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For example, if a lane were to be marked "exit only", this would indicate that the lane is only for exiting. On the other hand, if a lane were to be marked "only exit", this would indicate that it's the only exit lane.

Linguistically, what's going on here? It seems like the word "only" is modifying the word "exit" in both instances, but is there a linguistic term for the two different ways "only" is operating here?

To be clear, I'm not asking about the meaning of "exit only" or "only exit" road signs (in fact, "only exit" signs probably don't exist). Instead, I'm merely using the signs to illustrate the semantic difference between "exit only" and "only exit". That way, we're all on the same page for my actual question: given that both phrases are made up of the same noun (i.e. "exit") and adjective (i.e. "only"), what is the linguistic term for the way in which the noun-adjective order determines the meaning of these two phrases?

Caleb Koch
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    Have you ever seen a lane marked "only exit"? If I saw it, I would take it to mean the same thing as "exit only". – Weather Vane Jan 04 '24 at 22:45
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    Signs are generally not sentences, they have ideosyncratic grammar. – Barmar Jan 04 '24 at 23:38
  • E.g. "no smoking" means "smoking is not allowed", and "exit only" means "this lane is only for exiting". – Barmar Jan 04 '24 at 23:39
  • You could compare "This is the exit only" and "This is the only exit", which are two sentences with a similar difference. What part of speech is "only" in each case? – Stuart F Jan 04 '24 at 23:57
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    "This is the exit only," is incoherent. It's better to address the word "exit". In OP's example and common street sign use, "exit" is a verb. In the expression "only exit", "exit is a noun. If you think of "exit" as a verb in the latter case, you'll quickly discover that "only exit" means exactly the same thing as "exit only". – R Mac Jan 05 '24 at 08:13
  • A better formulation of a sentence is, "Here, you may exit only." And similarly, when applying "exit" as a verb, "Here, you may only exit." This is as opposed the noun form, e.g., "This is the only exit." Spot the difference? It has much more to do with the part of speech of the word "only" modifies than it does the part of speech of "only". (It's an adverb in both constructions.) – R Mac Jan 05 '24 at 08:16
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    Could this actually be a US usage? In the US painted signs on the road are the 'wrong way up' compared to other countries. The theory is that you read each line as you come to it. This results in such as "crossing school' rather than 'school crossing' if viewed from above. https://i.stack.imgur.com/fRdBX.jpg I can't find one for 'exit only'. – Tetsujin Jan 05 '24 at 08:39
  • @Tetsujin, that's an insightful possibility. However, in this case, the road sign that inspired my question was an "exit only" sign on the side of the road, not a sign painted onto the road itself. In truth, I've never actually seen an "only exit" sign. Rather, the "exit only" sign made me ruminate on the possibility of seeing an "only exit" sign, which made me curious about what's going on here linguistically. – Caleb Koch Jan 05 '24 at 14:10
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    @CalebKoch Since you've never seen an "only exit" sign, I don't think this question makes sense; you're asking us to explain the meaning of a sign that doesn't exist. – alphabet Jan 05 '24 at 16:07
  • @alphabet I'm not actually asking about any signs, I'm merely using the signs to illustrate the semantic difference between "exit only" and "only exit". That way, we're all on the same page for my actual question. – Caleb Koch Jan 05 '24 at 17:56
  • @CalebKoch The issue is: nobody here knows what the intended meaning of an "Only Exit" sign would be, since those signs don't exist. – alphabet Jan 05 '24 at 20:10
  • @alphabet I haven't asked about the intended meaning of an "only exit" sign. In fact, I've already specified what an "only exit" sign would mean if one did in fact exist. I expanded upon my initial question to make things more clear. – Caleb Koch Jan 05 '24 at 21:15
  • @CalebKoch But this isn't answerable. The meaning of "exit only" signs is established by convention; it isn't something you could predict from just the meanings of the two words. The meaning of an "only exit" sign would also need to be established by convention. – alphabet Jan 05 '24 at 22:02
  • See https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/5466/correct-position-of-only. This is really a duplicate. – Xanne Jan 06 '24 at 08:37

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