expletive
Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary
See also explétive
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From Late Latin explētīvus (“‘serving to fill out’”), from Latin explētus, the perfect passive participle of expleō (“‘fill out’”), itself from ex (“‘out, completely’”) + pleō (“‘fill’”).
[edit] Adjective
expletive (comparative more expletive, superlative most expletive)
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Positive |
Comparative |
Superlative |
- Serving to fill up, merely for effect, otherwise redundant
- Marked by expletives (phrase-fillers)
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Translations
marked by phrase-fillers
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
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[edit] Noun
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Singular |
Plural |
expletive (plural expletives)
- (linguistics) A word without meaning added to fill a syntactic position.
- Example: - It in It is snowing
- (linguistics) A word that adds to the strength of a phrase without affecting its meaning.
- Example: - bloody in I'll give you a bloody good hiding.
- A profane, vulgar term, notably a curse or obscene oath.
[edit] Translations
profane, vulgar term
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
[edit] References
- Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967
