Definition

1. Adjective:
   • (Grammar) Placed after the word it modifies: A postpositive adjective, determiner, or other modifier is positioned immediately following the noun or pronoun it describes, rather than preceding it. This is a specific grammatical placement.

Usage

• Grammatical Context: The term "postpositive" is used almost exclusively in formal grammar and linguistics to describe the syntactic position of a word. It is not commonly used in everyday conversation.
• Key Feature: The defining characteristic is the (post = after) relative to the head word (e.g., a noun).

Examples

• Adjective:
  • In the phrase "attorney general," the word "general" is a postpositive adjective modifying "attorney."
  • The word "aplenty" is typically used in a postpositive position, as in "There was food aplenty."
  • In legal and formal titles, such as "heir apparent" or "court martial," the adjectives "apparent" and "martial" are postpositive.

Advanced Usage

• Fixed Expressions: Many postpositive adjectives are part of fixed or idiomatic expressions borrowed from other languages (like French or Latin) or from specific jargon (like legal or military terms).
  • Examples: "time immemorial," "body politic," "letters patent," "notary public."
• Emphasis or Archaic Style: Sometimes, postpositive placement is used for poetic, archaic, or emphatic effect.
  • Example: "Things unseen" (for "unseen things").

Variants and Related Words

• Postposition (n): A word or particle placed after the word it governs, especially common in some languages like Japanese or Turkish. (Note: "Postpositive" in English typically describes adjectives, while "postposition" is a part of speech analogous to a preposition but placed after its object.)
• Postposed (adj): A more general linguistic term meaning placed after something.

Synonyms

• Following: Placed after. (Less specific and not a grammatical term).
• Suffix-like: Functioning similarly to a suffix, though a suffix is bound (attached), while a postpositive word is typically free (separate).

Antonyms

• Prepositive (adj): (Grammar) Placed before the word it modifies. This is the standard position for adjectives in English (e.g., "the car").
• Prenominal (adj): (Grammar) Placed before a noun.

Adjective

1. (of a modifier) placed after another word