X-bar theory

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A theory that posits a common syntactic structure for different lexical categories. Each phrase (XP) is the projection of a head (X) and may optionally include a specifier (sister of X-bar, daughter of XP), adjuncts (sister and daughter of X-bar) and complements (sister of X, daughter of X-bar).

Word forms

X-bar theory X′ theory

Etymology

X signifies an arbitrary lexical category; certain structures are represented by this letter and an overbar.

Related words

Derived words

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.