polysynthetic
English
Etymology
The Ancient Greek prefix poly- + synthetic, from Latin synthesis (“collection, set, composition”), from Ancient Greek σύνθεσις (sunthesis, “composition”), from συντίθημι (suntithēmi, “to put together, combine”), from συν- (sun-, “together”) + τίθημι (tithēmi, “to put, place”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰe- (“to put, to do”).
Adjective
polysynthetic (comparative more polysynthetic, superlative most polysynthetic)
- (grammar) said of a language, characterized by a prevalence of relatively long words containing a large number of morphemes. Typically, the morphemes are bound (i.e., they cannot stand alone as independent words). An example of a polysynthetic language is Ojibwe, where:
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- baataanitaaanishinaabemong = "being able to speak Ojibwe."
- ngiinitaaozhibii'amaadimin = "we used to write to each other."
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- (mineralogy) Having layers of twin crystals
Translations
polysynthetic
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See also
Related terms
- oligosynthetic
- polysynthesis
- polysynthesism
- synthetic