single word requests - Past participle used as a noun?


Some examples include:



We fear the damned.
He honored our fallen.
This is a given.
You are the chosen.
The lost were among us.
They obey the venerated.
My beloved kissed me. (TIL “beloved” is a verb thanks to RegDwight АΑA)



Is there a word to describe the past participle used as a noun? I’m hesitant to refer to it as a gerund, since it doesn’t end in -ing. Another possibility is adjectival noun, if you originally treat the word as a participle (e.g. “the damned man”) that has given up its modified noun.


Also, why does English tend to preface such nouns with the?



Answer



I believe this is called a substantive participle, most probably resulting from an omission of the qualified, thus the usual addition of the.


For instance you could add “one(s)” to every one of your sentences:



We fear the damned ones.
He honored our fallen ones.
This is a given one. (this one doesn't sound that good)
You are the chosen one.
The lost ones were among us.
They obey the venerated one.
My beloved one kissed me.



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