Is there a term for this (technical writing diddley-squat)

[AG31]

It's possible to use a noun as a descriptor. The toddler sound in the nursery, the petroleum smell in the street. Is there a term for this?

 

[SimonDoom]

I think the term you are looking for is "attributive noun," but there are some other names, I think. I've never given much thought to what you call it. Other examples:

iron man
hand maid
mountain bike

In each of these cases, the first word is a noun, but it has been put together with the second work, also a noun, to modify the second noun, so it is functioning like an adjective.

There are also examples of nouns that "describe" a particular sound or sight or smell. "Petrichor" is one of my favorite examples and favorite words; it refers to the smell of earth after a first rain has fallen in a long time.

 

[MrPixel]

I just searched for "nouns as adjectives" and was rewarded with a host of advice on this form, but no specific term for it.

 

[SimonDoom]

I looked it up in the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition, and it also refers to nouns used in this way as "attributive nouns." Section 5.24. It gives examples such as "car dealership," "state legislature," and "varsity sport."

 

[AG31]

I think the term you are looking for is "attributive noun," but there are some other names, I think. I've never given much thought to what you call it. Other examples:

iron man
hand maid
mountain bike

In each of these cases, the first word is a noun, but it has been put together with the second work, also a noun, to modify the second noun, so it is functioning like an adjective.

There are also examples of nouns that "describe" a particular sound or sight or smell. "Petrichor" is one of my favorite examples and favorite words; it refers to the smell of earth after a first rain has fallen in a long time.

I KNEW someone here would help me.

Any idea what to do if you're asked to diagram a sentence with an attributive noun? I guess it has to be shown as an adjective... I've many times been glad that I never had to learn English as a second language... Although I can imagine Germans stringing nouns together in mile long trains.

 

[SimonDoom]

I KNEW someone here would help me.

Any idea what to do if you're asked to diagram a sentence with an attributive noun? I guess it has to be shown as an adjective... I've many times been glad that I never had to learn English as a second language... Although I can imagine Germans stringing nouns together in mile long trains.

Yes, I assume that in terms of diagramming you'd put the second noun (the modified noun) on a horizontal line and the first noun (the modifying noun) on a diagonal line sloping to the right connected to and underneath the second noun, just as you would with an adjective + noun combination (e.g., "green ball").

 

[TheLobster]

I KNEW someone here would help me.

Any idea what to do if you're asked to diagram a sentence with an attributive noun? I guess it has to be shown as an adjective... I've many times been glad that I never had to learn English as a second language... Although I can imagine Germans stringing nouns together in mile long trains.

IIRC the syntactic term here is “adjunct”; it refers to anything that modifies a noun, be it an adjective or another noun.

 

[AG31]

And what does IIRC stand for?

 

[TheLobster]

And what does IIRC stand for?

"If I recall correctly."

 

[Britva415]

Yes, I assume that in terms of diagramming you'd put the second noun (the modified noun) on a horizontal line and the first noun (the modifying noun) on a diagonal line sloping to the right connected to and underneath the second noun, just as you would with an adjective + noun combination (e.g., "green ball").

Colors might be the original attributive nouns! Had to name green "green" before using it to describe something else

 

[TheLobster]

Colors might be the original attributive nouns! Had to name green "green" before using it to describe something else

Did it really work this way? It doesn't seem obvious to me at all, since "green" is a more abstract concept as opposed to any particular green thing such as a blade of grass.

Indeed, the extant words for colors that are just straight thing-nouns — like "salmon" or "ivory" — strongly suggest the words for colored objects developed first and the standalone concepts of colors themselves followed.