Word Formation Processes
LANE 321
Etymology
The study of the origin of the word
The word etymology itself comes from
Latin but has Greek roots (etymon
‘original from’ + logia ‘study of’)
There are many ways in which a word
can enter a language.
Types of Word Formation
1. Coinage
2. Borrowing
3. Compounding
4. Blending
5. Clipping
6. Backformation
7. Conversion
8. Acronyms
9. Derivation
Coinage
Invention of totally new words
Extension of a name of a product from
a specific reference to a more general
one
e.g. Kleenex, Xerox, and Kodak
Eponyms: words based on a name of a
person or a place. E.g. sandwich
Borrowing
Taking over of words from another language
English borrowed a lot of Latin and French words
Example:
Leak (Dutch)
Barbecue (Spanish)
Piano (Italian)
Sofa (Arabic)
Croissant (French)
Yogurt (Turkish)
Arabic also borrowed a lot of words from English,
e.g. television, radio, supermarket
Loan-translation or calque
Compounding
Definition: Two or more words joined
together to form a new word.
Examples:
Home + work homework
Pick + pocket pickpocket
Note: The meaning of a compound is
not always the sum of the meanings of
its parts.
Coconut oil oil made from coconuts.
Olive oil oil made from olives.
Baby oil oil for babies
NOT oil made from babies
Blending
Definition: Similar to compounds,
but in blending only parts of the
words are combined.
Examples:
Motor + hotel Motel
Breakfast + lunch Brunch
Smoke + fog smog
Clipping
Definition: Shortening a word by
deleting one or more syllables
Examples:
Facsimile fax
Hamburger burger
Gasoline gas
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Back-formations
Definition: Creative reduction due to incorrect
morphological analysis.
Examples:
editor edit
Television televise
Note: backformation always involve reduction
(changing the form of the word)
Conversion
Definition: Assigning an already existing
word to a new syntactic category.
Examples:
butter (N) V to butter the bread
permit (V) N an entry permit
empty (A) V to empty the litter-bin
must (V) N doing the homework is a
must
Acronyms
Definition: Words derived from the initials of
several words
Examples:
National Aeronautics and Space Agency
NASA
Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus
SCUBA
United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund
UNICEF
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
Organization UNESCO
Other examples of Acronyms:
a) Radar a) Radio detecting and ranging
b) FYI b) For Your Information
c) TGIF c) Thanks God It’s Friday
d) a.k.a d) also known as
e) Html e) Hypertext mark-up language
f) www f) World wide web
g) btw g) By the way
h) ATM h) Automatic Teller Machine
i) FAQ i) Frequently asked questions
Derivation
The most common word formation process.
affixes
Examples:
Happy unhappy, happiness
Arrange rearrange
Prefixes vs. suffixes
Infixes inside the word
Tell them I’ve gone to Singabloodypore!
Multiple Processes
The creation of a particular word
involves more than one process.
Example: Problems with the project
have snowballed
Snow + ball compound
Snowball (N) (V) conversion
Complete the process and
Identify the type of word formation:
1. automatic Auto clipping
2. information, entertainment Infotainment blends
3. modulator, demodulator Modem blends
4. love, seat Loveseat compounding
5. International, police Interpol blends
6. A comb To comb conversion
7. delicatessen Deli clipping
8. Capt. Charles Cunningham Boycott Boycott eponym
