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Main text: Adjectives of relation.
For the purposes of this article, an "irregular adjective" is an adjective of relation that is not derived from the same root as the corresponding noun, or is based on the same root but in a way that is non-intuitive even to a native English speaker.
A list of nouns and their irregular adjectives follows. You can use this to look up an irregular adjective from the noun – a facility which many dictionaries do not offer. Some of the adjectives have a similar noun form, which acts as an alternative noun (for example, the adjective for "business" is given as "commercial", which has the corresponding noun "commerce"). Equivalent regular adjectives, where they exist, are not listed. For example, "abdominal" is not shown against "abdomen".
actor, acting – histrionic (more commonly means overly theatrical, applied not just to actors), thespian (often facetious)
aesthetic pleasure – sensuous
aging, the aged – geriatric, gerontic
ant – formic, myrmecological
baby – infantile (often derogatory); see also child
back (anatomy) – dorsal, lumbar (lower part of back)
back of the head (also called the occiput) – occipital
bat (animal) – chiropteran, vespertilian
bird – avian, ornithic, volucrine
birth – natal, parturient
blood – h(a)emal, h(a)ematic, h(a)emic, h(a)ematal, sanguineous
body – corporal, corporeal, physical, somatic, carnal
bone – osseous, osteal, osteoid
brain – cerebral, cerebric, encephalic
breeding season – nuptial
butterfly – papilionaceous, lepidopterous (also applies to moths)
chest (anatomy) – thoracic, pectoral
child – juvenile, puerile (usually derogatory); see also baby
coin (or medal) – numismatic
countryside – rural, rustic, bucolic
daughter (or son) – filial
dawn – auroral (see also twilight)
devil – diabolic(al), satanic
eye – optic, ocular, ophthalmic
finch – fringilline (also applies to other small birds)
fire – igneous (now mostly refers to rock formed by solidification of magma)
fish – piscatorial, piscine
flood – diluvial, diluvian, clysmian
frog – ranine, batrachian (also applies to toads)
hare – leporine, lagomorphic (also applies to rabbits and pikas)
jaw (anatomy) – maxillary
kidney – renal, nephritic, nephric
left (direction) – sinistral
light (physics) – optic(al)
liver (anatomy) – hepatic
love (sexual) – amatory, amorous
man – masculine, virile (particularly emphasising strength and vigour)
marriage – nuptial, conjugal, connubial, hymeneal
moth (or butterfly) – lepidopterous
parish – parochial (now usually means narrow-minded)
(the) people – popular, demotic
rabbit – lagomorphic (also applies to hares and pikas)
right (direction) – dextral
sea – maritime, marine, pelagic
ship – nautical, marine, naval (usually applies to warships)
slug (mollusc) – limacine
smell (sense) – olfactory
son (or daughter) – filial
sparrow – passerine (also applies to other perching birds)
star – stellar, sidereal, astral
stomach – gastric (see also abdomen)
table – mensal (especially dining table)
taste (sense) – gustatory
teacher – pedagogic(al) (now often derogatory)
toad (or frog) – batrachian
toe (or finger) – digital
tree – arboreal, dendroid
wax – cerotic (specifically, beeswax)
wind – aeolian (British), eolian (US)
word – lexical, verbal (usually refers to the spoken word)
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