Adjektivisk

Adjektivisk is a term used in some Nordic linguistic grammars to describe a broad class of words that function adjectivally, either by form or by derivation. The word is built from adjektiv, the root for “adjective,” and the suffix -isk, giving a sense of “pertaining to adjectives.” In this usage, adjektivisk items may be adjectives proper or words derived from other parts of speech that behave like adjectives in function and meaning.

Morphology and syntax

Adjektivisk forms typically participate in the adjective system of a language, including degree modification (positive, comparative, superlative) and agreement with a noun in gender and number in languages that have such agreement. They can occur in attributive position before a noun or predicatively after a linking verb, depending on the language. Some grammars treat adjektiviske derivations as a distinct subcategory, while others include them as a regular subset of adjectives.

Cross-linguistic use

In Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish, suffixes such as -isk/-iskt derive adjectives that express relation or property, which is why many adjectival forms appear with this meaning. The precise boundary between “adjektivisk” and ordinary adjectives is not universal; some grammars reserve adjektiverisk for derivations that retain clear adjectival semantics, whereas others simply use the term as a label for adjectives formed with -isk.

History and status

The label is chiefly found in Nordic linguistic literature and is not routinely adopted in broader English-language typology. It serves as a practical descriptive category for a particular morpho-phonological pattern rather than a fundamental, universally recognized class.