Irregularlike

Irregularlike is an adjective used mainly in linguistics to describe forms, patterns, or processes that appear irregular but are governed by a regular underlying rule or structure. The category emphasizes surface irregularity that can be explained by systematic mechanisms rather than true aleatory exceptions.

Origin and scope: The term, a portmanteau of irregular and like, is applied to morphology, phonology, lexicography, and corpus studies. It denotes patterns that defy a naive rule without contradicting a stable, rule-based analysis, often arising from analogy, historical sound change, or borrowing.

Characteristics: Irregularlike forms show deviations at the surface level while remaining predictable under a broader rule. They may cluster by semantic or phonological class, reflect diachronic layers, or vary by dialect. Recognizing irregularlike structure helps analysts distinguish genuine irregulars from patterned exceptions.

Examples and applications: In a constructed language, a subset of plural forms may look irregular yet follow a hidden regular rule shared by most nouns. In corpus work, appearances of irregularlike variation can signal underlying regularities such as analogical extension or loan-phonology rather than data errors.

See also: irregular verbs, analogy, morphophonology, diachronic linguistics.