| participle |
| Definition: A verb that is being used as an adjective. Note: English has two types: (1) present participles: these end with ing (2) past participles: these usually end with ed, en, and t |
| Example:
(1) The barking dogs angered the cats (the present participle barking modifies dogs) (2) Satisfied, Gary smoked a cigarette. (the past participle satisfied modifies Gary) |
| Etymology: The term derives from the Latin participium, a sharing or partaking. Note: The Latin word was coined to translate the Greek metokhe, sharer or partaker; the idea being that this type of word shares the nature of both a noun and an adjective. |
| Oxford English Dictionary: Its first citation is from 1388: "A participle of a present tens, either preterit, of actif vois, eithir passif, mai be resoluid into a verbe of the same tens, and a coniunccioun copulatif." (Wyclif Prol. 57) |