inverse number

短语

释义与例句

n.
  1. 1.

    Describes a morphophonological relationship between two grammatical number categories X and Y and two declension classes A and B such that the X form in A is to the Y form in A as the Y form in B is to the X form in B.

    不可数 语言学

    One example of inverse number in the proto-language is how the first declension featured a singular suffix -i and a plural suffix -u, meanwhile the second declension had a singular suffix -u and a plural suffix -i.

    Nowadays, only the nothern dialect retains inverse number.