syntax

[ sin-taks ]

noun

1. Rarely . Linguistics.
   1. the study of the rules and patterns by which sentences and phrases are formed in a language.
   2. the rules or patterns so studied:

      Some people find English syntax hard to master.

   3. a presentation of these rules or patterns:

      His syntax of German is famous in the field.

   4. an instance of these rules or patterns:

      The syntax of that sentence is odd.

2. Computers. the grammatical rules and structural patterns governing the ordered use of appropriate words and symbols for issuing commands, writing code, etc., in a particular software application or programming language.
3. Logic.
   1. the branch of modern logic that studies the various kinds of signs that occur in a system and the possible arrangements of those signs, without reference to their meaning.
   2. the outcome of such a study when directed upon a specified language.
4. a system or orderly arrangement.

syntax

/ ˈsɪntæks /

noun

1. the branch of linguistics that deals with the grammatical arrangement of words and morphemes in the sentences of a language or of languages in general
2. the totality of facts about the grammatical arrangement of words in a language
3. a systematic statement of the rules governing the grammatical arrangement of words and morphemes in a language
4. logic a systematic statement of the rules governing the properly formed formulas of a logical system
5. any orderly arrangement or system

syntax

1. The sequence in which words are put together to form sentences. In English, the usual sequence is subject , verb , and object .

Notes

Syntactic languages, such as English, use word order to indicate word relationships. Inflected languages ( see inflection ), such as Greek and Latin , use word endings and other inflections to indicate relationships.

Word History and Origins

Origin of syntax¹

First recorded in 1565–75; short for earlier syntaxis

Word History and Origins

Origin of syntax¹

C17: from Late Latin syntaxis, from Greek suntaxis, from suntassein to put in order, from syn- + tassein to arrange

Example Sentences

Vance lies just as much as Trump, but with a syntax that resembles normal human speech.

From Salon

But her error matched those of, for example, CBS News, which reported in headline syntax that Harris was “echoing Trump proposal.”

From Los Angeles Times

The press was able to describe Biden’s affect, energy, syntax.

From Salon

"The grammar and syntax of it was written in a way that did not represent normal English," he told the jury.

From BBC

“I asked God, ‘Give me break,’” she recalled in disjointed syntax.

From New York Times