Determinatum

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In grammar, determinatum denotes in certain cases of word compounds, namely the determinative compounds , the basic word , i.e. the part of the word that names the generic term. The determinatum is the other part of the word, the determining word ( Determinans defined in more detail), in its meaning. It is therefore a special case of the term head .

An example from German

The word “front door” is a determinative compound; “-Tür” indicates that “front door” is a “door”. This is the performance of the determinate: it indicates the class, the set, to which the object in question belongs. The first part of the compound word, however, the qualifying expression ( Determinans ), in this case, "White House", indicates exactly what it is for a type of door: It is a door and not a car door, workshop door, room door or some other Kind of door.

Position of the determinate in compound words

The basic word, determinatum, is almost always at the end of the word in German compound words: so z. B. with the compound words on "-haus": "corner house", "council house", "snail house", "play house", "living house".

For cases in French where the determinatum does not act as a legal part of a word compound , see Synapsy .

Other use of the term determinatum in the syntax

In addition to compound words, the term can also be applied to word groups ( syntagms ) and here, too, stands for the basic word of the construction. In the phrase “a tall woman”, “woman” would be the determinatum, while “tall” gives a more precise definition and thus exercises the function of the determinant.

literature

Web links

Wiktionary: Determinatum  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations