verbal noun

American  

[vur-buhl noun] / ˈvɜr bəl ˈnaʊn /

noun

Grammar.

1. a noun derived from a verb, especially by a process applicable to most or all verbs. In English, a verbal noun uses the -ing form, as in , or the infinitive form, as in In Latin, examples of verbal nouns include dictiō “act of speaking, utterance” (from dīcere “to say, tell, speak”) and cantus “singing, song” (from canere ”to sing“).

   Eating is fun

   To see is to believe.

---

verbal noun British  

noun

1. a noun derived from a verb, such as smoking in the sentence smoking is bad for you See also gerund

---

Etymology

Origin of verbal noun

First recorded in 1700–10

Example Sentences

Prohibit was formerly construed, as forbid still is, with the infinitive, but the construction with from and the verbal noun has now entirely superseded the older usage.

From English Synonyms and Antonyms With Notes on the Correct Use of Prepositions by Fernald, James Champlin

Aren, or aen, eco-aco-co are case terminations; tcea-cea marks the verbal noun.

From Basque Legends With an Essay on the Basque Language by Webster, Wentworth

A verbal noun is the name of an action.

From Business English A Practice Book by Buhlig, Rose

In the examples above, the subject of the action is a single, unmodified term, immediately preceding the verbal noun, and the construction is as good as any that could be used.

From A Foreword to the Panama-Pacific International Exposition by James, Juliet Helena Lumbard

What is the rule about names composed of a plain noun and a verbal noun?

From Compound Words Typographic Technical Series for Apprentices #36 by Hamilton, Frederick W. (Frederick William)