Docs / Semantics / Root / PropertyConcept

Property-concept classes

import Linglib.Semantics.Root.PropertyConcept · namespace PropertyConcept

Source

Dixon's seven semantic types of property concept, the meanings that make up the English adjective class. Across languages the words of a type may be adjectives, verbs or nouns: in Dixon's survey dimension, age, value and colour are likely to be adjectives however small the adjective class, while a language whose adjective class is closed typically makes its physical properties verbs and its human propensities nouns.

Main declarations

References

Declarations

Dixon 1982's seven semantic types of property concept, with his English examples (p. 16). He sets aside position (high, low, near, far), which most languages express by adverbs (fn. 11).

inductive ClassL25–45
:
Type
  • dimension : Class

    big, large, little, small, long, short, wide, narrow, thick, fat, thin.

  • physicalProperty : Class

    hard, soft, heavy, light, rough, smooth, hot, cold, sweet, sour.

  • color : Class

    black, white, red.

  • humanPropensity : Class

    jealous, happy, kind, clever, generous, cruel, rude, proud, wicked.

  • age : Class

    new, young, old.

  • value : Class

    good, bad, proper, perfect, and hyponyms of good and bad such as excellent, delicious and atrocious.

  • speed : Class

    fast, quick, slow.

Derives DecidableEq, Fintype, Repr.

Used in Fragments/Washo/PropertyConcepts, Dixon1982, HaninkKoontzGarboden2025