adjectiveinto

Adjectiveinto is a coined term used in discussions of morphology to describe a proposed process by which adjectives are converted into a distinct lexical category, typically nouns, through a dedicated morpheme or clitic often referred to as -into. The term is not widely attested in established grammars and is mainly encountered in speculative, theoretical, or constructed-language contexts.

In the hypothetical system, adjectives carry an inflection that nominalizes them, producing a word that denotes the state, quality, or result associated with the adjective. A simplified illustration would be adjective "soft" combined with the morph -into to yield "softinto," interpreted as a noun meaning the state or quality of being soft. A parallel example might be "bright" + -into to form "brightinto," understood as "brightness" or "the act of being bright," depending on the language’s syntax.

Usage and properties of adjectiveinto forms tend to resemble nominalizations rather than ordinary adjectives. The derived nouns may participate in typical noun syntax, including determiner compatibility, plurality, and case marking, depending on the language. In some analyses, adjectiveinto forms can also bear features such as possessive or relational marking, if the language assigns such morphology to nominalized adjectives.

Relation to other concepts: adjectiveinto is analogous to nominalization processes like English -ness or -ity but relies on a dedicated affix or clitic attached directly to adjectives. It is often discussed in the context of conlangs, experimental grammars, or cross-linguistic typology as a hypothetical or design-oriented mechanism rather than a universally attested feature.

See also: nominalization, affixation, conlang, morphosyntax.