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Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary gram·mar ETYMOLOGY Middle English gramere, from Anglo-French gramaire, modification of Latin grammatica, from Greek grammatikē, from feminine of grammatikos of letters, from grammat-, gramma — more at gram DATE 14th century 1. a. the study of the classes of words, their inflections, and their functions and relations in the sentence b. a study of what is to be preferred and what avoided in inflection and syntax 2. a. the characteristic system of inflections and syntax of a language b. a system of rules that defines the grammatical structure of a language 3. a. a grammar textbook b. speech or writing evaluated according to its conformity to grammatical rules 4. the principles or rules of an art, science, or technique a grammar of the theater also : a set of such principles or rules English Etymology grammar 1176, gramarye, from O.Fr . grammaire "learning," especially Latin and philology, from L. grammatica, from Gk. grammatike tekhne "art of letters," with a sense of both philology and literature in the broadest sense, from gramma "letter," from stem of graphein "to draw or write." Restriction to "rules of language" is a post-classical development, but as this type of study was until 16c.limited to Latin, M.E. gramarye also came to mean "learning in general, knowledge peculiar to the learned classes" (c.1320), which included astrology and magic; hence the secondary meaning of "occult knowledge" (c.1470), which evolved in Scottish into glamour (q.v.). A grammar school (1387) was originally "a school in which the learned languages are grammatically taught" [Johnson, who also has grammaticaster "a mean verbal pedant"]. In U.S. (1860) the term was put to use in the graded system for "a school between primary and secondary, where English grammar is taught."http://O.Fr Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7 ☞ grammar gram·mar / 5^rAmE(r) / noun1. [U] the rules in a language for changing the form of words and joining them into sentences 语法；文法: the basic rules of grammar 基本语法规则 English grammar 英语语法 ⇨ see also generative grammar 2. [U] a person's knowledge and use of a language (人的)语言知识及运用能力: His grammar is appalling. 他运用语言的能力糟透了。 bad grammar 极差的语言运用能力 3. [C] a book containing a description of the rules of a language 语法书: a French grammar 法语语法书 Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of English grammar noun ADJ. correct, good Spelling and good grammar are both very important. | bad, incorrect | Arabic, French, Latin, etc. the complexities of English grammar VERB + GRAMMAR correct, teach People were too polite to correct my grammar when I spoke German. | learn GRAMMAR + NOUN rules PHRASES the rules of grammar Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus-11th Edition n. Function: noun Synonyms: ALPHABET 2, ABC's, elements, fundamentals, principles, rudimentsWebster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged Search result show the entry is found in: latin grammar school , or philosophical grammar , or universal grammar , or case grammar , or generative grammar , or stratificational grammar , or transformational grammar , or general grammar , or grammar school gram·mar I. \ˈgramə(r)\ noun (-s) Etymology: Middle English gramere, gramer, grammer, from Middle French gramaire, modification of Latin grammatica, from Greek grammatikē, from feminine of grammatikos skilled in grammar, from grammat-, gramma letter, piece of writing + -ikos -ic — more at gram 1. a. : a branch of linguistic study that deals with the classes of words, their inflections or other means of indicating relation to each other, and their functions and relations in the sentence as employed according to established usage and that is sometimes extended to include related matter such as phonology, prosody, language history, orthography, orthoepy, etymology, or semantics— see accidence , morphology , syntax b. : linguistics c. : a study of what is to be preferred and what avoided in the inflections and syntax of a language 2. : that which is studied in grammar : those phenomena of language with which grammar deals : the characteristic system or the preferred system of inflections and syntax of a language 3. a. : a book in which grammar is methodically treated b. : an elementary textbook for foreign language study c. : a manner of speaking or writing that conforms to grammatical rules : speech or writing that is preferred to what should be avoided < appalled at the bad grammar of college students > 4. a. : the basic elements or principles of a science, art, discipline, practice < the grammar of politics in Latin America is unfamiliar to the Anglo-Saxon mind — R.A.Humphreys > < the grammar of heraldry > b. : a treatise or book dealing with such elements or principles c. : a set of such elements or principles < music has universal appeal because it has a universal grammar> < created a grammar of cinematography > II. noun : a system of rules that defines the grammatical structure of a language |
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