starred form

A term used in LINGUISTICS to refer to a linguistic CONSTRUCTION that is UNACCEPTABLE or UNGRAMMATICAL, and marked thus by the use of an initial ASTERISK, e.g. *a boys have gone. The term asterisked form is an alternative. In HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS, starred forms indicate historical RECONSTRUCTIONS, the forms cited not being attested in any written records. In AUTOSEGMENTAL PHONOLOGY, a ‘starred ASSOCIATION’ is an association which resists modification by subsequent rules.