TOPIC PROCESS DEFINITION EXAMPLE

A meaningful unit of
Definition speech or writing that
Traditional "The dog barked."
of a Word can stand alone or
combine with others.

A sequence of sounds or
letters forming a lexical
"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy
Linguistic item, distinct by
dog."
pronunciation, meaning,
and grammatical use.

A unit that cannot be

"Friend" is a word that cannot be broken
Structural further divided without
down further.
losing its meaning.

Read-reread
Word Adding prefixes or
Derivation Circle-encircle
Formation suffixes to a base word.
Large-enlarge

Creating new words by Peevish-peeve

Back removing actual or
Surveillance-surveil
Formation supposed affixes from
another word. Enthusiasm-enthuse

 First aid

 Post office

 Living room

 High school

 Ice cream

 Bedroom
 Keyhole
Combining two or more
Compounding  Football
words to form a new one.
 Backspace
 Armchair
 In-depth
 Snow-clad
 One-footed
 Sun-dried
 Day-to-day

Repurposing Applying a word from Cyber + Security = Cybersecurity

TOPIC PROCESS DEFINITION EXAMPLE

Green + Energy = Green Energy

one context to another.
Home + Office = Home Office

 (n) mail -(v) to mail

 (n) chair - (v) to chair

Changing the word class
Conversion  (n) text -(v) to text
without altering form.

Boycott: Named after Charles Boycott

Mason/Dixon Line: Named after Charles

Words derived from a
Eponyms Mason and Jeremiah Dixon
person’s name.
Fahrenheit: The temperature scale named
after Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit.

 Lab (from "laboratory")

 Math (from "mathematics")

 Gym (from "gymnasium")

 Ad (from "advertisement")

 Doc (from "doctor")

 NASA (National Aeronautics and

Space Administration)

 SCUBA (Self-Contained
Types include clippings, Underwater Breathing Apparatus)
acronyms, and initialisms,
 RADAR (Radio Detection and
Abbreviations with shortened forms Ranging)
representing words or
 NATO (North Atlantic Treaty
phrases. Organization)

 Laser (Light Amplification by

Stimulated Emission of Radiation)

 FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation)

 ATM (Automated Teller Machine)

 DIY (Do It Yourself)

 PBS (Public Broadcasting Service)

 URL (Uniform Resource Locator)

Loanwords Adopting words from "Tsunami" from Japanese.

other languages.

French:

 Café: A coffee shop or a type of

TOPIC PROCESS DEFINITION EXAMPLE

coffee.

 Déjà vu: The feeling of having

already experienced the present
situation.

 Faux pas:

Italian:

 Piano: A musical instrument, but

also used to mean "softly."

 Buffet: Referring to a meal where

guests serve themselves.

 Graffiti: Writings or drawings

scribbled on walls

 Spanish:

o Fiesta: A celebration or
party.

o Plaza: A public square

or marketplace.

o Salsa: A style of dance

or a type of sauce.

1. Boom: The sound of a loud

explosion or thunder.

2. Splash: The sound of something

hitting the water.

3. Crash: The sound of a violent

impact or collision.

4. Hiss: The sound made by a snake or

steam escaping.
Creating a word that 5. Meow: The sound that a cat
Onomatopoeia imitates the sound it makes.
describes.
6. Bark: The sound a dog makes.

7. Drip: The sound of liquid falling

drop by drop.

8. Chirp: The sound made by birds or

small insects.

9. Tinkle: The sound of a small bell or

something fragile breaking.

Reduplication Repeating a word or  No-no (to indicate something is

TOPIC PROCESS DEFINITION EXAMPLE

unacceptable)

 Chit-chat (light conversation)

sound for emphasis.  Hip-hop (a style of music and
dance)

1. Frankenfood: A blend of
"Frankenstein" and "food," used to
describe genetically modified foods
or food products that seem
unnatural.

2. Bromance: A combination of "bro"

(brother) and "romance," referring
to a close, non-sexual friendship
between two men.

3. Chillax: An amalgamation of "chill"

and "relax," which is used to
describe a state of being calm and
unwound.
Words created for a
4. Staycation: A fusion of "stay" and
Nonce Words specific occasion, often
"vacation," referring to a vacation
temporary.
taken at home or nearby rather
than traveling to a distant location.

5. Glamping: A blend of "glamorous"

and "camping," referring to a style
of camping that includes luxurious
accommodations.

6. Frenemy: Combining "friend" and

"enemy," this word denotes a
person with whom one has a
problematic relationship that has
elements of both friendship and
rivalry.

Error New forms arising from  "cereal" vs. "serial": The confusion
misspellings, between the two words can create
mishearings, and humorous or unexpected contexts,
mispronunciations. leading to phrases like "The cereal
killer" instead of "The serial killer."

 "definately": A common
misspelling of "definitely," which is
sometimes humorously accepted in
informal writing.

 "teh": A misspelling of "the" that

has become an internet slang term.
 TOPIC PROCESS DEFINITION EXAMPLE

1. Smog (smoke + fog)

2. Motel (motor + hotel)

3. Infomercial (information +
commercial)

4. Spork (spoon + fork)

5. Frenemy (friend + enemy)

6. Glamping (glamorous + camping)

Combining parts of two 7. Spanglish (Spanish + English)

Blending or more words to create
8. Chillax (chill + relax)
a new one.
9. Blog (web + log)

10. Shart (shit + fart)

11. Ginormous (gigantic + enormous)

12. Workaholic (work + alcoholic)

13. Cringe-worthy (cringe + worthy)

14. Clash (clothing + flash)

Here is a summarization matrix based on the information provided in your text about the definition and criteria of words,
including word formation, mechanisms, and exemplary terms:
Here's a summary matrix for the topic "Mechanisms on How Words are Formed," organized in a table format:

TOPIC PROCESS DEFINITION DIFFERENT EXAMPLE

happy → unhappy
Forming new words by
Adding prefixes or (prefix "un-"), kind →
1. DERIVATION modifying root words with
suffixes to a base word. kindness (suffix "-
prefixes/suffixes.
ness")

Creating new words by

Extracting sculpt (from sculptor),
2. BACK removing suffixes or
actual/supposed affixes proofread (from
FORMATION prefixes from existing
from another word. proofreading)
words.

Combining two or more Forming a new word by

3. notebook = note +
words to form a new combining two independent
COMPOUNDING book
one. words.

Forming new meanings by computer mouse

Applying a word from
4. REPURPOSING using an existing word in a (referring to a device
one context to another.
different context. rather than the animal)

Google (noun) → "I will

Changing a word's
Transplanting one word Google it" (verb), text
5. CONVERSION grammatical function
class to another. (noun) → "I will text
without changing its form.
you" (verb)

Words named after people

sandwich (from Earl of
Deriving words from a who made significant
6. EPONYMS Sandwich), diesel (from
person's name. contributions or had
Rudolf Diesel)
notable characteristics.
TOPIC PROCESS DEFINITION DIFFERENT EXAMPLE

NATO (North Atlantic

Forming shortened
7. Includes clippings, Treaty Organization),
versions of words or
ABBREVIATIONS acronyms, and initialisms. ATM (Automated Teller
phrases.
Machine)

tsunami (from
Adopting words from Integrating foreign words
8. LOANWORDS Japanese), ballet (from
other languages. into the language.
French)

Words formed by mimicking

9. Creating a word by
sounds related to their buzz, bang, meow
ONOMATOPOEIA imitating sounds.
meaning.

Creating emphasis or playful

10. Repeating a word or bye-bye, chit-chat,
variation by repeating
REDUPLICATION sound for emphasis. crisscross
words.

Words created for a Temporary words made for

11. NONCE "truthiness" (coined by
specific occasion or a single use that may not
WORDS Stephen Colbert)
context. become permanent.

New forms arising from Changes in words due to

scramble (variant of
12. ERROR misspellings or linguistic errors that
scrabble)
mispronunciations. become accepted.

Creating new words by webinar = worldwide

Joining parts of two or
13. BLENDING merging segments of web + seminar, brunch
more words.
existing words. = breakfast + lunch