holophrastic

American

[hol-uh-fras-tik, hoh-luh-] / ˌhɒl əˈfræs tɪk, ˌhoʊ lə- /

adjective

using or consisting of a single word that functions as a phrase or sentence.
characterized by holophrasis; polysynthetic.

a holophrastic language.

holophrastic British

/ ˌhɒləˈfræstɪk /

adjective

denoting the stage in a child's acquisition of syntax when most utterances are single words
(of languages) tending to express in one word what would be expressed in several words in other languages; polysynthetic

"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

Etymology

Origin of holophrastic

1855–60; holo- + -phrastic; see periphrastic

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Various scholars have called attention to this feature by describing Indian languages as being holophrastic, polysynthetic, or synthetic.

From On the Evolution of Language First Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1879-80, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1881, pages 1-16 by Powell, John Wesley

The evolution of language, then, on this view, may be regarded as a movement out of, and away from, the holophrastic in the direction of the analytic.

From Anthropology by Marett, R. R. (Robert Ranulph)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023