postposition

American  

[pohst-puh-zish-uhn, pohst-puh-zish-uhn] / ˌpoʊst pəˈzɪʃ ən, ˈpoʊst pəˌzɪʃ ən /

noun

1. the act of placing after.

2. the state of being so placed.

3. Grammar.

   1. the use of words, particles, or affixes following the elements they modify or govern, as of the adjective general in attorney general, or of the particle e “to” in Japanese Tokyo e “to Tokyo.”

   2. a word, particle, or affix so used.

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postposition British  

/ ˌpəʊstpəˈzɪʃən /

noun

1. placement of a modifier or other speech element after the word that it modifies or to which it is syntactically related

2. a word or speech element so placed

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Other Word Forms

• postpositional adjective
• postpositionally adverb

Etymology

Origin of postposition

1540–50; post- + position or (pre)position ¹

Example Sentences

The following are the postpositions commonly employed to form cases in our three languages:— 482   Agent.

From Project Gutenberg

Thī, the postposition of the G. ablative, is connected with thawũ, to be, one of the verbs substantive in that language.

From Project Gutenberg

The usual genitive postposition is k, which has become a suffix, and now forms part of the word to which it is attached, a final preceding vowel being frequently shortened.

From Project Gutenberg

In nouns and pronouns case functions are performed by an elaborate system of postpositions in conjunction with the classifiers.

From Project Gutenberg

If the cases are formed by postpositions, new postpositions can be used as soon as the old ones become obsolete.

From Project Gutenberg