uncountable

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Jump to: navigation, search

Contents

[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

un- + countable (count + -able)

[edit] Noun

Singular
uncountable

Plural
uncountables

uncountable (plural uncountables)

  1. (linguistics) An uncountable noun.

[edit] Adjective

uncountable (not comparable)

Positive
uncountable

Comparative
not comparable

Superlative
none (absolute)

  1. So many as to be incapable of being counted.
    The reasons for our failure were as uncountable as the grains of sand on a beach.
  2. (mathematics) Incapable of being put into one-to-one correspondence with the natural numbers or any subset thereof.
    Cantor’s “diagonal proof” shows that the set of real numbers is uncountable.
  3. (grammar, of a noun) Describes a meaning of a noun that cannot be used freely with numbers or the indefinite article, and which therefore takes no plural form. Example: information.
    Many languages do not distinguish countable nouns from uncountable nouns.
    One meaning in law of the supposedly uncountable noun "information" is used in the plural and is countable.

[edit] Antonyms

[edit] Hypernyms

[edit] Derived terms

[edit] Translations

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] See also

Personal tools