Causativeenlarging

Causativeenlarging is a neologism used in some linguistic discussions to describe constructions or expressions that encode both causation and enlargement of a referent within a single predicate. The term blends the notion of causative meaning (one participant causing a change in another’s state) with enlargement (an increase in size, extent, or magnitude).

Etymology and scope

The word is formed from causative and enlarging and is usually encountered in theoretical work on morphology and syntax rather than as an established category in grammars. It is not widely standardized, and different authors may apply it to slightly different phenomena. In broad terms, causativeenlarging concerns how languages encode an agent triggering an increase in size or magnitude, whether through inflection, derivation, or periphrasis.

Linguistic manifestations

Causativeenlarging can appear in several realizations: tightly bound affixes or verbal complexes that simultaneously mark causation and enlargement, or periphrastic sequences that pair a causative verb with an enlargement sense (for example, make/begin plus enlarge or grow). Some languages may employ dedicated verbal roots or affixes to express the combined idea, while others use constructions that explicitly pair a causative with an enlarging result state.

Relation to related concepts

It is related to, but distinct from, simple causatives, resultatives, and verbs of growth. In many languages, enlargement is expressed independently of causation, so a causativeenlarging construction highlights a deliberate agentive action that changes size or extent.

See also

Causative, resultative, enlargement, enlarge, growth, morphosyntax.

References

Causativeenlarging is not a widely established category, and discussions appear primarily in theoretical or typological explorations of causation and change-of-state semantics.