inverse number

noun

Describes a morphophonological relationship between two grammatical number categories X and Y and two declension classes A and B such that the X form in A is to the Y form in A as the Y form in B is to the X form in B.

“Nowadays, only the nothern dialect retains inverse number.”

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Meanings

nouninverse number (uncountable)
  1. uncountablehuman sciencesDescribes a morphophonological relationship between two grammatical number categories X and Y and two declension classes A and B such that the X form in A is to the Y form in A as the Y form in B is to the X form in B.

    Nowadays, only the nothern dialect retains inverse number.

    1 more example

    One example of inverse number in the proto-language is how the first declension featured a singular suffix -i and a plural suffix -u, meanwhile the second declension had a singular suffix -u and a plural suffix -i.

Cite this entry
APA

inverse number. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inverse%20number

MLA

“inverse number.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inverse%20number. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “inverse number,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inverse%20number.

Source: inverse number on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.