participle

[ pahr-tuh-sip-uh l, -suh-puh l ]

/ ˈpɑr təˌsɪp əl, -sə pəl /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR participle ON THESAURUS.COM

noun Grammar.

an adjective or complement to certain auxiliaries that is regularly derived from the verb in many languages and refers to participation in the action or state of the verb; a verbal form used as an adjective. It does not specify person or number in English, but may have a subject or object, show tense, etc., as burning, in a burning candle, or devoted in his devoted friend.

Words nearby participle

participating preferred, participation, participatory democracy, participial, participialize, participle, particle, particle accelerator, particle beam, particle beam weapon, particle board

Origin of participle

1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French, variant of participe < Latin participium, derivative of particeps taking part, equivalent to parti- (stem of pars) part + -cep- (combining form of capere to take) + -s nominative singular ending

usage note for participle

See dangling participle, misplaced modifier.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for participle

Formerly a man's own was what he worked for, own being a past participle of a verb signifying to work.
English Grammar in Familiar Lectures|Samuel Kirkham
To be sure, the infinitive still stands in the place of the participle and the imperative in by far the great majority of cases.
The Mind of the Child, Part II|W. Preyer
The student will note that the infinitive (scran) is here employed as a present participle after a verb of motion (cwman).
Anglo-Saxon Grammar and Exercise Book|C. Alphonso Smith
The tense (present participle) expresses continuous acquisition of fresh knowledge from experience.
Studies in the Epistle of James|A. T. Robertson

The combination with the participle of an intransitive verb,—I have waited; thou hast hungered; he has slept.
A Handbook of the English Language|Robert Gordon Latham

British Dictionary definitions for participle

participle

/ (ˈpɑːtɪsɪpəl, pɑːˈtɪsɪpəl) /

noun

a nonfinite form of verbs, in English and other languages, used adjectivally and in the formation of certain compound tensesSee also present participle, past participle

Derived forms of participle

participial (ˌpɑːtɪˈsɪpɪəl), adjective, nounparticipially, adverb

Word Origin for participle

C14: via Old French from Latin participium, from particeps partaker, from pars part + capere to take

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

Cultural definitions for participle

participle

[ (pahr-tuh-sip-uhl) ]

The verb form that combines with an auxiliary verb to indicate certain tenses.

The present participle is formed by adding -ing to the infinitive; it indicates present action: “The girl is swimming”; “I am thinking.” (Compare gerund.)

The past participle usually ends in -ed; it indicates completed or past action: “The gas station has closed”; “The mayor had spoken.”

Participles may also function as adjectives: “Your mother is a charming person”; “This is a talking parrot”; “Spoken words cannot be revoked.”

notes for participle

A “dangling” participle is one that is not clearly connected to the word it modifies: “Standing at the corner, two children walked past me.” A better version of this example would be, “While I was standing at the corner, two children walked past me.”

participle

noun Grammar.

Words related to participle

Words nearby participle

Origin of participle

usage note for participle

Examples from the Web for participle

British Dictionary definitions for participle

noun

Derived forms of participle

Word Origin for participle

Cultural definitions for participle

notes for participle