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Is there a term to describe a word that was originally used as a noun, but is now commonly used as an adjective as well? Take, for example, the word mammoth. Mammoths were large, hairy prehistoric elephants that walked in the age of dinosaurs. They were much bigger than todays elephants, so the word mammoth is now commonly used to describe something's large size or great significance. For example, an idea of mammoth proportions.
First, welcome.
Second, I had no idea of the origin of mammoth and I would have guessed incorrectly that the adjective preceded the noun. So, thank you for pointing that out.
Third, the only words I know for the process you describe are the rather prosaic and unwieldy adjectivization or adjectivalization. Or, from the other point of view, denominalization. These words in themselves show evidence of tortuous histories.
So you could call words like mammoth denominal adjectives, or sometimes denominals if the current part of speech is understood or irrelevant. (There are also denominal verbs, such as chair as in "to chair the committee.")
To digress, the etymology of adjective shows it came into English from Latin in the late 14th century as an adjective, mostly in the phrase noun adjective, coming from a past participle of the Latin verb adicere. It then came to be used as a noun from around 1500. Later the new adjective was formed by adding the adjectivizing -al ending, forming adjectival. Then a new verb was formed by adding the productive -ize ending, sometimes to the adjective form of adjectival and sometimes to the noun form adjective. Finally, the whole process becomes a deverbal noun with the nominalizing ending -ation, realized either as adjectivization or adjectivalization.
Ain't English grand?
Sadly, I cannot find a link to the actual cartoon, but it was one of my favorite things Bill Watterson had ever done (which is saying quite a bit, considering how great Calvin and Hobbes was). So here is the dialogue:
Calvin: I like to verb words.
Hobbes: What?
Calvin: I take nouns and adjectives and use them as verbs. Remember when access was a thing? Now, it's something you do. It got verbed. Verbing weirds language.
Hobbes: Maybe we can eventually make language a complete impediment to understanding.
It's not the same as "adjectivazation", but it includes the sentiment. I still heart that comic strip. It happies me.
Gotta agree with tunawrites, that was one of my favorite strips too, and I recall that episode well. I was teaching at the time (science, not English) and all the English teachers had it on their bulletin boards.
I also recall when I "figured out" that strip ... it was added later in Watterson's career to the Arizona Republic, and I had been enjoying it for several weeks. Figured it was like Garfield, where the reader suspends belief and just buys into the idea of humans talking to their pets, even though a tiger is not that common a pet.
Then one Sunday Watterson ran a strip where one pane showed Calvin's parents present along with Hobbes (as he occasionally did) and suddenly Hobbes was a stuffed toy. I puzzled over the significance for a few seconds, and then the epiphany hit me. I do believe I enjoyed the strip even more after that. Watterson was, in my opinion, one of the best comics artists I've read. He loved to play with language.
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
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