determiner

  1. Noun.  (grammar) A member of a class of words functioning in a noun phrase to identify or distinguish a referent without describing or modifying it. Examples of determiners include articles (a, the), demonstratives (this, those), cardinal numbers (three, fifty), and indefinite numerals (most, any, each).
  2. Noun.  (grammar) A dependent function in a noun phrase marking the NP as definite or indefinite. This function is usually filled by words in the determinative class but may be filled by other elements such as a genitive pronoun.
  3. Noun.  Something that determines, or helps someone to determine, something else.

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This entry was last updated on RefTopia from its source on 3/20/2012.