Reciprocal pronoun

Reciprocal pronoun

The reciprocal pronouns in English are "one another" and "each other". Together with the reflexive pronouns — "myself", "yourself", "ourselves", "yourselves", and others — they are classified as anaphors.

Reciprocity is the broader concept, of which reflexivity is a special case. Reciprocity has A relating to B and B relating "in exactly the same way" to A. Reflexivity is the concept of A reciprocating with "itself".

*Reciprocal: A↔B = A→B and A←B = A→B and B→A
*Reflexive: A↔A = A→A and A←A = A→A and A→A = simply A→A

Examples:
*Reciprocal: They all said "Hello" to "one another".
*Reflexive: All alone, he had no friends but "himself".

The classical Greek reciprocal pronoun was "allēlōn" (ἀλλἠλων). From this stems the word "parallel" : para allēlois "beside each other".

See also

* Reciprocal (grammar)
* Reflexive pronoun


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  • reciprocal — ► ADJECTIVE 1) given, felt, or done in return. 2) (of an agreement or arrangement) bearing on or binding two parties equally. 3) Grammar (of a pronoun or verb) expressing mutual action or relationship (e.g. each other, they kissed). ► NOUN… …   English terms dictionary

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