Adjectived

Adjectived is a term that appears in a minority of linguistic writings to denote a focus on words that function as adjectives as a result of adjectivization. In this sense, adjectived refers to the state or process of turning a word—often a noun or a verb—into an adjective, or to the adjectival word formed by that process. The concept is not widely standardized in mainstream grammar, but it is used in discussions of word formation and typology to distinguish adjectival forms from their non-adjectival origins.

Formation and terminology. Many languages create adjectives from other parts of speech through derivational affixes or via conversion. In such work, words that have become adjectives may be described as denominal or deadjectival, depending on whether they originate from a noun or from another adjective. The label adjectived is sometimes used to emphasize the adjectival status of these items or to treat adjectivization as a distinct morpho-syntactic phenomenon within cross-linguistic surveys.

Examples. English provides common examples such as wooden (from wood), smoky (from smoke), leafy (from leaf). Participial adjectives such as tired (from tire) or broken (from break) are often discussed in adjectivization studies as well. In many languages, similar processes yield adjectives from nouns or verbs, sometimes with predictable suffixes or through zero-derivation.

Usage and clarity. The term adjectived is not standard in most grammar references; many linguists would simply classify such words as adjectives formed by derivation. When used, adjectived typically appears in theoretical or typological contexts to foreground adjectival formation processes.

See also. Adjective, adjectivalization, deadjectival, denominative.