participle

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: par=ti=ci=ple

CIDE DICTIONARY

participle, n. [F. participe, L. participium, fr. particeps sharing, participant; pars, gen. partis, a part + capere to take. See Participate.].

•  A part of speech partaking of the nature of both verb and adjective; a form of a verb, or verbal adjective, modifying a noun, but taking the adjuncts of the verb from which it is derived. In the sentences: a letter is written; being asleep he did not hear; exhausted by toil he will sleep soundly, -- written, being, and exhaustedare participles.  [1913 Webster]

  " Present participles, called also imperfect, or incomplete, participles, end in -ing. Past participles, called also perfect, or complete, participles, for the most part end in -ed, -d, -t, -en, or -n. A participle when used merely as an attribute of a noun, without reference to time, is called an adjective, or a participial adjective; as, a written constitution; a rolling stone; the exhausted army. The verbal noun in -ing has the form of the present participle. See Verbal noun, under Verbal, a."  [1913 Webster]

  "By a participle, [I understand] a verb in an adjectival aspect."  [1913 Webster]
•  Anything that partakes of the nature of different things.  [1913 Webster]

  "The participles or confines between plants and living creatures."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

participle, n. Gram. a word formed from a verb (e.g. going, gone, being, been) and used in compound verb-forms (e.g. is going, has been) or as an adjective (e.g. working woman, burnt toast).

Derivative

participial adj. participially adv.

Etymology

ME f. OF, by-form of participe f. L participium (as PARTICIPATE)

THESAURUS

participle

adjectival, adjective, adverb, adverbial, adversative conjunction, attributive, conjunction, conjunctive adverb, coordinating conjunction, copulative, copulative conjunction, correlative conjunction, disjunctive, disjunctive conjunction, exclamatory noun, form class, form word, function class, gerundive, interjection, part of speech, particle, past participle, perfect participle, preposition, present participle, subordinating conjunction, verbal adjective