inverse number

English

Noun

inverse number (uncountable)

1. (linguistics) Describes a morphophonological relationship between two grammatical number categories X and Y and two declension classes A and B such that the X form in A is to the Y form in A as the Y form in B is to the X form in B.

   One example of inverse number in the proto-language is how the first declension featured a singular suffix -i and a plural suffix -u, meanwhile the second declension had a singular suffix -u and a plural suffix -i.

   Nowadays, only the nothern dialect retains inverse number.

See also

• syncretism