pro-dropadj.n.
/ˈprəʊdrɒp/, U.S. /ˈproʊˌdrɑp/ Linguistics.
A. adj.
Designating a parameter or feature of certain languages whereby subject pronouns are usually omitted; designating or relating to a language of this type.
ΚΠ
1977 Ling. Inq. 8 413 Both languages have an optional Pro-Drop rule.
1981 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) B. 295 228 A slight change in the parameter associated with one morphological rule yields the quite different properties of the so-called ‘pro-drop languages’ such as Italian and Spanish.
1996 Appl. Linguistics 17 71 White was seeking to confirm her hypothesis that Spanish speakers would carry over the pro-drop parameter from their native language to English and that French speakers would not.
2000 A. Carnie & E. Guilfoyle Syntax Verb Initial Langs. i. 5 The language is both pro-drop and verb initial.
B. n.
The omission of subject pronouns; this linguistic parameter.
ΚΠ
1977 Ling. Inq. 8 413 Some rule independently motivated in the language (such as Pro-Drop), which deletes pronouns.
1987 Language 63 766 The pronomial incorporation property may..be typologically significant in predicting..the presence of pro-drop.
2000 S. Franks & T. H. King Handbk. Slavic Clitics ii. 23 This familiar correlation between clitic auxiliaries and pro-drop seems to run throughout Slavic.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1977