syncategorematic, a.
(sɪnˌkætɪgɒrɪˈmætɪk)
[ad. Gr. συγκατηγορηµατικός, f. συγκατηγόρηµα: see prec. and -ic.]
In Logic: of the nature of a syncategorem: opp. to categorematic. Also in extended uses in linguistic analysis.
| 1827 Whately Logic (ed. 2) 347 Syncategorematic words are such as cannot singly express a Term, but only a part of a Term. 1843 Mill Logic i. ii. §2. 1870 Jevons Elem. Logic iii. 18. 1931 [see autosemantic a. (n.)]. 1957 G. Ryle in M. Black Importance of Lang. (1962) 159 This is what Mill had said of the syncategorematic words. 1966 J. J. Katz Philos. Lang. v. 312 Since the meaning of ‘good’ cannot stand alone as a complete concept, we shall say that the meaning of ‘good’ is syncategorematic. 1972 Language XLVIII. 351 Syncategorematic features such as abrupt/non-abrupt and strident/mellow... By this term I mean features which necessarily occur only in conjunction with certain other features. Besides the abrupt/continuant vs. strident/mellow example, voiced/voiceless vs. tense/lax appear to be syncategorematic, as do compact/non⁓compact vs. diffuse/non-diffuse in vowels. 1975 Ibid. LI. 32 Russell's contextual or syncategorematic definition of definite descriptions is equivalent to the conjunction of three propositions, one of which embodies a uniqueness claim. |