Denominal (Noun Form)
- An Introduction to Punctuation
- Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
- M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
- B.A., English, State University of New York
A denominal noun is a noun that is formed from another noun, usually by adding a suffix --such as villager (from village ), New Yorker (from New York ), booklet (from book ), limeade (from lime ), lectureship (from lecture ), and librarian (from library ).
Many denominal nouns are context sensitive (see Contextual Constructions , below).
Examples and Observations
- "Nouns like Nixonite, bicycler , and saxophonist are formed from concrete nouns like Nixon, bicycle , and saxophone by derivation. There is a plethora of idiomatic cases of this sort in English, but what innovative examples mean can vary enormously from one occasion to the next, depending on certain cooperative measures between the speaker and addressees. Each has an unlimited number of possible meanings, or so it appears. Denominal nouns , then, although they have stricter requirements than, say, possessives or compound nouns , are also contextual expressions." (Herbert H. Clark, Arenas of Language Use . Univ. of Chicago Press, 1992)
- "The fact that a denominal noun is not the result of a direct derivation from the action itself may explain the difficulties in interpreting denominal formations. The meaning of denominal nouns may not be directly related to the action performed by the referent ..." (Alexander Haselow, Typological Changes in the Lexicon: Analytic Tendencies in English Noun Formation . Walter de Gruyter, 2011)
Contextual Constructions
"Contextual constructions aren't merely ambiguous , having a small fixed set of conventional meanings. They have in principle an infinity of potential non-conventional interpretations, each built around a conventional meaning of the word or words it is derived from... Contextual constructions rely on an appeal to context--to the participants' common ground. They always require non-conventional coordination for their interpretation."
(Herbert H. Clark, Using Language . Cambridge University Press, 1996)
Deverbals and Denominals: Nouns Formed With the Suffix -ant
"Let us turn to the deverbal person noun forming affix -ant ( defendant ), which denotes a personal or material agent. . . . [P]ossible verbal bases involve those ending in -ify, -ize, -ate , and -en . A look at Lehnert (1971) and the OED shows that, almost without exception . . ., these verbs are subject to the domain of agentive noun forming -er/or . The rival suffix -ant has a somewhat peculiar distribution, since its attachment is partly lexically governed (i.e. unproductive) and partly rule-governed and productive. In the semantically distinguishable domains of medical/pharmaceutical/chemo-technical and legal/corporate jargon , -ant can be used productively to form words denoting substances and persons, respectively, as evidenced by the following examples disinfectant, repellant, consultant, accountant, defendant, to mention only a few."
(Ingo Plag, Morphological Productivity: Structural Constraints in English Derivation . Mouton de Gruyter, 1999)
Related Reading
- Denominal Adjective and Denominal Verb
- Nominalization
- Word Formation
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/blackboard_denominal_adjectives-56af8cbf3df78cf772c60c07.jpg "meaning of homework noun")
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Definition of homework noun from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
- acquire/get/lack experience/training/(an) education
- receive/provide somebody with training
- develop/design/plan a curriculum/course/program/syllabus
- give/go to/attend a class/lesson/lecture/seminar
- hold/run/conduct a class/seminar/workshop
- moderate/lead/facilitate a discussion
- sign up for/take a course/classes/lessons
- go to/start preschool/kindergarten/nursery school
- be in the first, second, etc. grade (at school)
- study/take/drop history/chemistry/German, etc.
- finish/drop out of/quit school
- graduate from high school/college
- be the victim/target of bullying/teasing
- skip/cut/ ( informal ) ditch class/school
- cheat on an exam/a test
- get/be given a detention (for doing something)
- be expelled from/be suspended from school
- do your homework/a project on something
- work on/write/do/submit an essay/a dissertation/a thesis/an assignment/a paper
- finish/complete your dissertation/thesis/studies
- hand in/turn in your homework/essay/assignment/paper
- study/prepare/review/ ( informal ) cram for a test/an exam
- take/ ( formal ) sit for a test/an exam
- grade homework/a test
- do well on/ ( informal ) ace a test/an exam
- pass/fail/ ( informal ) flunk a test/an exam/a class/a course/a subject
- apply to/get into/go to/start college
- leave/graduate from college (with a degree in computer science)/law school
- study for/work towards a law degree/a degree in physics
- major/minor in biology/philosophy
- earn/receive/be awarded/get/have/hold a master's degree/a bachelor's degree/a Ph.D. in economics
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homework Definitions and Synonyms
Have the kids done their homework?
We have two chapters to read for homework.
mark your own homework
American definition and synonyms of homework from the online English dictionary from Macmillan Education.
This is the American English definition of homework . View British English definition of homework .
Change your default dictionary to British English.
View the pronunciation for homework .
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Definition of homework
Example sentences.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'homework.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback .
Word History
1662, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near homework
Cite this entry.
“Homework.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homework. Accessed 5 Mar. 2023.
Kids Definition
Kids definition of homework, more from merriam-webster on homework.
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for homework
Nglish: Translation of homework for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of homework for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about homework
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VIDEO FOR HOMEWORK
What's a unique homework routine that works.
Even with the best homework routine, homework is getting harder and harder and weirder and weirder. So we asked some tutors and parents what has worked for them before.
Origin of homework
Words nearby homework, words related to homework, how to use homework in a sentence.
Now, they log on to Zoom from their bedrooms, surrounded by unfinished homework assignments and tattered stuffed animals, waiting to be assigned calls, texts and emails by the trained therapists who oversee the program.
Yow started her homework and saw Frese had gone 35-22 with two winning seasons at Ball State, which hadn’t had a winning record in its previous nine seasons.
Do some homework before investing in a diamond, and that lifelong commitment.
Another poster included an image of their losses over what appeared to be online math homework .
As we countdown to Inauguration Day, I've been doing my homework —and looking to the past for inspiration.
“I can help my children with their homework and sometimes we text in English at my job,” Santos says.
Scheunemann, meanwhile, had no idea who Spencer was, and did some homework .
She jumped at the chance to watch RT, or jumped at the chance to skip calculus homework .
And we encourage parent-student “contracts,” for class attendance, homework submission and even extra-curriculum activities.
Adicéam did his homework , spending 50 days collecting pieces, many with unexpected stories behind them.
Much of this homework is done by a very bad light and the boy's eyes suffer much.
For homework we have prepared alphabets where the letters are printed in type-writing order.
His parents were always getting angry with him for losing his clothes, or his toys, or his homework .
Only at the time when he was going to Beauregard School, with his homework .
And once a week or twice a week she was sending her homework or something to him.
British Dictionary definitions for homework
Other idioms and phrases with homework.
see do one's homework.
- Cambridge Dictionary +Plus
Meaning of homework in English
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- The kids are busy with their homework.
- My science teacher always sets a lot of homework.
- "Have you got any homework tonight ?" "No."
- I got A minus for my English homework.
- For homework I want you to write a paper on an endangered species .
- academic year
- access course
- Advanced Placement
- asynchronous
- foundation course
- immersion course
- interdisciplinarity
- open admissions
- open classroom
- the national curriculum
- work placement
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homework | Intermediate English
Homework | business english, examples of homework, translations of homework.
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- homework (noun)
- Please do/finish your homework .
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home•work
An assignment is a task that someone is given to do, usually as part of their job.
An assignment is also a piece of academic work given to students.
In American English, an assignment is also a piece of work given to students to do at home.
Work given to schoolchildren to do at home is also called homework .
Be Careful! Homework is an uncountable noun. You do not talk about 'homeworks' or 'a homework'. Note that you do not say ' I have made my homework '. You say 'I have done my homework'.
Homework is work that school pupils are given to do at home. You say that pupils do homework. Don't say that they ' make homework '.
Housework is work such as cleaning or washing that is done in a house.
Be Careful! Both homework and housework are uncountable nouns. Don't talk about ' a homework ' or ' houseworks '.
- assignability
- best of all
- brain-teaser
- change magnitude
- concentrate
- Home-speaking
- Homestead Act
- homestead exemption
- homestead law
- homesteader
- homesteading
- homestretch
- Homeward bound
- homeward(s)
- homeward-bound
- homework problem
- homeworking
- homewrecker
- homichlophobia
- homicide bomber
- Homicide by misadventure
- homicidomania
- homiletical
- homing adaptor
- homing device
- homing guidance
- homing instinct
- homing mine
- homing pigeon
- Homework Access Line
- Homework assignment
- Homework Assistance Hotline
- Homework Center
- Homework Diary
- Homework help
- Homework hotline
- Homeworkers
- Homeworkers Organized for More Employment
- Homeworkers' Union and Small Business Association
- Homeworking
- Homeworld 2
- Homewrecker
- Homewrecker (MTV series)
- Homewrecker (TV series)
- homewreckers
- Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education
- Homi Bhabha National Institute
- Homi J. Bhabha
- Homi Jehangir Bhabha
- Homichlophobia
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Several grammatical constructs can be used as noun substitutes, including pronouns, nominal clauses, infinitive phrases and gerundive phrases. The most common substitution replaces a specific noun with a general pronoun, such as he, she or ...
An attributive noun is a noun that modifies another noun and functions as an adjective. It's also known as a noun premodifier. In English grammar, an attributive noun is a noun that modifies another noun and functions as an adjective. Also ...
What do a booklet, villager, and librarian have in common? They're all denominal nouns! Learn all about denominal nouns here. A denominal noun is a noun that is formed from another noun, usually by adding a suffix--such as villager (from vi...
homework · . work that is given by teachers for students to do at home. I always do my homework on the bus. physics/geography/French, etc. homework · (informal)
1work that is given by teachers for students to do at home I still haven't done my geography homework. How much homework do you get?
Definition of HOMEWORK (noun): work student must do at home.
Homework is an uncountable noun and is not used in the plural. You say: The teacher gave us a lot of homework. ✗Don't say:
The meaning of HOMEWORK is piecework done at home for pay. How to use homework in a sentence.
homework · schoolwork assigned to be done outside the classroom (distinguished from classwork). · a single assignment of such schoolwork: Homeworks are due at the
work that teachers give their students to do at home: You can't watch TV until you've done your homework. history/geography homework.
Homework is schoolwork that teachers give to students to do at home in the evening or on the weekend. Have you done your homework, Gemma? 2. uncountable noun.
HOMEWORK meaning: 1 : work that a student is given to do at home; 2 : research or reading done in order to prepare for something used in the phrase
homework is a noun: · Work that is done at home, especially school exercises set by a teacher. "You must do your homework before you can watch television."
Work given to schoolchildren to do at home is also called homework. He never did any homework. Be Careful! Homework is an uncountable noun. You do not talk