, and quidquid, and his gerund is most inconformable.

    Microcosmography

    John Earle

  • The gerund is n, nte, naqu xite, or nacatte 'since it is not.'

  • The negative present is voinu and the gerund in Do is voite.

  • Its preterit is saiguitta and its gerund in Do is saiguitte.

  • Well, if you have, how are you going to spot the gerund and the gerundive?

    The Varmint

    Owen Johnson

British Dictionary definitions for gerund

gerund

noun
  1. a noun formed from a verb, denoting an action or state. In English, the gerund, like the present participle, is formed in -ingthe living is easy
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Derived Formsgerundial (dʒɪˈrʌndɪəl), adjective

Word Origin

C16: from Late Latin gerundium, from Latin gerundum something to be carried on, from gerere to wage
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for gerund

n.

1510s, from Late Latin gerundium, from Old Latin gerundum "to be carried out," gerundive of gerere "to bear, carry" (see gest). In Latin, a verbal noun used for all cases of the infinitive but the nominative; applied in English to verbal nouns in -ing.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
gerund in Culture

gerund

[(jer-uhnd)]

A form of a verb that ends in -ing and operates as a noun in a sentence: “Thinking can be painful.”

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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.