syntax
Syntax refers to the ways in which we order specific words to create logical, meaningful sentences. While the parts of speech are all the different types of words that we can use, syntax is the set of rules, patterns, or processes by which we can put them together.
syn·tax
(sĭn′tăks′)n.1. a. The study of the rules whereby words or other elements of sentence structure are combined to form grammatical sentences.
b. A publication, such as a book, that presents such rules.
c. The pattern of formation of sentences or phrases in a language.
d. Such a pattern in a particular sentence or discourse.
2. Computers The rules governing the formation of statements in a programming language.
3. A systematic, orderly arrangement.
[French syntaxe, from Late Latin syntaxis, from Greek suntaxis, from suntassein, to put in order : sun-, syn- + tassein, tag-, to arrange.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
syntax
(ˈsɪntæks) n1. (Linguistics) the branch of linguistics that deals with the grammatical arrangement of words and morphemes in the sentences of a language or of languages in general
2. (Linguistics) the totality of facts about the grammatical arrangement of words in a language
3. (Linguistics) a systematic statement of the rules governing the grammatical arrangement of words and morphemes in a language
4. (Logic) logic a systematic statement of the rules governing the properly formed formulas of a logical system
5. any orderly arrangement or system
[C17: from Late Latin syntaxis, from Greek suntaxis, from suntassein to put in order, from syn- + tassein to arrange]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
syn•tax
(ˈsɪn tæks)
n. 1. a. the study of the patterns of formation of sentences and phrases from words and of the rules for the formation of grammatical sentences in a language.
b. the patterns or rules so studied: English syntax.
2. a. the study of the well-formed formulas of a logical system.
b. the set of rules that generate such a system.
3. Computers. the grammatical rules and structural patterns governing the ordered use of appropriate words and symbols for issuing commands, writing code, etc., in a particular software application or programming language.
[1565–75; short for earlier
syntaxis < Late Latin < Greek
sýntaxis an arranging in order =
syntag- (base of syntássein; see
syntactic) +
-sis -sis]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
syntax
the grammatical principles by which words are used in phrases and sentences to construct meaningful combinations. — syntactic, syntactical, adj.
See also: Grammar
the study of the principles by which words are used in phrases and sentences to construct meaningful combinations. — syntactic, syntactical, adj.
See also: Linguistics-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Syntax
a connected system or order; a union of things.Examples: syntax of being, 1661; of phantasy or imagination, 1676.
Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
syntax
The way in which sentences are grammatically constructed, or the branch of linguistics that studies this.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited