Double plural

A double plural is a plural form to which an extra suffix has been added, mainly because the original plural suffix had become improductive and therefore irregular. So the form as a whole was no longer seen as a plural (this is an instance of morphological leveling).

Examples of this can be seen in the history of English and Dutch. Historically, the general English plural markers were not only -s or -en but also (in certain specific declensions) -ra/-ru (which is still rather general today in German under the form -er). The ancient plural of child was "cildra/cildru", to which an -en suffix was later added when the -ra/-ru became unproductive; the Dutch plural form kind-er-en and the corresponding Zeelandic form kind-er-s are also double plurals which were formed in the same way as the English double plurals, while for example German and Limburgian have (historically conservative) single plurals such as Kind-er.

See also

• Reduplicated plural

This linguistic morphology article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Grammatical number Historical linguistics Linguistic morphology stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу Single pen and double pen architecture Duplicate publication Look at other dictionaries: double plural — noun A word doubly inflected for the plural grammatical number in relation to its singular form; e.g., → → , → → …   Wiktionary double — I UK [ˈdʌb(ə)l] / US adjective *** 1) consisting of two things or parts of the same type He went through the double doors. Place the sausages on a double layer of kitchen paper. a) involving two things happening at the same time a double murder… …   English dictionary double figures — plural noun A score or total, etc of any number equal to or greater than 10 but less than 100 • • • Main Entry: ↑double * * * noun [plural] : ↑double digits * * * ˌdouble ˈfigures [double figures double figure] …   Useful english dictionary double figures — ˌdouble ˈfigures noun [plural] the numbers between 10 and 99: • Inflation reached 9.4% in April, and is expected to top double figures before falling. * * * Ⅰ. single/double figures ► the numbers 1 to 9/10 to 99: »Many of these companies have low …   Financial and business terms double digits — UK US noun [plural] mainly american double figures Thesaurus: numbers and types of numberhyponym * * * ˌdouble ˈdigits [double digits double digit] …   Useful english dictionary Double Nationalité — La double nationalité, cas le plus fréquent de la « multinationalité », est le fait de posséder contemporainement deux nationalités. La binationalité est souvent considérée comme un avantage. Certains États l interdisent expressément et …   Wikipédia en Français Double nationalite — Double nationalité La double nationalité, cas le plus fréquent de la « multinationalité », est le fait de posséder contemporainement deux nationalités. La binationalité est souvent considérée comme un avantage. Certains États l… …   Wikipédia en Français double act — noun (theatre) 1. A variety act for two people to perform 2. The two entertainers • • • Main Entry: ↑double * * * double act UK US noun [countable] [singular …   Useful english dictionary double room — double (def. 13). [1930 35] * * * double room UK US noun [countable] [singular double room plural double rooms] tourism a room that is large enough for two people to sleep …   Useful english dictionary double life — UK US noun [countable] [singular double life plural double lives] a completely separate way of life that you have some of the time and keep secret from other people She led a double life: she was a teacher during the day and at night a singer …   Useful english dictionary 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”