Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Participial \Par`ti*cip"i*al\, a. [L. participialis: cf. E.
participal. See Participle.]
Having, or partaking of, the nature and use of a participle;
formed from a participle; as, a participial noun.
--Lowth.
Participial \Par`ti*cip"i*al\, n. A participial word.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1590s, from Middle French participial and directly from Latin participialis, from participium (see participle). As a noun from 1560s.
Wiktionary
a. (context grammar English) of, relating to, or being a participle n. (context grammar English) a participle
WordNet
adj. of or relating to or consisting of participles; "participial inflections"
n. a non-finite form of the verb; in English it is used adjectivally and to form compound tenses [syn: participle]
Usage examples of "participial".
Later, I resumed my Russian studies with a young tutor from Novosibirsk, who, upon hearing me attempt a participial phrase with a reflexive, heavily prefixed verb of motion in the anchor position-a maneuver that I considered the triple salchow of my conversational repertoire-winced, as if stabbed, rolled her eyes into the back of her skull, and, upon recovery, seemed eager to return to the communal apartment she had shared in central Siberia.
The same principle of comma use applies to participial phrases and to appositives.
With this assertion, slipped into a participial phrase, the case is supposed to be proved!
This participial construction is frequent in Milton as in Latin: it is equivalent to an explanatory clause.
A final note: In some cases, forms in -na that were originally participial or adjectival have themselves become A-stem verbs.