descriptive clause


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descriptive clause

n.
A nonrestrictive clause.
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.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.descriptive clause - a subordinate clause that does not limit or restrict the meaning of the noun phrase it modifies
nonrestrictive clause
dependent clause, subordinate clause - a clause in a complex sentence that cannot stand alone as a complete sentence and that functions within the sentence as a noun or adjective or adverb
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
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The linguistic structure is [N + N], such as is found in "doorknob," which can be expanded prepositionally to "knob [N] of the door [N]" rather than the descriptive clause "knob that is/looks like a door."
Such expressions can be expanded into descriptive clauses as "horse that is colored/painted black, or horse that has a black color" or "marble that is colored/painted black, or marble that has a black color" etc.
A 'Black' and 'White' issue
He records what has been previously "unrecorded" as "parable" in a succession of four descriptive clauses; each additional description produces a more florid style.
"Nothing was Lost in the Masquerade": The Protean Performance of Genre and Identity in Charles Johnson's Oxherding Tale

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