In
linguistics, an agent noun (in
Latin, ) is a word that is derived from another word denoting an
action, and that identifies an entity
that does that action. For example, "driver" is an agent noun formed from the
verb "drive".
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
A lexeme () is a unit of lexical meaning that underlies a set of words that are related through inflection. It is a basic abstract unit of meaning, a unit of morphological analysis in linguistics that roughly corresponds to a set of forms taken ...
(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).
Words related to agent noun
An agentive suffix or agentive prefix is commonly used to form an agent noun from a verb. Examples:
*
English: "-er", "-or", "-ist".
*
Basque: ( "student" from "learn")
*
German: , , , , , , , , , (may be compounded with the feminine ending )
*
Georgian: - ... - (''me- ... -e''), as in (''mebaghe'' "gardener") from (''baghi'' "garden"); otherwise the
nominalization
In linguistics, nominalization or nominalisation is the use of a word that is not a noun (e.g., a verb, an adjective or an adverb) as a noun, or as the head of a noun phrase. This change in functional category can occur through morphological tr ...
of the
present participle (formed with many possible
circumfixes
A circumfix ( abbreviated ) (also confix or ambifix) is an affix which has two parts, one placed at the start of a word, and the other at the end. Circumfixes contrast with prefixes, attached to the beginnings of words; suffixes, attached at the ...
) may occur.
*
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
: (
m.); , , (
f.)
*
Greek: ,
*
Hungarian: no specific agentive suffix, the
nominalization
In linguistics, nominalization or nominalisation is the use of a word that is not a noun (e.g., a verb, an adjective or an adverb) as a noun, or as the head of a noun phrase. This change in functional category can occur through morphological tr ...
of
present participle (suffix: , according to
vowel harmony
In phonology, vowel harmony is an Assimilation (linguistics), assimilatory process in which the vowels of a given domain – typically a phonological word – have to be members of the same natural class (thus "in harmony"). Vowel harmony is t ...
) is used instead; examples: ("worker"), ("repairman"), ("leader", "driver", "electrical conductor")
*
Khasi
Khasi may refer to:
* Khasi people, an ethnic group of Meghalaya, India
* Khasi language, a major Austroasiatic language spoken in Meghalaya, India
* Khāṣi language, an Indo-Aryan language of Jammu and Kashmir, India
See also
* Khasi Hills
* Gh ...
: prefix ''nong-'' or ''myn-'', for example ''shad'' "to dance", ''nongshad'' "dancer"; ''tuh'' "to steal", ''myntuh'' "thief"
*
Latin: (m.) / (f.) / (n.) / , , (adj.) as in / / / ; (m.) / (f.) / (n.) / , , (adj.) as in / / / ; see also:
*
Maori:
*
Persian: (): from present roots; as in (; speaker) from (; to speak) / () : from past roots; as in (; wanter) from (; to want). / (): from nouns ; as in (; worker) from (; work).
*
Polish: see table
*
Quechua: ( "to play", "player")
*
Spanish: , , ,
*
Finnish: / ( "speak", "speaker"; "hit", "hitter"); (borrowed from '-or'/'er', probably via German)
*
Russian: or (m.) / or (f.) as in "student"; (m.) / (f.) as in "teacher"
*
Dutch: , , , ,
*
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
: (m.), (f.)
See also
*
Agent (grammar)
*
Nominalization
In linguistics, nominalization or nominalisation is the use of a word that is not a noun (e.g., a verb, an adjective or an adverb) as a noun, or as the head of a noun phrase. This change in functional category can occur through morphological tr ...
References
External links
Further reading
* , ("Protoslavic Nomen Agentis"), Wrocław, 1975
{{ling-morph-stub
Nouns by type