[Publib] "what is the word for..?" stumper

[Avery Hicks]

"Entity," maybe?

Quoting Tom Cipullo <cipullot at pbclibrary.org>:

> here is the question: "What is a word that describes a thing, a   
> state of being as a thing?"
>
> this was over the phone; the best I could get is that there is a   
> term (not a literary term) for when you use a state of being to   
> describe a thing.  (he used the word "thing" a few times.)  He did   
> not have an example, or he did, but he took it back: "human," when   
> he realized that wasn't what he meant.
>
> he didn't like "eponymous" (which is the name a person to describe a  
>  thing).  maybe it's a grammatical term?
>
> so "what do you call it when a term for a state of being is used to   
> describe a thing?"
>
>
> (sorry. if I knew of another place to post this I would. I'm just   
> curious to know if someone knows this.)
>
>
> tom cipullo
> Palm Beach County Library System, Main Library
>
>
>
>
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Avery Hicks
Reference Librarian
Williamsburg Regional Library
7770 Croaker Road
Williamsburg, VA 23188-7064
(757)259-7720         www.wrl.org
(757)259-7798(fax)    ahicks at wrl.org
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