Accidence

the rudiments or essentials of a subject.
grammar.

the study of inflection as a grammatical device.
the inflections so studied.

historical examples

the changes of accidence are less frequent than those of syntax, yet such occur.
the works of william shakespeare [cambridge edition] [9 vols.] william shakespeare

examples in syntax, accidence, and style, for criticism and correction.
textiles william h. dooley

the phonology is followed by an accidence, which discusses the peculiarities of dialect grammar.
english dialects from the eighth century to the present day walter w. skeat

at eight years of age he was taught his accidence by a priest.
the works of alexander pope, volume 1 alexander pope

this will be done by memorizing the rules of accidence and derivation.
the principles of language-study harold e. palmer

what is greek accidence, compared to spartan discipline, if it can be had?
the life of john sterling thomas carlyle

the accidence was ent-tled, coleti editio un c-m quibusdam, &c.
the oxford reformers frederic seebohm

my poor lighter-boy, that hath mastered the rudiments, and triumphed over the accidence—but to die!
jacob faithful captain frederick marryat

but he also wrote a latin grammar of his own, cheever’s accidence, which had unvarying popularity for over a century.
child life in colonial days alice morse earle

tell him i hope to hear a good account of his accidence and nomenclature when i return.
familiar letters of john adams and his wife abigail adams during the revolution john adams

noun
inflectional morphology; the part of grammar concerned with changes in the form of words by internal modification or by affixation, for the expression of tense, person, case, number, etc
n.

late 14c., in philosophy, “non-essential or incidental characteristic,” also “part of grammar dealing with inflection” (mid-15c.), in some cases a misspelling of accidents, or else directly from latin accidentia (used as a term in grammar by quintilian), neuter plural of accidens, present participle of accidere (see accident). the grammar sense is because they change in accordance with use.