n.
- The study of the rules whereby words or other elements of sentence structure are combined to form grammatical sentences.
- A publication, such as a book, that presents such rules.
- The pattern of formation of sentences or phrases in a language.
- Such a pattern in a particular sentence or discourse.
- Computer Science. The rules governing the formation of statements in a programming language.
- A systematic, orderly arrangement.
[French syntaxe, from Late Latin syntaxis, from Greek suntaxis, from suntassein, to put in order : sun-, syn- + tassein, tag-, to arrange.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
