denominatief

Denominatief, or denominal in English, is a linguistic term used to describe a word whose origin is a noun. In morphology, a denominatief word is formed from a noun, and the base meaning of the noun often influences the meaning of the new word. The term is commonly applied to verbs and adjectives, but can also refer to other parts of speech.

Denominative words are typically created through derivational processes such as affixation or, in some languages, conversion (zero-derivation) where no overt affix is added. The resulting word usually preserves a semantic link to the base noun, often signaling an action, a property, or a relation associated with the noun. For example, in English, denominal verbs can include chair (to chair a meeting), table (to table a motion), or bottle (to bottle a liquid). Denominative adjectives often express material or origin, as in wooden (made of wood) or silken (made of silk).

Denominatief is a concept used across languages, with varying degrees of productivity. Some languages frequently form denominal verbs or adjectives, while others use different patterns or lexical inventories. Denominative words are contrasted with deverbal words (derived from verbs) and with other derivational types that do not originate from nouns.

In linguistic analysis, the study of denominativ forms helps describe how nouns give rise to new predicates or modifiers, contributing to the flexibility and evolution of a language’s vocabulary. The term also appears in grammars and typological studies to classify word-formation processes by the source category.