linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Ling ...

, an agent noun (in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

, ) 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 A verb () is a word ( part of speech) that in syntax generally conveys an action (''bring'', ''read'', ''walk'', ''run'', ''learn''), an occurrence (''happen'', ''become''), or a state of being (''be'', ''exist'', ''stand''). In the usual descr ...

"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 (an abstract unit of morphological analysis) and produces a new lexeme. However, the classification of

morpheme A morpheme is the smallest meaningful Constituent (linguistics), constituent of a linguistic expression. The field of linguistics, linguistic study dedicated to morphemes is called morphology (linguistics), morphology. In English, morphemes are ...

s into derivational morphemes (see word formation) and

inflection In linguistic morphology, inflection (or inflexion) is a process of word formation in which a word is modified to express different grammatical categories such as tense, case, voice, aspect, person, number, gender, mood, animacy, and ...

al 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 Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

(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 English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

: "-er", "-or", "-ist". * Basque: ( "student" from "learn") *

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

: , , , , , , , , , (may be compounded with the feminine ending ) * Georgian: - ... - (''me- ... -e''), as in (''mebaghe'' "gardener") from (''baghi'' "garden"); otherwise the nominalization of the

present participle In linguistics, a participle () (from Latin ' a "sharing, partaking") is a nonfinite verb form that has some of the characteristics and functions of both verbs and adjectives. More narrowly, ''participle'' has been defined as "a word derived fro ...

(formed with many possible circumfixes) 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 of

(suffix: , according to

vowel harmony In phonology, vowel harmony is an 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 typically long distance, me ...

) 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 * ...

: prefix ''nong-'' or ''myn-'', for example ''shad'' "to dance", ''nongshad'' "dancer"; ''tuh'' "to steal", ''myntuh'' "thief" *

: (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.)

Words related to agent noun

See also

References

External links

Further reading