| verbal |
| Definition - A word that has been created from a verb but which don't function as a verb in a sentence. |
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Example - Some types of verbals are: (1) gerunds (the ing form of a verb used as a noun, e.g. living well is the best revenge. (2) infinitives (the uninflected form of a verb, e.g. to be or not to be.) (3) participles (verbs used as modifiers, e.g. a dancing fool.) |
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Etymology - The word ultimately derives from the Latin verbalis, consisting of words or pertaining to verbs (from verbum, word). |
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Oxford English Dictionary - Its first citation is from 1530: "Broderésse, a woman brodurar, … tenceresse, a woman chyder; and so of all other verballes." (Jehan Palsgrave, Lesclarcissement de la langue françoyse, 154) |
