2 Flashcards
(26 cards)
Obsolete
No longer in use - often because the meaning is no longer understood.
Derivation
Forming a new word from an existing word, often by adding a prefix or suffix.
Coinage
The creation of a new word which people start to use.
Neologism
A newly invented word.
Eponym
A word which takes the name of its inventor or discoverer.
Prefix
A group of letters added to the beginning of a word to make a new word.
Suffix
A group of letters added at the end of a word to make a new word.
Root/Stem
The part of a word which cannot be changed and which can be added to for a change in meaning.
Conversion
Creating a new word, or a new word class, from an existing one, or a different one.
(E.g. the noun green for golf derived from the adjective green.)
Telescoping
The contraction of a word or phrase, on the analogy of a telescope being closed.
(Biodegradable from biologically degradable)
Compounding
Forming a new word from two or more units that are themselves words.
(Blackboard from black board)
Blending
Forming a new word by joining the beginning of one word to the end of another.
(Smog formed by smoke and fog)
Coalescence
The phonological process whereby two sounds merge into one.
Assume pronounced as ashume
Backformation
The formation of a simpler word from an existing one that appears to be derived from it.
(Enthuse from enthusiasm)
Reduplication
Where sounds are repeated with identical or only very slight change; a characteristic of infant speech.
Borrowing
The introduction of specific words, constructions, or morphological elements from one language to another.
Neuter
In language terms, neither female nor male.
Inflection
Any form or change of from which distinguishes grammatical forms of the same lexical unit.
(Books - book, distinguished by the inflection s)
Archaism
In English language, words which are no longer in everyday use or have lost a particular meaning in current usage.
Etymology
The study of the historical relation between a word and the earlier form or forms from which it has developed.
Amelioration
When a word takes on a more positive connotation over time.
Nice, which originally meant foolish or absurd
Pejoration
When a word takes on a more negative connotation over time.
Broadening
When the meaning of a word becomes broader or more inclusive than its earlier meaning.
Narrowing
When the meaning of a word becomes narrower and more exclusive than its earlier meaning.
