GERUND Definition & Meaning

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gerund

[jer-uhnd]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Grammar.

(in certain languages, as Latin) a form regularly derived from a verb and functioning as a noun, having in Latin all case forms but the nominative, as Latin �徱��Ի�ī genitive, �徱��Ի�ō dative, ablative, etc., “saying.”
the English -ing form of a verb when functioning as a noun, as writing in Writing is easy.
a form similar to the Latin gerund in meaning or function.

gerund

/ ˈdʒɛrənd, dʒɪˈrʌndɪəl /

noun

a noun formed from a verb, denoting an action or state. In English, the gerund, like the present participle, is formed in -ing
the living is easy

gerund

A form of a verb that ends in -ing and operates as a noun in a sentence: “Thinking can be painful.”

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Grammar Note

See me.

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Other 51�Թ� Forms

gerundial adjective
gerundially adverb
nongerundial adjective

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of gerund¹

First recorded in 1505–15; from Late Latin gerundium, Latin gerundum “that which is to be carried on,” equivalent to ger(ere) “to bear, carry on” + -undum, variant of -endum, gerund suffix

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of gerund¹

C16: from Late Latin gerundium, from Latin gerundum something to be carried on, from gerere to wage

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Yglesias named his Substack “Slow Boring,” after a 1919 lecture by the German sociologist Max Weber titled “Politics as a Vocation,” wherein “boring” is not an adjective of dullness but a gerund of diligence.

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His intentional use of a gerund in the title allows “entertaining” to be read as both doing a thing and being a thing.

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It’s also one of the activities Koenig recommends for parents to introduce their kids to “musiking,” her preferred gerund for describing the act of playing with melody, rhythm and movement.

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The “being” in “being with my students” is a gerund and gets the possessive pronoun “my.”

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Meanwhile, the gerund form of a verb the British use describes Trump’s frequent stance toward allies.

From

Stein, Gertrude gerundive

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