| copula |
| Definition:
A word, usually a verb or a verb-like part of speech, that is used to link a sentence's subject to a predicate. Note: The main copular verb in English is to be (e.g., is, was, were, and be). |
| Example: In the sentence Girls are nice, the word are is a copula. |
| Etymology: The word derives from the Latin copulatus, which is the past participle of copulare, join together. |
| Oxford English Dictionary: Its first OED citation is from 1650: "It belongs to the Copula, or word (Is.)." (Vind. Hammond's Addr. §62. 25) |