Nominalists, a sect of school philosophers, the disciples and followers of Occam, or Ocham, an English Cordelier, in the 14th century. They were great dealers in words, whence they were vulgarly denominated Word-sellers; but had the denomination of Nominalists, because, in opposition to the Realists, they maintained, that words, and not things, were the object of dialectics.

This sect had its first rise towards the end of the 11th century, and pretended to follow Porphyry and Ari-

Vol. XV. Part I. name, is called the nominative case; yet it is not so properly a case, as the matter or ground whence the other cases are to be formed, by the several changes and inflections given to this first termination. Its chief use is to be placed in discourse before all verbs, as the subject of the proposition or affirmation.