Standard Lemma guide

singulative

adj · noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Of or pertaining to a grammatical form or construction that expresses the individuation of a single referent from a mass noun.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Topics: grammar, human-sciences, linguistics, sciences

Examples

  • English doesn't have a singulative number in general, but many uncountable nouns have usual singulative constructions.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A singulative form or construction.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: grammar, human-sciences, linguistics, sciences

Examples

  • The singulative of "cattle" is "a head of cattle".
  • The singulative of "scissors" is "a pair of scissors".

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From French singulatif, from Latin singillatim (“singly", "one by one”), from singulus (“single", "separate”), from Proto-Italic *sem-g-lo-, a diminutive form derived from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (“one, together”).

Across languages

Translations

6 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Breton: unanderenn — a singulative form or construction
  • French: singulatif — a singulative form or construction
  • Latin: nomen unitatis — a singulative form or construction
  • Russian: одино́чное (odinóčnoje) — a singulative form or construction
  • Spanish: singulativo — a singulative form or construction
  • Welsh: ffurf unigolynnol — a singulative form or construction