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r/whatstheword•
everflow

WTW for this literary device in the English language, where usually the adjective comes before the noun, instead the adjective comes after the noun?

solved

I've seen this literary device too many times for it to be a coincidence. It is often used to mean something specific. Examples I've come across:

men or women religious

punishment divine or judgment divine

paradise lost

mirror black

And it isn't just in poetry. I've also seen the term "women religious" being used in an academic paper, so it was used intentionally with the syntax noun before adjective.

Posted Dec 5, 2021, 5:20 PM UTC

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WaxwingTruth:karma: Points: 1•

Postpositive or postnomial adjective

9
everflowOP•

Solved

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everflowOP•

Yeah, I looked it up on Wikipedia. It's correct. Other famous examples include:

court martial

heir apparent

city proper

4
painterlyjeans•

But if you change that first two around the meaning changes.

1
ProfeshPress:karma: Points: 26•

Metathesis; hyperbaton; anastrophe.

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painterlyjeans•

I wouldn’t classify Paradise Lost like that though. The title implies that paradise was lost through some specific mean, instead of a lost paradise.

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