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Word Formation

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59 views

Word Formation

Uploaded by

manirizack
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Word Formation: Compounding, Clipping,

Blending, Acronym, and Etymology


Compounding

Compounding is the word formation process in which two or


more lexemes combine into a single new word. Compound words
may be written as one word or as two words joined with a hyphen.
Compounding
Compounding is the word formation process in which two or more lexemes combine
into a single new word. Compound words may be written as one word or as two words
joined with a hyphen.

Types compounding with examples:

Open compounds- Living room, School bus, post office, full moon, and ice cream

Closed compounds- rainwater, catwalk, nightfall, jellybean, and watercolor

Hyphenated compounds- merry-go-round, daughter-in-law, one-third, eighty-five, over-the-


counter
Clipping Clipping is the word formation process in which a
word is reduced or shortened without changing the
meaning of the word.
Four types of clipping:
back clipping- removing the end of a word
Clipping fore-clipping-removing the beginning of a word
middle clipping-retaining only the middle of a word
complex clipping-removing multiple parts from multiple words
Four types of clipping:
Clipping back clipping- removing the end of a word
fore-clipping-removing the beginning of a word
middle clipping-retaining only the middle of a word
complex clipping-removing multiple parts from multiple words
Examples:

advertisement – ad
memorandum – memo
alligator – gator
photograph – photo
examination – exam
public house – pub
gasoline – gas
raccoon – coon
gymnasium – gym
reputation – rep
influenza – flu
situation comedy – sitcom
laboratory – lab
telephone – phone
mathematics – math
Blending is the word formation process in which parts of two Blending
or more words combine to create a new word whose meaning
is often a combination of the original words.
Blending is the word formation process in which parts of two Blending
or more words combine to create a new word whose meaning
is often a combination of the original words.

Examples

advertisement + entertainment → advertainment smoke + fog → smog


biographical + picture → biopic Spanish + English → Spanglish
breakfast + lunch → brunch
spoon + fork → spork
chuckle + snort → chortle
telephone + marathon → telethon
cybernetic + organism → cyborg
guess + estimate → guesstimate web + seminar → webinar
hazardous + material → hazmat
motor + hotel → motel
Acronyms
An acronym is a word formed from the initial letters of a name or by combining
initial letters of a series of words.

According to John Ayto, a lexicographer, an acronym "denotes a combination


pronounced as a word . . . rather than as just a sequence of letters" (A Century of
New Words, 2007).
Acronyms
An acronym is a word formed from the initial letters of a name or by combining
initial letters of a series of words.

According to John Ayto, a lexicographer, an acronym "denotes a combination


pronounced as a word . . . rather than as just a sequence of letters" (A Century of
New Words, 2007).

Examples:

RADAR - Radio detecting and ranging


LASER - Light amplification by the stimulated emission of radiation.
NATO - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
UNICEF - The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund.
SCUBA - Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus.
WASP - White anglo saxon protestant.
Etymology is the study of the origin of words and how the
meaning of words has changed over the course of history. Etymology

Example: “Etymology”

derives from the Greek word etumos, meaning


“true.” Etumologia was the study of words’ “true
meanings.” This evolved into “etymology” by way of
the Old French ethimologie.
Salary
(Origin: Latin)
The word “salary” comes from the Latin salarium, meaning “salt money.”

In ancient times, salt was used for many important things and was often referred to as “white gold.” It
could be used as an antiseptic to treat wounds — In Romance languages one can recognize a
connection between sal/sale, meaning “salt,” and salud/saude/salute, meaning “health”) — and to
preserve food, and also as a method of payment in Greece and Rome.

As far back as the Egyptian Empire, laborers were paid with salt that they could use to preserve their
food. The Roman Empire continued using this form of payment and it took on the name “salary” for
“that which was given to workers at the end of the working month,” which adds a new dimension to
the notion of a company’s solvency.

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