pluralizers

Noun

pluralizer (plural pluralizers)

1. A syntactic marker that indicates something is plural; a plural marker.
   • In verbs, where it occupies suffix position 5, its occurrence as pluralizer of a third person expressed by a prefix is highly restricted; cf. 5.451. Instead, in verbs, it seems on the way to becoming a person marker (rather than a mere pluralizer) for the second person plural exclusive;1973, Hans Cristoph Wolfart, Plains Cree, page 49
2. Someone or something that highlights or embodies plurality, diversity, or multiple perspectives; an agent or proponent of pluralism.
   • It is after all Freud—with his confusing picture of inversion's genealogy in the first few pages of the Three Essays, especially in footnotes added in 1910, 1915, and 1920—who can be considered the first pluralizer of homosexuality.2009, Leo Bersani, Homos, page 104