decategorialization

noun

The loss of morphosyntactic properties that may have been characteristic of a word's initial grammatical class (category), but are not relevant to its current grammatical function; the loss of membership in a certain grammatical class.

Scrabble 32
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

noundecategorialization (uncountable)
  1. uncountableThe loss of morphosyntactic properties that may have been characteristic of a word's initial grammatical class (category), but are not relevant to its current grammatical function; the loss of membership in a certain grammatical class.
    1 more example

    Within grammaticalization theory it is generally accepted that the process is unidirectional; Ns (nouns) can develop into Pops (postpositions), but not vice versa. The concept of decategorialization applies to the extent to which e.g. the Ns cease to survive as Ns, and survive only as Pops during and after the grammaticalization process.

    2006, Kjell Magne Yri (University of Oslo), "Decategorialization of Nouns as Postpositions in Sidaamú ʔafó and Amharic", in Lutz Edzard, Jan Retsö, Current Issues in the Analysis of Semitic Grammar and Lexicon II: Oslo-Göteborg Cooperation 4th-5th November 2005, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, page 116
Cite this entry
APA

decategorialization. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decategorialization

MLA

“decategorialization.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decategorialization. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “decategorialization,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/decategorialization.

Source: decategorialization on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.