Agent noun
In linguistics, an agent noun (in Latin, nomen agentis) is a word that is derived from another word denoting an action, and that identifies an entity that does that action.[1] For example, "driver" is an agent noun formed from the verb "drive".[2]
Usually, derived in the above definition has the strict sense attached to it in morphology, that is the derivation takes as an input a lexeme (an abstract unit of morphological analysis) and produces a new lexeme. However, the classification of morphemes into derivational morphemes (see word formation) and inflectional ones is not generally a straightforward theoretical question, and different authors can make different decisions as to the general theoretical principles of the classification as well as to the actual classification of morphemes presented in a grammar of some language (for example, of the agent noun-forming morpheme).
Word formation
| -cz | bieg-ać 'to run' | bieg-acz 'runner' |
|---|---|---|
| -rz | pis-ać 'to write' | pis-arz 'writer' |
| -c | †kraw-ać 'to cut' | kraw-iec 'tailor' |
| -ca | daw-ać 'to give' | daw-ca 'giver' |
| -k | pis-ać 'to write' | pis-ak 'marker' (pen) |
| skak-ać 'to jump' | skocz-ek 'jumper' | |
| chodz-ić 'to walk' | chodz-ik 'walker' (walking aid) | |
| -l | nos-ić 'to carry' | nos-ic-iel 'carrier' |
| -y | las 'forest' leś-nik 'forester' |
leś-nicz-y 'forester' |
An agentive suffix is commonly used to form an agent noun from a verb. Examples:
- English: "-er", "-or", "-ist".
- German: -er, -ler, -ner, -or, -ör, -ist, -it, -ite, -ant, -ent (may be compounded with the feminine ending "-in")
- French: -eur(m.)/-euse(f.)
- Greek: -ήρ, τήρ
- Latin: -tor (m.) / -trix (f.) / -trum (n.) / -torius, -a, -um (adj.) as in arator / aratrix / aratrum / aratorius; -sor (m.) / -strix (f.) / -strum (n.) / -sorius, -a, -um (adj.) as in assessor / assestrix / *assestrum / assessorius; see also: -ens
- Polish: see table
- Spanish: -dor(a)
- Finnish: -ja/-jä (puhua 'speak', puhuja 'speaker'; lyödä 'hit', lyöjä 'hitter'); -uri (borrowed from '-or'/'er', probably via German)
See also
References
- ^ "agent noun". Oxford Learner's Dictionaries. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
- ^ Panther, Klaus-Uwe; Thornburg, Linda L.; Barcelona, Antonio (2009). Metonymy and metaphor in grammar. Vol. 25. John Benjamins Publishing Company. p. 101. ISBN 90-272-2379-3.
External links
Further reading
- Maria Wojtyła-Świerzowska, Prasłowiańskie nomen agentis ("Protoslavic Nomen Agentis"), Wroclaw, 1975
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