phrasal

English

Examples ((grammar) consisting of multiple words, but behaving as a single part of speech)
phrasal adjectives: man-eating; over-the-top; multi-dimensional phrasal noun: make-up phrasal verbs: bog down; throw up; look down upon

Etymology

Etymology tree

English phrase

Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-

Proto-Indo-European *-is

Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?

Proto-Italic *-ālis

Latin -ālislbor.

Old French -albor.

▲

Latin -ālis

Old French -elbor.

▲

Latin -ālisbor.

Middle English -al

English -al

English phrasal

From phrase + -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɹeɪzəl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪzəl

Adjective

phrasal (comparative more phrasal, superlative most phrasal)

1. Relating to, or used in the manner of, a phrase.
2. (grammar) Consisting of multiple words, but behaving as a single part of speech.

   phrasal preposition

Derived terms

• interphrasal
• multiphrasal
• nonphrasal
• phrasal adjective
• phrasal adverb
• phrasally
• phrasal noun
• phrasal preposition
• phrasal prepositional verb
• phrasal typology
• phrasal verb

Translations

being a phrase

• Esperanto: fraza
• German: phrasalisch
• Greek: φραστικός (el) (frastikós), εκφραστικός (el) (ekfrastikós)
• Portuguese: frasal (pt)

relating to a phrase

• Esperanto: fraza
• German: Ausdrucks-, Satz-
• Greek: φραστικός (el) (frastikós)
• Portuguese: frasal (pt)

Noun

phrasal (plural phrasals)

1. (grammar) A grammatical construct that consists of multiple words, but behaves as a single part of speech.
   • 1985, Dan Isaac Slobin, The Crosslinguistic Study of Language Acquisition, page 105:

     Furthermore, children demonstrated that they understood the mapping by elaborating phrasals to sententials, and reducing sententials to phrasals when imitating.

   1. A phrasal verb.