If in a language a property is expressed alternatively by a noun and an adjective and there is also an associated difference between that property associated with other properties in one expression but not in the other, it is the noun which will express the cluster of properties and the adjective, the single property.
Standardized
IF a property is expressed alternatively by a noun and an adjective and there is also an associated difference between that property associated with other properties in one expression but not in the other, THEN it is the noun which will express the cluster of properties and the adjective the single property.
The idea that nouns denote “property bundles” and adjectives simple properties is an old one. Among no doubt many others, Hermann Paul (Principien der Sprachgeschichte) says just that. This raises the interesting question of whether adjectives are therefore cognitively more basic than nouns. The right answer is presumably negative. Does this mean that analyzing property bundles into individual properties is cognitively simpler than synthesizing property bundles from individual properties?
The idea that nouns denote “property bundles” and adjectives simple properties is an old one. Among no doubt many others, Hermann Paul (Principien der Sprachgeschichte) says just that. This raises the interesting question of whether adjectives are therefore cognitively more basic than nouns. The right answer is presumably negative. Does this mean that analyzing property bundles into individual properties is cognitively simpler than synthesizing property bundles from individual properties?