endocentric construction

linguistics

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June 17, 2026

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In linguistics, an endocentric construction is a phrase or compound word that has the same grammatical function as one of its immediate constituents, which does not modify the other immediate constituent. For example, in English, "blackbird" is an endocentric construction because it functions like "bird," and "my little Mary" functions like "Mary".1

This concept is part of understanding syntax, which involves analyzing how words combine to form phrases and sentences. A construction is considered endocentric if it belongs to the same grammatical category as one of its parts, known as the head. The other part is the modifier. This contrasts with exocentric constructions, where the phrase's grammatical function is not directly represented by any of its constituents.21

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linguistics
Syntax
…described as endocentric; the only endocentric construction in the model sentence above is “poor John.” All the other constructions, according to the analysis, are exocentric. This is clear from the fact that in Figure 2 the letters at the nodes above every phrase other than the phrase A + B…
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…described as endocentric; the only endocentric construction in the model sentence above is “poor John.” All the other constructions, according to the analysis, are exocentric. This is clear from the fact that in Figure 2 the letters at the nodes above every phrase other than the phrase A + B…
Read More