modifierand

Modifierand is a term used in theoretical linguistics to describe a specific type of internal coordination within noun phrases. It refers to an operator that merges two or more modifiers into a single composite modifier that applies to the same head noun. The term is a portmanteau of modifier and and, and is used to account for constructions in which modifiers are combined without duplicating the head noun.

Under a modifierand analysis, modifiers such as adjectives or participial phrases link via the modifierand to produce a unit like red-and-blue from red and blue, or tall and old from tall and old. The resulting noun phrase has a head noun with a single, compound modifier that has its own internal structure. The syntax is often represented as a hierarchical merge where the composite modifier attaches directly to the noun.

Examples include phrases like a tall red-and-blue shirt, where the head noun shirt is qualified by a tall modifier and by a composite color modifier created through modifierand. In contrast, a simple red and blue shirt might be analyzed as ordinary coordination of separate modifiers, potentially yielding different scopal or reading effects. The modifierand approach helps to explain how some languages permit dense, multifactorial noun phrases with a unified modifier unit, rather than repeating the head noun for each modifier.

Research on modifierand is primarily theoretical and discussed within frameworks such as generative grammar and construction grammar. The concept clarifies how modifiers can cohere within a noun phrase and how different readings arise from internal versus cross-phrase coordination. See also coordination, noun phrase, compound adjectives, syntax.