copula
/ˈkɑpjələ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 2.27 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A word, usually a verb, used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate (usually a subject complement or an adverbial), that unites or associates the subject with the predicate.
noun
The bond or relationship by which two things are combined into a unity.
noun
A function that represents the association between two or more variables, independent of the individual marginal distributions of the variables.
noun
The act of copulation; mating.
Example Sentences
- "I begin by arguing in section 2 that there are in fact at least two Celtic copulas, a grammatical copula that simply spells out tense and agreement, and a substantive copula formed on a lexically listed verbal stem."
- "The theory of conjunctively tensed copulae will be developed and stated with more precision in the following section."
- "This paper explores the position of the copula in the development of the verb system in second language acquisition of Italian."
- "The present study focuses on the acquisition of a specific verbal element, namely the copula, in predicative constructions in a cross-linguistic perspective (English, German, Croatian)."
- "Lang Belta has no copula like English ‘is’."
- "The fact that in milk the copula or bond is exceedingly slight is evident from the spontaneous resolution of milk when left in a vessel, its resolution, namely, into cream—a white substance of comparative consistency,—and a sourish fluid; also from its ready resolution when, merely by motion, it is turned into butter, or, by heat, into various kinds of curds."
Etymology
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈkɑpjələ/
- British English: /ˈkɒpjʊlə/