Some Postpositive Adjectives
rogersgeorge on April 2nd, 2020
Adjectives in English almost always appear before the word they modify, but sometimes they appear afterwards. This happens so seldom, we have a word for them: postpositives. A few weeks ago, a site I have recommended several times, A Word A Day, featured several.
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errant
aforethought
immemorial
laureate
elect
to be
martial
general
public
simple
emeritus
You probably recognize them. Do the nouns they usually go after come to mind? If you need help, go to https://wordsmith.org/awad/archives.html#2020 (hint: several are legal terms.)
Here’s a picture of a poet laureate. See the crown of laurel?
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