participle

[Fr. participe, from Lat. par. ticipium, from part i ceps (gen it. participis )=having a share; pars (gen it. partis ) =a part, and capio to take; Sp., Port., & Ital. participio.] I. Ordinary Language : *1. Anything which participates in or partakes of the nature of different things. "The participles or confiners between plants and living creatures are such as are fixed, though they have a motion in their parts: such as oysters and cockles."Bacon. Nat . Hist ., § 609. 2. In the same sense as II. IMG:content-0696.png:[blocks in formation] host. (2) The smaller breads used in the communion of the laity. par-ti-col-õred, a. [PARTY-COLORED.] part i colored-bat, s. Zool.: Vesperugo discolor , a bat which has a marbled appearance, the fur of the upper part being chestnut-brown with the extremities of the hair pale. It is a native of Germany, Ru ia, and Asia. par-tic'-u-lar, * par-tic-u-ler, * par-tyc-uler, a. . [Fr. particulier , from Lat. particular is concerning a part, from particula =a particle (q. v.); Sp. & Port. particular ; Ital. part i col are , particulare .] A. As adjective: I. Ordinary Language: 1. Pertaining or relating to one and not to more; not general or universal; special. "As well for particular application to special occasions, as also in other manifold respects, infinite treasures of wisdom are abundantly to be found in the holy scripture." -Hooker: Eccles. Polity. 2. Pertaining to one certain person or thing; peculiar, characteristic. "Doth any name particular belong unto the lodging?" -Shakesp.: Henry IV ., Pt . II ., iv. 3. 3. Personal, private, individual. "Upon my particular knowledge of his directions." Shakesp.: Henry V. , iii. 2. 4. Individual, single; one distinct or apart from others. "Make each particular hair to stand on end." Shakesp.: Hamlet , i. 5. 5. Attentive to single or distinct facts or details; minute. 6. Characterized by attention to single or distinct details; minute, circumstantial; as, a particular account of a transaction. 7. Singularly nice or precise; fastidious; as, He is very particular in his dre . 8. Characterized by or having some notable or noteworthy quality; noteworthy; worthy of atten tion and regard. *9. Odd, peculiar; different from others; marked. "Lady Ruelle had been something particular, as I fancied, in her behavior to me." -Graves: Spiritual Quixote, ii. 80. II. Technically : IMG:content-0697.png:[blocks in formation] II. Gram.: A part of speech, so called because it partakes of the nature both of a verb and an adjective. A participle differs from an adjective in that it implies the relation of time, and therefore is applied to a specific act, while the adjective denotes only an attribute as a quality or characteristic without regard to time. Thus, in I have written a letter , written is a participle denoting a specific actdone at a certain time; but in a written letter, written is an adjective. There are two simple participles in English, the present (or imperfect active) and the past (or pa ive). The former now ends in -ing , the latter in -ed , -d, or -t, in the case of weak verbs; in the case of strong verbs the past participles all once ended in -en or -n, as in know , known , sow, sown , but in very many cases this suffix has been dropped, in many other instances verbs originally strong have adopted a weak form for the ities or qualities. past tense and past participle, as in sweep , swept (orig. swapen , swepen ), crow , crowed (orig. crawen , crown), . In such sentences as seeing is believing , the termination -ing is not that of the present participle, but represents the A. S. verbal term in a tion- ung, as in showing A. S. sceawung.