Word of the Week: Adnoun

Adnoun: An adjective that functions as a noun. Examples:

land of the free

home of the brave

blessed are the meek

presidential hopeful

I discovered adnoun while using the Hint function in computer Scrabble. None dare call it cheating!

P.S. Read what linguist Arnold Zwicky has to say about noun-y adjectives in this Oct. 31 Language Log post. (He doesn't call them "adnouns.") In this excerpt, "NP" stands for "noun phrase":

Wise in "The wise talk because they have something to say" is NOT a noun; it's an adjective, in a NP (the wise) that has no overt noun head. This NP is an instance of an odd construction in English that licenses the + Adj as an NP with generic reference — most commonly as a generic plural referring to human beings, so that it can be roughly glossed as 'Adj people'. Other examples: the soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful", the Robin Hood slogan "steal from the rich and give to the poor", and a headline from yesterday's New York Times (p. 1): The Decided Go In Droves To Vote Early.

Comments

[Drew]

News to me and a little surprising.

When I took Latin, I remember learning about this concept and it was always just explained to me as being an understood "men" or "people" following the adjective. I'd always just thought about the English version that way, too --- just elliptical to the point that it wouldn't need it's own term and certainly no stranger an omission than other examples of English where we leave out seemingly important words.

[Chris Frumplington]

Ah, so the word is 'adnoun'. Actually, adnoun it all along but had temporarily forgotten it, so thanks for reminding me.

[Bill Brohaugh]

Not long ago I saw a sentence on the order of "they chose to brazen out an attack." The adjective "brazen" as a verb? Would that make "brazen" an adverb?