Dictionary Definition
determiner
Noun
1 an argument that is conclusive [syn: clincher, determining
factor]
2 one of a limited class of noun modifiers that
determine the referents of noun phrases [syn: determinative]
3 a determining or causal element or factor;
"education is an important determinant of one's outlook on life"
[syn: determinant,
determinative,
determining
factor, causal
factor]
User Contributed Dictionary
Noun
- A member of a class of words functioning in a noun phrase to identify or distinguish a referent without describing or modifying it. Examples of determiners include articles (a, the), demonstratives (this, those), cardinal numbers (three, fifty), and indefinite numerals (most, any, each).
- A dependent function in a noun phrase marking the NP as definite or indefinite. This function is usually filled by words in the determinative class but may be filled by other elements such as a genitive pronoun.
- Something that determines, or helps someone
to determine, something else.
- 1901: Azel Ames, The Mayflower and Her Log
- The "steel-yards" and "measures" were the only determiners of weight and quantity — as the hour-glass and sun dial were of time — possessed at first (so far as appears) by the passengers of the Pilgrim ship,
- 1901: Azel Ames, The Mayflower and Her Log
Translations
class of words
- Dutch: determinator
- Spanish: determinante
dependent function in a noun phrase
- Dutch: determinator
something that determines
- Dutch: aanwijzer
Translations to be checked
- ttbc French: déterminant
See also
References
determiner in The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language Huddleston & Pullum, 2002. CUP.Extensive Definition
Determiner may mean any of the following:
- Determiner (class): (grammar) a class of words (also determinative)
- Determiner (function): (grammar) a function in phrase structure
- Determiner phrase: (grammar) a phrase headed by a determiner
determiner in Galician:
Determinante