infectumn.
/ɪnˈfɛktəm/, U.S. /ᵻnˈfɛktəm/ Linguistics.
In Latin, an aspectual category of tenses (including the present, imperfect, and simple future) which indicate that the action of the verb is in progress, in contrast with the perfect tenses.In quot. 1866: figurative.
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the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > aspect > [noun] > other specific aspects
infectum1833
iterative1853
permansive1872
resultative1902
progressive1906
egressive1914
terminate1931
1833 R. B. Greenlaw True Doctr. Lat. Subjunctive ii. 43 Now to compare this division of verbs given by Varro with that usually adopted in grammars;—the first of Varro, combined with the division into infectum and perfectum, constitutes the tenses of grammars; the second, the persons.
1866 M. Howitt Twelve Months with Frederika Bremer II. vii. 111 This house is Perfectum, and that Plusquamperfectum..; Infectum is the Anatomy Institute.
1954 L. R. Palmer Latin Lang. ii. ix. 266 In Latin..the verbal system shows a contrast only between the infectum and the perfectum.
1983 P. Baldi Introd. to Indo-European Langs ii. 28 The primary divisions in the verb are aspectual, with a perfectum, or 'completed action', and an infectum, or 'noncompleted action'.
2003 B. Drinka in Hist. Linguistics 2001 119 The construction spread from the passive and the perfectum into the infectum.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1833