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

[Havens,Andy]

What came to my mind as I read this was "gerund," which takes a verb
(which is, I know, hardly well described as a "state of being," but...
You never know) and turns it into a noun (thing). 


- A

Andy Havens
OCLC: Manager of Branding and Creative Services
Phone: 614.764.4326
Mobile: 614.395.4134

-----Original Message-----
From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Tom Cipullo
Sent: Thursday, October 09, 2008 10:55 AM
To: publib
Subject: [Publib] "what is the word for..?" stumper

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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