Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Syntax
Syn′tax
,Noun.
1.
Connected system or order; union of things; a number of things jointed together; organism.
[Obs.]
They owe no other dependence to the first than what is common to the whole
syntax
of beings. Glanvill.
2.
That part of grammar which treats of the construction of sentences; the due arrangement of words in sentences in their necessary relations, according to established usage in any language.
Webster 1828 Edition
Syntax
SYN'TAX
,Noun.
1.
In grammar, the construction of sentences; the due arrangement of words in sentences, according to established usage. Syntax includes concord and regimen, or the agreement and government of words. Words, in every language, have certain connections and relations, as verbs and adjectives with nouns, which relations must be observed in the formation of sentences. A gross violation of the rules of syntax is a solecism.2.
Connected system or order; union of things. [Not in use.]Definition 2024
Syntax
syntax
syntax
See also: Syntax
English
Noun
syntax (countable and uncountable, plural syntaxes)
- A set of rules that govern how words are combined to form phrases and sentences.
- 1988, Andrew Radford, chapter 8, in Transformational grammar: a first course, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, page 410:
- The incorporation of a rule of V MOVEMENT into our description of English Syntax turns out to have fundamental theoretical implications for our overall Theory of Grammar: it means that we are no longer able to posit that the syntactic structure of a sentence can be described in terms of a single Phrase-marker representing its S-structure. For, the postulation of a rule of V-MOVEMENT means that we must recognise at least two different levels of structure in our Theory of Grammar — namely, a level of D-structure (formerly known as ‘Deep Structureʼ) which serves as input to the rule, and a separate level of S-structure which is formed by application of the rule.
-
- (computing, countable) The formal rules of formulating the statements of a computer language.
- (linguistics) The study of the structure of phrases, sentences and language.
Usage notes
The joke plural syntices occasionally occurs in blogs (by false analogy with matrix etc.)
Synonyms
- (grammar): syntaxis
Derived terms
Related terms
- syntax error
- syntax highlighting
Translations
set of rules that govern how words are combined
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formal rules of a computer language
study of the structure of phrases and sentences
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See also
Slovak
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈsin.taks/
Noun
syntax f (genitive singular syntaxe, declension pattern of dlaň)
Declension
Declension of syntax
| singulare tantum | |
|---|---|
| nominative | syntax |
| genitive | syntaxe |
| dative | syntaxi |
| accusative | syntax |
| locative | syntaxi |
| instrumental | syntaxou |
Swedish
Noun
syntax c
Declension
| Inflection of syntax | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||
| Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
| Nominative | syntax | syntaxen | syntaxer | syntaxerna |
| Genitive | syntax | syntaxens | syntaxers | syntaxernas |
References
- syntax in Svenska Akademiens Ordlista över svenska språket (13th ed., online)