syntax
noun/ˈsɪn.tæks/
Etymology Partly from Late Latin syntaxis and partly from its etymon, Ancient Greek σύνταξις (súntaxis), from σύν (sún, “together”) + τάξις (táxis, “arrangement”), from τάσσω (tássō, “to arrange”). Doublet of syntaxis.
1
A set of rules that govern how words are combined to form phrases and sentences.
- The incorporation of a rule of V MOVEMENT into our description of English Syntax turns out to have fundamental theoretical implications for our overall Theory of Grammar: it means that we are no longer able to posit that the syntactic structure of a sentence can be described in terms of a single Phrase-marker representing its S-structure. For, the postulation of a rule of V-MOVEMENT means that we must recognise at least two different levels of structure in our Theory of Grammar — namely, a level of D-structure (formerly known as ‘Deep Structureʼ) which serves as input to the rule, and a separate level of S-structure which is formed by application of the rule.1988, Andrew Radford, chapter 8, in Transformational grammar: a first course, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, page 410:
2
Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences The formal rules of formulating the statements of a computer language.
3
Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences The study of the structure of phrases, sentences, and language.
- [Otto] Jespersen, a language professor known for his expertise in syntax and language development, stated that headlinese is not really grammatical writing.2021 May 29, Richard Nordquist, “What Is Headlinese?”, in ThoughtCo, archived from the original on 10 Dec 2021:
- Synonyms
- syntaxis
- Derived terms
- lexicosyntax, macrosyntax, metasyntax, microsyntax, morpho-syntax, morphosyntax, nanosyntax, phonotax, protosyntax, spread syntax, syntactic, syntactician, syntaxeme, syntax error, syntax highlighting, syntaxist, syntaxless, zoosyntax
- Related terms
- grammar, morphology, word order