nondepictive
|non-de-pic-tive|
🇺🇸
/ˌnɑn.dɪˈpɪk.tɪv/
🇬🇧
/ˌnɒn.dɪˈpɪk.tɪv/
not portraying/representing
Etymology
'nondepictive' originates from English word-formation: the negative prefix 'non-' (from Latin 'non' meaning 'not') + 'depictive' (from 'depict' + adjectival suffix '-ive'); 'depict' ultimately traces back to Latin 'depingere'/'depinxi' meaning 'to paint or portray'.
'depict' changed from Latin 'depingere' (to paint/portray) through Old French (e.g. 'depeindre') and Middle English forms into modern English 'depict'; the adjective 'depictive' formed by adding '-ive', and the modern compound/derived adjective 'nondepictive' arose by prefixing 'non-'.
Initially related forms meant 'to paint' or 'to portray'; over time 'depictive' came to mean 'serving to depict or represent', and 'nondepictive' now means 'not portraying or representing,' especially in technical or linguistic contexts.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
not depictive; not portraying, representing, or descriptive; lacking depictive qualities.
The report is intentionally nondepictive, focusing on data rather than imagery.
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Adjective 2
(Linguistics) Not functioning as a depictive (i.e., not attributing a secondary, often temporary, property to an argument of the clause).
In this sentence the adjective appears nondepictive rather than expressing a temporary state of the subject.
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Last updated: 2025/11/20 05:47