UNIT 10

UNIT 10: WORD-FORMATION: PREFIXES, SUFFIXES AND COMPOUNDS
UNIT 10:
WORD-FORMATION: PREFIXES, SUFFIXES AND
COMPOUNDS
Outline
The word as a linguistic sign. ............................................................................................. 3
1.
2.
a)
Definition for “word”. ....................................................................................................... 3
b)
The word as a linguistic sign. ............................................................................................ 3
c)
Word analysis .................................................................................................................... 4
Lexical creativity ................................................................................................................. 6
Word formation or neologism ................................................................................................... 6
COMPOUNDING ................................................................................................................. 6
AFFIXATION ....................................................................................................................... 8
CLIPPING ........................................................................................................................... 16
CONVERSION ................................................................................................................... 17
BACK-FORMATION ......................................................................................................... 18
REDUPLICATIVES ........................................................................................................... 18
BLENDING ........................................................................................................................ 18
ACRONYMS ...................................................................................................................... 19
EPONYMY ......................................................................................................................... 20
OTHER TYPES OF ABBREVIATIONS: .......................................................................... 20
FACETIOUS FORMS: ....................................................................................................... 20
BAGONIZING .................................................................................................................... 22
BROADENING .................................................................................................................. 23
1.
Socio-cultural factors .................................................................................................. 23
2.
Psychological Factors .................................................................................................. 24
Examples of broadening .......................................................................................................... 24
1.
Business....................................................................................................................... 24
2.
Cool ............................................................................................................................. 24
3.
Demagogue ................................................................................................................. 24
Broadening - key takeaways ................................................................................................... 24
NARROWING .................................................................................................................... 25
What causes narrowing?.......................................................................................................... 25
Sociocultural causes ............................................................................................................ 25
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UNIT 10: WORD-FORMATION: PREFIXES, SUFFIXES AND COMPOUNDS
Psychological Causes .......................................................................................................... 26
Narrowing - key takeaways ..................................................................................................... 26
3.
False Friends ...................................................................................................................... 27
 Metonymy ......................................................................................................................... 29
Examples of metonymy: a recap ......................................................................................... 30
 Similes ............................................................................................................................... 31
 Personification ................................................................................................................... 31
 Idioms ................................................................................................................................ 32
 Synecdoque........................................................................................................................ 33
 Oxymoron ......................................................................................................................... 35
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UNIT 10: WORD-FORMATION: PREFIXES, SUFFIXES AND COMPOUNDS
1. The word as a linguistic sign.
a) Definition for “word”.
Several definitions have been given to the linguistic term “word” and not all of
them have been satisfactory. One of the most accepted, and, at the same time, clearest
definitions is the one given by Bloomfield: “the word is the minimum free form of a
language”. Nevertheless, many linguists say that in a communicative act, the sentence
is the minimum free linguistic form in communication, and the word is its minimal
version. In this case, we would have a sentence consisting of one single word.
b) The word as a linguistic sign.
What do we mean when we say that the word is a linguistic sign? First of all, we
have to regard the language as a communication system where we associate the
“message”, that is, the meaning or ideas we have in our minds, with a set of symbols,
that is to say, the representation of these ideas in the form of words, either written or
spoken.
If we take this into account, we can consider the word as an entity made up of:
a. Signifier, that is, the external form
b. Signified, that is, the meaning of that word
Saussure used the term “sign” in this sense to refer to a linguistic entity, consisting
of signifier and signified. Nevertheless, linguists nowadays prefer to use the term
“sign” to refer only to the signifier. For Saussure, the relationship between both is
symbolic, since words are labels for concepts. The relationship is arbitrary, as there is
no logical, intrinsic or natural relation between a particular acoustic sound and a
concept. For this reason we refer to the same concept with different acoustic sounds in
different languages. Hence, the meaning of any word or sign is derived from its
existence within a network of related signs called SEMANTIC FIELD. For Saussure,
everything in the system of language is based on the relations that can occur between
the units in the system and on relations of different signs.
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UNIT 10: WORD-FORMATION: PREFIXES, SUFFIXES AND COMPOUNDS
Each language has a word order structure. Apart from the syntagmatic relations,
there are other relationships that exist outside the discourse: PARADIGMATIC or
ASSOCIATIVE relationships. For instance, there is a paradigmatic relationship
between “he” and the rest of the pronouns.
This view of the word expressed by Saussure has been criticised, and the word is
seen by some linguists not as an entity, made up of signifier and signified, but as a
triangle made up of three elements:
THOUGHT or REFERENCE
Symbol - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - referent
Signifier
signified
(sound, word, image)
(mental concept)
c) Word analysis
A word can analysed from different points of view, as it can be regarded as the
following:
An orthographic entity:
A word can be regarded as being made up of different graphic signs with space
around them, that is to say, letters. In some cases the word as an orthographic entity
has different versions. For example, the word colour in British English is spelt color
in American English.
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UNIT 10: WORD-FORMATION: PREFIXES, SUFFIXES AND COMPOUNDS
A phonological entity
The word is regarded in terms of sounds, subject to stress, rhythm, etc. This
phonological entity has nothing to do with the orthographic one, and words or groups
of words that are spelt in a completely different manner can be pronounced in the
same way. If I say /ə ˈnəʊʃən /, we do not know whether I have said “a notion” or “an
ocean”, and only the context can clarify this.
A morphological entity
In this case, the word is regarded as being made up of morphemes, that is to say,
the minimal unit having meaning in language. For example, the word “unbearable”
can be divided into three morphemes: un-bear-able.
A grammatical entity
A word can also be analysed regarding the function it has. In this case, words are
divided into two groups:
 lexical words: they are those words which have a full meaning and refer to
actions, things or states. The classes of words which belong to this group are nouns,
verbs, adjectives and adverbs.
 Grammatical words: they are those words which only have a linking function,
for example, prepositions, conjunctions, articles, determiners, etc.
A lexicographical entity
This is the way in which a word is presented in dictionaries. For example,
if we look up the word “did” in the dictionary, it will be made a reference to “do”. For
this reason, the forms “do, does, did, done, doing” form a lexicographical entity,
meaning that they belong to the same entry in the dictionary.
A Semantic entity
The word, irrespective of its external form or component parts, is primarily a
carrier of meaning.
At word level, semantics explores the relationship which words have with each
other within the language as a whole. The meaning which a word has due to its place
in the linguistic system constitutes its sense.
The Common Core
The diagram used by the first editor of the OED, James Murray, in the section
called “General Explanations”, which preceded volume 1 (1888): “the English
vocabulary contains a nucleus or central mass of many thousand words whose “anglicity”
is unquestioned; some of them only literary, some of them only colloquial; the great
majority at once literary and colloquial. They are the common words of the language).”
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UNIT 10: WORD-FORMATION: PREFIXES, SUFFIXES AND COMPOUNDS
2.
Lexical creativity
It is clear that language is not static and new words are introduced every day; by
means of the mass media they then become familiar to many people in a short period of
time. This lexical creativity is achieved by means of three mechanisms: word formation,
conversion and semantic transfer.
Word formation or neologism
According to Bauer (1983), there are different ways of word formation in English:
compounding, affixation (prefixation and suffixation), clipping, conversion,
backformation, blending, acronyms and eponymy.
COMPOUNDING
A compound is a unit of vocabulary which consists of more than one lexical stem.
On the surface, there appear to be two (or more) lexemes present, but in fact the parts are
functioning as a single item, which has its own meaning and grammar. So, flower-pot
does not refer to a flower and a pot, but to a single object. It is pronounced as a unit, with
a single main stress, and it is used grammatically as a unit- its plural, for example, is
flower-pots.
The unity of flower-pot is also signalled by the orthography but this is not a
foolproof criterion. If the two parts are linked by a hyphen as here, or are printed without
a space (“solid”), as in flowerpot, then there is no difficulty. But the form flower pot will
also be found, and in such cases, to be sure we have a compound (and not just a sequence
of two independent words), we need to look carefully at the meaning of the sequence and
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UNIT 10: WORD-FORMATION: PREFIXES, SUFFIXES AND COMPOUNDS
the way it is grammatically used. This question turns up especially in American English,
which uses fewer hyphens than does British English.
Compounds are most readily classified into types based on the kind of
grammatical meaning they represent. Earthquake, for example, can be paraphrased as
“the earth quakes”, and the relation of earth to quake is that of subject to verb. Similarly,
a crybaby is also subject + verb (“the baby cries”), despite its back-to-front appearance.
Scarecrow is verb + object (“scares crow”). Some involve slightly trickier grammatical
relations, such as playgoer, windmill, goldfish and homesick.
There is an interesting formation in which one of the elements does not occur as
a separate word. These forms are usually classical in origin, and are linked to the other
element of the compound by a linking vowel, usually –o- , but sometimes –a- and –i-.
They are traditionally found in the domains of science and scholarship, but in recent years
some have become productive in everyday contexts too, especially in advertising and
commerce.
First element:
Agri- - culture, -business
Bio- -data, -technology
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UNIT 10: WORD-FORMATION: PREFIXES, SUFFIXES AND COMPOUNDS
Micro- -chip, -electronics
Euro- -money, -feebleness
Psycho- -logy, -analysis
Techno- -phobia, -stress
Second element
-aholic work-, shop-, comput-athon mar-, swim-, read-matic coffee-, wash-o.rama sports-a-, plant-o-
Such forms might well be analysed as affixes, but for the fact that their meaning
is much more like that of an element in a compound. Euromoney, for example, means
“European money”; biodata means “biological data”; swimathon means “swimming
marathon”.
AFFIXATION
Not all affixes have a strong creative potential. OE <-th> warmth, depth, length,
width, sixth is hardly every used to create new words- though zeroth and coolth are
interesting exceptions.
<-ness> is one of the most prolific ones.
Newly-coined ones include –friendly. Sexism brought a host of other –isms, such
as weightism, heightism, ageism. Political correctness introduced –challenged in several
areas. Rambo-based coinages included Ramboesque and Ramboistic. Band-aid gave rise
to Sport-aid and nurse-aid.
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UNIT 10: WORD-FORMATION: PREFIXES, SUFFIXES AND COMPOUNDS
Infixes
English has no system of infixes, but people do from time to time coin words into
which other forms have been inserted. This happens quite commonly while swearing or
being emphatic, as in absobloominglutely and kangabloodyroo.
Prefixes
There are 57 varieties of prefixes
NEGATIVE PREFIXES
AAN- (especially before vowels), “lacking in,”, “lacking of”, combines with
adjectives, as in amoral, asexual, anhydrous and in some nouns, as in anarchy.
DIS- “the converse of”, combines with open-class items, including verbs:
disobey, disloyal, disorder, diuse, discontent.
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UNIT 10: WORD-FORMATION: PREFIXES, SUFFIXES AND COMPOUNDS
IN- (IL-, IR-, IM-) “the converse of”, combines with adjectives of French and
Latin origin. Incomplete, irregular, illegal, impossible.
NON- combines, usually hyphenated, with nouns, adjectives, and open-class
adverbs: non-smoker, non-perishable, non-trivially.
UN- “the converse of”, combines fairly freely with adjectives and participles.
Unfair, unwise, unforgettable, unassuming, unexpected.
REVERSATIVE OR PRIVATIVE PREFIXES
DE- “reversing the action”, combines fairly with verbs and deverbal nouns.
Decentralize, defrost, desegregate. Also with the meaning of “depriving of”, with verb
and deverbal nouns: decapitate, deforestation.
DIS- “reversing the action”, combines fairly freely with verbs: disconnect,
disinfect, disown. Also with the meaning “lacking”, as in disinterested, discoloured.
UN- “reversing the action”, combines fairly freely with verbs: undo, untie, unzip.
STATUS
ARCH- “chief” archbishop
CO- “joint” co-founder
PRO- “deputy” proconsul
VICE- “deputy” vice-president
PEJORATIVE PREFIXES
MAL- “badly, bad”, combines with verbs, participles, adjectives, and abstract
nouns: maltreat, malformed, malodorous, malfunction.
MIS- “wrongly”, “astray”, combines with verbs, participles and abstract nouns:
miscalculate, misunderstand, misinform, misleading.
PSEUDO- “false”, “imitation”, combines freely with nouns and adjectives:
pseudo-Christianity, pseudo-classicism.
CRYPTO- “concealed”. Crypto-fascist, crypto-Catholic.
PREFIXES OF DEGREE OR SIZE
ARCH- “supreme”, “most”, combines freely with nouns, chiefly with human
reference: archduke, archbishop, and usually with pejorative effect: arch-enemy, archfascist. Archangel is an exception of non-hyphenation.
CO- “jointly”, “on equal footing”, combines freely with nouns and adverbs: coopt, cooperate, coexist. In some nouns, the prefix is stressed: co-driver.
HYPER- “extreme”, combines freely with adjectives: hypersensitive,
hypercritical.
MEGA- “very large” megastar.
MACRO- “large” macrocosm
MICRO- “small” microsurgery
MIDI- “medium” midibus
MINI- “little”, combines freely with nouns: mini-market, mini-skirt.
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UNIT 10: WORD-FORMATION: PREFIXES, SUFFIXES AND COMPOUNDS
OUT- “surpassing”, combines freely with nouns and intransitive verbs to form
transitive verbs: outnumber, outclass, outdistance.
OVER- “excessive (hence pejorative), combines freely with verbs and adjectives:
overeat, overestimate.
SUB- “below”. It combines with adjectives. Subconscious, subnormal.
ULTRA- “Extreme”, “beyond”, combines freely with adjectives (hyperboles like
ultra-modern, ultra-conservative); technical items like ultrasonic and with nouns in
technical usage, sometimes with the prefix stressed: ultramicroscopic, ultrasound.
UNDER- “too little”, combines freely with verbs and –ed participles
(undercharge, underestimate, underplay) and corresponding nouns (underprovision; with
the meaning “subordinate”, it combines less commonly with nouns (undermanager)
PREFIXES OF ORIENTATION AND ATTITUDE
ANTI- “against” combines freely with denominal adjectives (anti-social, anticlerical) and nouns, mainly to form premodifying adjectives (anti-war campaign).
CONTRA- “opposite”, “contrasting”, combines with nouns, verb, and denominal
adjectives: contradistinction, contraindicate.
COUNTER- “against”, “in opposition to”, combines with verbs, abstract nouns,
and denominal adjectives: counter-espionage, counter-clockwise.
PRO- “for”, “on the side of”, combines freely with denominal adjective and
nouns, mainly to form premodifying adjectives: pro-communist, pro-American.
LOCATIVE PREFIXES
ANTE- “before”. Antechamber, ante-room.
CIRCUM- “around”. Circumnavigate.
EXTRA- “outside”, “beyond”. Extramarital, extracurricular.
FORE- “front part of”, “front”, combines fairly freely with nouns such as
forearms, foreshore, foreground.
IN- IM- IL- IR- “in” ingathering, indoors.
INTER- “between”, “among”, combines freely with denominal adjectives, verbs
and nouns: international, interlinear, intertwine. With nouns, the product is chiefly used
in premodification: inter-war, inter-school.
INTRA- “inside”. Intramural, intravenous.
MID- “middle”. Midfield.
OUT- “Outside”. outdoor, out-patient.
OVER- “from above”, “outer” overthrow, overshadow.
RETRO- “backwards”. Retroflex.
SUB- “under”, combines fairly freely with adjectives, verbs and nouns:
subnormal, sublet, subdivide, subway.
SUPER- means “above: superstructure, superscript.
SUPRA- “above”. Supranational.
SUR- “above”. Surcharge.
TELE- “at a distance”. Television.
TRANS- “to the other side”: transatlantic.
ULTRA- “beyond”, “extremely”. Ultraviolet, ultra-modest.
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UNIT 10: WORD-FORMATION: PREFIXES, SUFFIXES AND COMPOUNDS
UNDER- “below”, “too little”, “subordinate”. Undercharge, undercook, undersecretary.
PREFIXES OF TIME AND ORDER
ANTE- “before” antenatal
EX- means “former” and is added to nouns: ex-wife.
FORE- “before” foresee
MID- “middle” midwinter
NEO- “new”, “recent form of” neocolonialism
POST- “after” post-modernism
PRE- means “before”, “in advance”, and is added to nouns, adjectives and
adverbs: pre-school, pre-marital.
RE- “again” reprint, renew.
NUMBER PREFIXES
MONO- combines with nouns and adjectives: monoparental.
SEMI- combines with nouns and adjectives: semicircle, semi-detached.
UNI- “one” undirectional
POLY- “many” polysyllabic
MULTI- “many” multi-faith
SEMI- “half”, “partly” semicircle, semi-conscious
DEMI- “half”, “partly” demisemiquaver, demigod
HEMI- “half” hemisphere
BI- “two” bilabial
DI- “two” dioxide
DUO-, DU- “two” duologue
TRI- “three” tridimensional
CONVERSION PREFIXES
Their chief function is to effect a conversion of the base form from one word class
to another. They are unstressed.
ACombines freely with verbs to yield predicative adjectives: asleep, astride,
awash, atremble, aglow.
BE- functions along with –ed to turn noun bases into adjectives with somewhat
more intensified force than is suggested by –ed alone: bewigged, bespectacled, befogged,
bedewed.
EN-, EM- before /p/, /b/, combines chiefly with nouns to yield verbs: enmesh,
empower, endanger, enflame.
MISCELLANEOUS
AUTO- “self” autobiography
BIO- abbreviation of biology and biological : biodegradable
ECO- abbreviation of ecology and ecological: eco-friendly
EURO- abbreviation of Europe and European: Eurocurrencies
PARA- “ancillary”: paranormal
SELF- self-control
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UNIT 10: WORD-FORMATION: PREFIXES, SUFFIXES AND COMPOUNDS
Several affixes seemed to find new life in the 1980s: mega- (-trendy, -sulk, -worry,
-terror, -brand, -city).
Suffixes
As with prefixes, we shall concentrate on those suffixes that are in commonest
productive use. Our treatment of suffixes is on a generally grammatical basis. This is
because, while prefixes primarily effect a semantic modification of the base, suffixes have
by contrast only a small semantic role, their primary function being to change the
grammatical function of the base. Thus, it is convenient to group them according to the
word class that results when they are added to the base. But, in addition, since particular
suffixes are frequently associated with attachment to bases of particular word classes, it
is also convenient to speak of them as DENOMINAL SUFFIXES, DE-ADJECTIVAL
SUFFIXES, etc.
Unlike prefixation, suffixation with originally foreign items is often accompanied
by stress shifts and sound changes determined by the foreign language concerned. Thus,
even where the spelling of the base remains constant, the stress differences in sets like the
following involve sharply different vowel sounds. For instance, the graph element in the
following is pronounced /a:/, /ə/ and /æ/ respectively.
‘photograph – pho’tography – photo’graphic
Spelling may also be affected:
Invade – invasion ; persuade – persuasion
Permit – permission ; admit – admission
‘drama – dra’matic
Able – ability
In’fer – ‘inference – infe’rential
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UNIT 10: WORD-FORMATION: PREFIXES, SUFFIXES AND COMPOUNDS
NOUN SUFFIXES
Denominal nouns: Abstracts
Noun bases become largely noncount abstract, or aggregate nouns of status or
activity, by means of the following suffixes:
-AGE “measure of”, “collection of”: baggage, frontage.
-DOM officialdom (with pejorative overtones, except in stardom and kingdom).
-ERY “the condition or behaviour associated with”: drudgery, slavery, devilry, nitwittery,
take-over-biddery. Also “location of”: nursery, refinery, bakery. Noncount concrete
aggregate nouns are rather freely formed, as in machinery, rocketry.
-FUL “the amount contained in”: spoonful
-HOOD boyhood, manhood, brotherhood. The base sometimes is an adjective, as in
falsehood.
-ING tubing, panelling, carpeting. Also “the activity connected with”: cricketing,
farming.
-ISM “practice of”: Calvinism, idealism.
-OCRACY “government by”: democracy, aristocracy.
-SHIP friendship, membership.
Denominal nouns: Concrete
-EER “skilled in”, “engaged in”: pamphletter, profiteer, engineer.
-ER “having a dominant characteristic”, “denizen of”,: teenager, north-wester, threewheeler, villager, Londoner.
-ESS
waitress, actress, lioness.
-ETTE “compact”: kitchenette, dinerette. Also “imitation”: flannelette, leatherette.
Feminine marker in suffragette, usherette.
- LET “small”, “unimportant”,: booklet, piglet.
-LING “minor”, “offspring of”,: princeling, duckling, hireling.
-STER “involved in”, trickster, gangster, gamester.
Noun/adjective suffixes
-ESE “member of”: Chinese, Japanese.
-(I)AN “adherent to”: Darwinian, republican. Also “relating to”: Shakespearian,
Chomskyan. “Citizen of”: Indonesian, Chicagoan, Glaswegian. “The language of”:
Russian, Indonesian.
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UNIT 10: WORD-FORMATION: PREFIXES, SUFFIXES AND COMPOUNDS
- IST “skilled in”, “practising”: violinist, socialist.
-ITE “adherent to”, “member of”: Benthamite, shamanite, socialite. Also “denizen of”:
Brooklynite, Hampsteadite.
ADJECTIVE SUFFIXES
Denominal suffixes
-ED “having”: wooded, pointed, simple-minded, blonde-haired.
-FUL “providing”: useful, delightful, pitiful.
-ISH “somewhat like”: childish, monkeyish; with adjectives: brownish, greyish; with
people’s ages, “approximately”: sixtyish; with names of races, peoples and languages:
Swedish, Cornish.
-LESS “without”: careless, restless.
-LIKE “like”: childlike, statesmanlike,.
-LY “having the qualities of”: womanly, soldierly, motherly; also with nouns that are units
of time, with the meaning of “every”: hourly, weekly, etc.
-Y “somewhat like”, “characterized by”: sandy, meaty, creamy.
-AL (-IAL, -ICAL) accidental, dialectal, editorial, psychological, cultural.
-ESQUE burlesque, romanesque, Kafkaesque, Daliesque.
-IC atomic, heroic, problematic, phonematic, Celtic, Arabic.
-OUS (-IOUS) especially when replacing –ion, ity: desirous, virtuous, grievous,
ambitious, courteous, erroneous.
Deverbal suffixes
Two common suffixes are used to form adjectives from verbs and they are in polar
contrast in respect of verbal voice: -ive is fundamentally related to the active, “of the kind
that can V”; -able is fundamentally related to the passive: “of the kind that can be V-ed”.
Thus:
The idea attracts me  the idea is attractive
The text cannot be translated  the text is unstranslatable
-ABLE debatable, washable. Sometimes –ible, -uble: inevitable, soluble, visible.
-IVE attractive, possessive, productive, explosive, expansive, decorative, talkative.
ADVERB SUFFIXES
-LY calmly, economically, slowly.
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UNIT 10: WORD-FORMATION: PREFIXES, SUFFIXES AND COMPOUNDS
-WARD(S) onwards, northwards, theatre-wards, Chicago-wards.
-WISE clockwise, crabwise, crosswise, lengthwise.
VERB SUFFIXES
-ATE orchestrate, hyphenate.
-EN deafen, sadden, tauten, quicken.
-IFY, -FY simplify, amplify, certify, identify, electrify.
-IZE, -ISE symbolize, publicize, dieselize.
CLIPPING
A part of a word which serves for the whole (ad, phone, bra). There are two chief
types:
- The first part of the word is kept (the most common): demo, exam, pub.
- The last part of the word is kept: bus, plane.
Sometimes, a middle part is kept, as in fridge and flu.
There are also several words which retain material from more than one part of the
word, such as maths (UK), gents and specs. Turps is a curiosity, in the way it adds an
<s>.
Several clipped forms also show adaptation, such as fries (from French fried
potatoes), Betty (from Elizabeth) and Bill (from William).
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UNIT 10: WORD-FORMATION: PREFIXES, SUFFIXES AND COMPOUNDS
CONVERSION
Lexemes can be made to change their word class without the addition of an affix
– a process known as CONVERSION. The items chiefly produced in this way are nouns,
adjectives, and verbs – especially the verbs which come from nouns (e.g. a doubt). Not
all the senses of a lexeme are usually carried through into the derived form, however. The
noun paper has several meanings, such as “newspaper” “wallpaper”, and “academic
article”. The verb to paper relates only to the second of these. Lecturers and editors may
paper their rooms, but not their audiences or readers.
 verb to noun
A swim/hit/cheat/bore/show-off/drive-in
 adjective to noun
A bitter/natural/final/monthly/regular/wet
 noun to verb
To bottle/catalogue/oil/brake/referee/bicycle
 adjective to verb
To dirty/empty/dry/calm down/sober up
 noun to adjective
It’s cotton/brick/reproduction
 grammatical word to noun
Too many ifs and buts
But me with no buts (William Shakespeare)
That’s a must
The how and the why
 Affix to noun
Ologies and isms
 phrase to noun
A has-been/free-for-all/also-ran/down-and-out
 grammatical word to verb
To down tools/ to up and do it
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UNIT 10: WORD-FORMATION: PREFIXES, SUFFIXES AND COMPOUNDS
BACK-FORMATION
It is common in English to form a new lexeme by adding a prefix or a suffix to an
old one. From happy we get unhappy; from inspect we get inspector. Every so often,
however, the process works the other way round, and a shorter word is derived from a
longer one by deleting an imagined affix. Editor, for example, looks as if it comes from
edit, whereas in fact the noun was in the language first. Similarly, television gave rise to
to televise, double-glazing preceded double-glaze, and baby-sitter preceded baby-sit.
Such forms are known as BACK-FORMATIONS.
Each year sees a new crop of back-formations. Some are coined because they meet
a real need as when a group of speech therapists in Reading in the 1970s felt they needed
a new verb to describe what they did – to therap. Some are playful formations, as when
a tidy person is described as couth, kempt, or shevelled. Back-formations often attract
criticism when they first appear, as happened in the late 1980s to explete (to use an
expletive) and accreditate (from accreditation).
REDUPLICATIVES
Some compounds have two or more constituents which are either identical or only
slightly different: goody-goody (“a self-consciously virtuous person”). The difference
between the two constituents may be in the initial consonants: walkie-talkie, or in the
medial vowels: criss-cross. Most of the reduplicatives are highly informal or familiar,
and many belong to the sphere of child-parent talk: din-din (“dinner”). The most common
uses of reduplicatives (also called JINGLES) are:
 to imitate sounds: rat-a-rat (knocking on door), tick-tock, ha-ha, bow-wow.
 to suggest alternating movements: see-saw, flip-flop, ping-pong.
 to disparage by suggesting instability, nonsense, insincerity, vacillation, etc: higgledypiggledy, hocus-pocus, wishy-washy, dilly-dally, shilly-shally.
 to intensify: teeny-weeny, tip-top.
BLENDING
A lexical blend, as its name suggests, takes two lexemes which overlap in form,
and welds them together to make one. Enough of each lexeme is usually retained so that
the elements are recognizable. Here are some long-standing examples, and a few novelties
from recent publication,
Breakfast + lunch = Brunch.
Motor + hotel = motel
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Helicopter + airport = heliport
Smoke + fog = smog
Advertisement + editorial = advertorial
Channel + tunnel= chunnel
Oxford + Cambridge =Oxbridge
Yale + Harvard = Yarvard
Slang + language=slanguage
Guess+ estimate=guesstimate
Square + aerial=squaerial
Toys+cartoons= toytoons
Breath + analyser=breathalyser
Affluence + influenza = affluenza
Information + commercials= infomercials
Dock + condominium = dockominium
In most cases, the second element is the one which controls the meaning
of the whole.
Blending increased in popularity in the latter half of the 20th century, being
increasingly used in commercial and advertising contexts. Products were sportsational,
swimsational and sexsational. TV provided dramacons, docufantasies, and
rockumentaries. The forms are felt to be eye-catching and exciting; but how many of
them will persist remains an open question.
Scientific terms frequently make use of blending, as in bionic, as do brand names
(teledent) and fashionable neologisms.
ACRONYMS
They are pronounced as single words (laser, NATO, jomo). They never have
periods separating the letters – a contrast with initialisms, where punctuation is always
present, especially in older styles of English).
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EPONYMY
A new word is created from somebody’s name.
Leotard, from the acrobat Jules Leotard.
Most do not last and are labelled as NONCES (temporary words that never
properly enter the language).
OTHER TYPES OF ABBREVIATIONS:
 INITIALISMS: items which are spoken as individual letters, such as DJ, BBC,
USA. They are also called ALPHABETISMS. Not all of them use the first letter of the
constituent words: PhD uses the first two letters, and GHO and TV take a letter from the
middle of the word.
 AWKWARD CASES: some forms can be used either as initialisms or
acronyms (U.F.O., UFO or you-foe).
Some mix these types in the one word (CDRom).
Some can form part of a larger word using affixes (ex-JP, pro-BBC, JCBMs).
Some are only used in writing, but pronounced in full: Mr, St.
FACETIOUS FORMS:
TGIF Thanks God it’s Friday (properly “Companion of St Michael and St
George)
CMG Call me God (“Companion of St Michael and St George”)
KCMG kindly call me God (“Knight Commander of St Michael and St George”)
GCMG God calls me God (“Grand Cross of St Michael and St George”)
AAAAAA Association for the Alleviation of Asinine Abbreviations and Absurd
Acronyms.
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BAGONIZING
However, native speakers seem to have a mania for trying to fill lexical gaps. If a
word does not exist to express a concept, there is no shortage of people very ready to
invent one. Following a ten-minute programme about neologisms on BBC Radio 4 in
1990, over 1,000 proposals were sent in for new English lexemes. Here are some
examples:
Aginda: a pre-conference drink
Circumtreeaviation: the tendency of a dog on a leash to want to walk past poles
and trees on the opposite side to its owner
Blinksync: the guarantee that, in any group photo, there will always be at least one
person whose eyes are closed
Fagony: a smoker’s cough
Litterate: said of people who care about litter
Polygrouch: sb who complains about everything
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Leximania: a compulsive desire to invent to words
Bagonize: to wait anxiously for your suitcase to appear on the baggage carousel.
BROADENING
Broadening is the process by which the meaning of a word changes to become
more generalised over time. Broadening is a type of semantic change. It is important that
we first understand what semantics and semantic change are.
Semantics refers to the study of the meaning of words or phrases. There
are two types
of
semantics: logical and lexical. Logical semantics
has to
do
with reference (the symbolic relationship between language and real-world
objects) and implication (the
relationship
between
two
sentences).
Lexical semantics has to do with word meaning.
Semantic change refers to how the meanings of words change over time.
Broadening is a key example of semantic change and is a common process that
tends to occur slowly over many years. A synonym of broadening is a semantic
generalisation.
Semantic broadening is caused by extra-linguistic factors. These are factors that occur
outside the language itself. This type of semantic change occurs naturally and gradually
over time.
Broadening typically occurs when a word is used more frequently. This will lead to
its meaning becoming more encompassing of related definitions. This can be caused by
factors such as socio-cultural and psychological reasons. Let's take a look at some
examples.
1. Socio-cultural factors
Sociocultural factors can cause broadening. This happens when there is a major shift
in a country's politics or social landscape. Revolutions, wars, and civil rights movements
can all lead to broadening. A good example of this is how some words change their
meaning following political coups.
Guy
The word 'guy' gained popularity in England following the failed Gunpowder Plot
led by Guido 'Guy' Fawkes. Because of Fawkes' role in the plot, the word 'guy' came to
mean a grotesque person. This developed over time until the word meant a man or boy.
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2.
Psychological Factors
Broadening can also happen when an item gains popularity. This is especially
common in the twentieth century. When a brand becomes the leader in its field,
sometimes its meaning will broaden to include the entire field itself. This will lead to the
word meaning becoming broader in the minds of its consumers.
Tissues
Kleenex
The tissue brand, 'Kleenex' is often used interchangeably with the word
'tissue'. This is because, as the product became more popular, people began to link the
two in their minds, leading to the broadening of the meaning of the word.
Examples of broadening
1. Business
A business
The word 'business' was originally only used to mean someone was
busy. However, over the years, the meaning of this word has changed. Now, the word's
meaning has been broadened to refer to any type of work or job.
2.
Cool
The modern use of the term 'cool' was originally used in jazz to refer to a specific
style ('cool jazz')! As jazz grew in popularity, the word started to be applied more widely.
3.
Demagogue
'Demagogue' derives from the Greek word 'demos', meaning 'people'. Historically
it was used to describe a popular leader. However, this meaning broadened through the
years to indicate a political leader who panders to the prejudices of the masses.
Broadening - key takeaways


Semantics refers to the study of meaning.
Semantic change refers to how the meaning of a word can change over time.
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

Broadening is when the meaning of a word becomes broader and more generalised
over time.
Broadening is typically caused by extralinguistic factors.
NARROWING
Narrowing is a process that takes place in semantics. It is important that we first
understand what semantics is and what semantic change is.


Semantics refers to the study of the meaning of words or phrases. There
are two types of semantics: logical and lexical. Logical semantics has to do
with reference (the symbolic relationship between language and real-world
objects) and implication (the
relationship
between
two
sentences).
Lexical semantics is about the analysis of word meaning.
Semantic change refers to how the meaning of words changes over time.
Narrowing is a type of semantic change in which the meaning of a word becomes
less generalised over time. Narrowing may also be called 'semantic
specialisation' and is a common process that can occur slowly over many years.
The opposite of semantic narrowing is called semantic broadening. This is when
a word's meaning becomes more generalised over time.
What causes narrowing?
Semantic narrowing is typically caused by extra-linguistic factors. These are
defined as factors that occur outside the system of the language spoken. This type of
semantic change occurs naturally and gradually over time.
Narrowing is typically caused when a definition of a word is used more commonly
than other definitions so the word's meaning changes to be more specific. This can be
caused by factors such as socio-cultural and psychological reasons.
Let's take a look at some examples of this.
Sociocultural causes
Sociocultural factors can also cause narrowing. This happens when there is
a major shift in a country's politics or social landscape. Factors such as revolutions,
wars and civil rights movements can lead to narrowing. One major example of this is
how the meaning of some words changed following the Industrial Revolution.
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Engine
The word engine (known as 'egin' in Old French and 'egyn' in Middle English)
was traditionally used to describe machines used in war. Before industrialisation the word
was used to describe devices used in war, such as catapults. Following the Industrial
Revolution, the word came to mean a mechanical device used to achieve a purpose. This
shows that the word's meaning became narrower over time.
Psychological Causes
Narrowing can also happen when a language undergoes widespread
change. Major changes like this can affect how people view a word and its meaning. This
is especially common when the meaning of word becomes taboo or is used as a
euphemism, like the way that 'passed away' can be used to describe someone dying.
Hound
The word 'hound', comes from the German word, 'hund', meaning 'dog'. It was then
traditionally used to refer to any type of dog in English also. However, over the centuries,
as the English language developed, the meaning narrowed, until it was only used for dogs
and related to the action of hunting (using breeds like beagles and bloodhounds).
Examples of narrowing
Now that we have established what semantic narrowing is and how it occurs, let's
look at some examples.
Meat
The word 'meat' has undergone semantic narrowing over the years. The word
originally just meant 'food'. In time, this meaning grew to become more specific, until the
word 'meat' was only used for one type of food (the flesh of an animal).
Deer
Originally, 'deer' came from the Old English word 'dēor'. Records from before 900
AD show that this word meant 'beast', and was used to refer to any four-legged
animal. However, by 1400 AD, the meaning of the word had significantly narrowed to
only refer to one type of creature.
Girl
A similar process occurred for the word 'girl'. The word was used in Middle
English to refer to any young child, regardless of gender. Over time this changed, and
now the word is only used to refer to young and adolescent women.
Narrowing - key takeaways

Semantics is a term that refers to the study of the meaning of words.
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



Semantic change refers to how the meaning of a word can change over time.
Narrowing is a specific process of semantic change where a word's meaning becomes
more specific over time.
This is a common process that often takes place over many years.
Narrowing can be caused by socio-cultural and psychological factors.
3. False Friends
When a student is learning a second language a phenomenon which often appears is
LEXICAL TRANSFER, by which the learner attributes to a word of the foreign language
all the characteristics that a very similar word of his own language has (semantically and
morphologically). For example, Spanish learners of English would associate frequent to
“frecuente”, or dictionary to “diccionario”. These words are known as COGNATES or
POSITIVE TRANSFERS.
But lexical transfers can also be negative and produce FALSE FRIENDS. They are
words which have a similar or identical form in spelling in both languages, often the same
syntactic function, but whose meanings are completely different. Naturally, these FALSE
FRIENDS are responsible for important misunderstanding. Some typical examples are:
WORD
USUAL WRONG TRANSLATION
RIGHT TRANSLATION
Carpet
carpeta
alfombra
Large
largo
grande
Success
suceso
éxito
Actual
actual
real
Library
librería
biblioteca
The most common forms of semantic transfer are:
 Metaphor
Metaphor is a type of figurative language that refers to one thing as another
thing to make us see the similarities between them. Metaphor helps us make effective
comparisons. If any of this sounds confusing, don’t worry – it will be much easier to
understand once we start looking at some examples.
Let’s look at a few examples of metaphor; you may already be familiar with one
or two of them.
Life is a rollercoaster.
Think about the experience of being on a rollercoaster – there are ups and downs,
twists and turns, and it can be both terrifying and exhilarating. You could describe life in
exactly the same way.
“I’m a hot air balloon that can go to space”.
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This line is from Pharrell’s song, “Happy”, and it’s a perfect example of metaphor.
The song, as the title suggests, is all about being happy and feeling good. By describing
himself as “a hot air balloon”, we can picture Pharrell floating off the ground into space,
giving us an idea of how light and carefree his mood is.
“Conscience is a man’s compass”.
Vincent Van Gogh, the famous artist, wrote this in a letter to his brother. Think of
what a compass does – it shows you the way and prevents you from getting lost. Now
think of conscience – a person’s moral sense of right and wrong. Here, Van Gogh makes
us imagine conscience as the compass within us, guiding us through life.
Of course, life isn’t really a rollercoaster, Pharrell isn’t really a hot air balloon and
there isn’t an actual compass inside any of us! Metaphors are symbolic, which is why
they are classed as figurative language, or figures of speech – in other words, they are
not to be taken literally, but they create images in our minds to express thoughts, feelings
and ideas.
Going back to our original definition, a metaphor refers to one thing as another
thing to help us see the similarities between them. Let’s break down the line from
“Happy” to help us understand this – Pharrell expresses his emotion by saying, “I’m a hot
air balloon”; he is referring to one thing (himself) as another thing (a hot air balloon).
This makes us think of the similarities between them: hot air balloons are light and have
a fire burning inside that help them to travel upwards; similarly, Pharrell’s mood is light,
energetic, and moving upwards – you could say that there’s a fire inside him and so he
feels as if he can float, just like the balloon.
Metaphors contain two parts; the tenor and the vehicle. Let’s take the same three
examples and split them into tenor and vehicle:
Tenor
Vehicle
Life
A rollercoaster
Pharrell
A hot air balloon
Conscience A compass
The tenor is the thing that you want to describe. It could be a person, an object or
a concept. In “life is a rollercoaster”, life is the tenor.
The vehicle is the main imagery of the metaphor; it is what the tenor is being
compared to. In “life is a rollercoaster”, a rollercoaster is the vehicle.
Dead metaphors
Some everyday metaphors (or idioms) are so common or overused that they have lost
their original imagery. These are called dead metaphors. Examples of dead metaphors
include: "a body of work", “the foot of the bed” and "time is running out". In this last
example, the metaphor originally compared time to the sand "running" down in an
hourglass. Now, we use this term without thinking of the original imagery or comparison
at all; it has become a dead metaphor.
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You may occasionally hear somebody mix two or more everyday metaphors
together; the result, a mixed metaphor, is usually inconsistent or confusing.
For example, let’s say somebody tells you, “Those in glass houses should get
out the kitchen”. Here, they have mixed two idioms: “those in glass houses shouldn’t
throw stones” and “if you can’t stand the heat, get out the kitchen”. The message is
unclear, as these metaphors mean different things – they don’t belong together!
Sometimes people combine two phrases that mean the same thing to create a
mixed metaphor. For example, they might express how happy they are by saying, “I’m
walking on the moon”; they have mixed the idioms, “I’m walking on sunshine” and “I’m
over the moon”.
Usually, when people use mixed metaphor, it’s by accident. But you can use it
deliberately if you want to create a silly, comedic effect.
 Metonymy
Metonymy is a type of figurative language, or a figure of speech, that refers to
a thing by the name of something associated with it. The word that replaces the original
thing is called a metonym.
Metonymy for people and objects
One of the most famous examples is “the crown” as a metonym for the monarch
(a king or queen – for the sake of this example we’ll say there’s a queen in charge). If
somebody was to say, “I swore allegiance to the Crown”, this doesn’t literally mean that
they pledged their loyalty to a piece of fancy headwear – really they are saying, “I swore
allegiance to the Queen”. A crown is something closely associated with a queen, which
is why you can replace the word “queen” with “crown” and we still understand what it
means.
Have you ever heard anybody refer to businesspeople as “suits”? An example of
this could be, “I’m going for a meeting with the suits from head office”. In this sentence,
“suits” is a metonym for businesspeople.
Ever seen an action movie where somebody mentions “a hired gun”? They’re
most likely referring to a person associated with a gun: an assassin.
Some metonyms are so common that we barely even notice them. For example, if
I asked you, “What’s your favourite dish?” I wouldn’t expect you to reply, “bone china”
or “porcelain”! Most people would understand the question as, “What’s your
favourite meal?” – therefore, “dish” is a metonym for meal.
Another subtle example of metonymy is if I asked, “Have you heard the new Billie
Eilish?” What I really mean is, “Have you heard the new Billie Eilish song?” It’s common
to refer to an artist’s work by their name; another example of this would be, “I’ve got
a Picasso hanging up in my living room”.
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There are a lot of slang terms for “money”, but one of the most common (and one
that works as a metonym) is “bread” (or sometimes “dough”); for example, “I need a job
so I can start making some bread”, or, “I need a job so I can start making some dough”.
Bread (which is made from dough) is something closely associated with money, as we all
know that having money means that you can eat!
Metonyms aren’t limited to just nouns; they can also be verbs or any other type of
word, as long as there is a close association. For example, if I said, “My ride is parked
outside”, “ride” would be a metonym for car. This works even though “ride” is a verb
because there is a close association – you “ride” in a car.
Metonyms for abstract concepts
You can also use metonymy to refer to abstract concepts, ideas and emotions. For
example, “from the cradle to the grave” is a common expression meaning
“from birth until death”; in this phrase, “the cradle” is a metonym for birth, and “the
grave” is a metonym for death. Similarly, there are parts of the world known as
“cradles of civilization”; this phrase refers to the fact that early cultures developed in
these places; they are birthplaces of civilization.
“Heart” can be used as a metonym for several things. The most obvious meaning
is love, as in, “I gave you my heart”; we understand this as meaning, “I gave you
my love”. Also, if you “put your heart” into something, it can mean that you have put
passion, energy, or effort into it. “Heart” works as a metonym in both contexts.
Examples of metonymy: a recap
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 Similes
The clue is in the name - simil e is all about simil arity. Simile uses connecting
words such as “like”, “as” or “than”; for example: “running like the wind”, “as hot as a
sauna” or “more cunning than a fox”. Simile is one of the most common techniques in
creative writing, but it's also very common to hear it in everyday language.
Examples:
As cold as ice.
You could use this phrase to describe something that is physically very cold, or
you could use it to describe a nasty or unfriendly person. Either way, by comparing that
thing (the object or someone's personality) to ice, you are making a point about just how
cold it is.
Like watching paint dry.
Can you think of anything more boring than watching paint dry? By drawing a
comparison to this extremely tedious activity, we get the idea that the thing you are
describing is not exactly thrilling!
As clear as mud.
You would normally use this phrase to describe something that is confusing or
hard to understand. This comparison comes from the fact that you cannot see through
mud - it's the opposite of clear! If somebody were to say, "The instructions are as clear
as mud", we understand this to mean, "The instructions are not clear at all". This is an
example of simile, comparing two things to draw attention to their differences.
It's worth noting that these three phrases are also examples of idioms An idiom
is a figure of speech that has become common in everyday conversation.
 Personification
Just look at the word itself - person ification. Think of it as meaning “turning
something into a person”. Like metaphor and simile, personification is a type
of figurative language, or a figure of speech, meaning that it expresses an idea or feeling
in a way that is non-literal.
The best way to understand personification is by looking at examples; in this
section we'll dissect some lines by famous writers, but first, here are a few phrases that
you might hear in everyday conversation.
Examples:
A raging storm.
In this example, the speaker describes a storm as if it has an emotion - we know
that a storm doesn't literally feel rage, but the phrase helps us to picture it as an aggressive
force.
The groaning floorboards.
Not only does the word "groaning" help us to imagine the creaking sound of the
wood, but it suggests a particular attitude - we get the idea that the floorboards are jaded
and miserable - well, wouldn't you be if people kept walking all over you?
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 Idioms
They are:



A figure of speech, meaning that it is not to be taken literally.
A well-established phrase or expression.
A phrase or expression that is specific to a particular language or dialect - if
you were to directly translate an idiom into another language, it would make no
sense.
Are you ready to look at some examples of idioms? Well, let's "get the ball rolling" ...
There are many, many idioms in the English language (The Oxford Dictionary of
Idioms lists over 10,000!). We've picked five common idioms that you may already be
familiar with from everyday language (with some fun facts about their origins). Idioms
from everyday language:
Start from scratch.
To “start from scratch” means to start from the very beginning without being able
to build on something that already exists.
If you lost all of your work and didn't have a backup, you could say, "Now I have
to start again from scratch!" Or, if you were to bake your own bread from raw ingredients,
then you could state, "I made this bread from scratch".
As you can see, these are figurative uses of the term, as neither of them involve
any actual scratching.
This idiom most likely originates from cricket; lines have to be scratched into the
ground to mark the pitch before a game begins, hence “starting from scratch”.
Let the cat out of the bag.
To "let the cat out of the bag" means to accidentally give away a secret. This could
mean revealing too much information in a conversation and then getting caught out.
For example, you're talking to your teacher and you accidentally mention the party
you went to when you should have been revising: "I can't believe it, now I've let the cat
out of the bag!" Or let's say you bought a surprise gift for your friend and they find the
receipt: "Well, the cat's out of the bag now!"
Once again, these are figurative uses of the term as there is no actual cat
involved.
This idiom originates from the 1700s; Merchants would sell piglets in bags, but
would often trick customers by giving them a bag with a cat inside. If the cat got out of
the bag, then the trick would be ruined; the cat would be literally out of the bag.
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 Synecdoque
Synecdoche is a type of figurative language, or a figure of speech , that refers to
a thing by either the name of something that is part of it , or by the name of something
that it is part of . In other words, it is a part that refers to the whole , or a whole that
refers to the part .
Examples:
A part that refers to the whole
If somebody were to pull up in a new car and say, "Check out my new wheels", it
is unlikely that you would start inspecting the tyres - you would probably understand the
phrase as, "Check out my new car ". They have just mentioned a part (“wheels”) to refer
to the whole (the car).
There are quite a few common phrases that use synecdoche in this way - for
example, "I've got mouths to feed". Nobody has disembodied mouths floating around on
their own that need feeding (we hope!), And so we understand this phrase as, “I've
got people to feed”; mouths are a part of people. By drawing attention to this particular
body part, you are emphasizing that the people need feeding.
Ever heard the phrase “all hands on deck”? Here the word “hands” refers to people
- as hands are also a part of people. In this case, you are drawing attention to the hands
because you are most likely calling for these people to help with manual work.
If you were to see a man with a moustache walking down the street and yell, “Hey,
moustache!” he would know that you were talking to him , not the moustache
(disclaimer: please don't try this with any strangers!). The moustache is a part of him
because it's attached to his face.
“Bar” is another common synecdoche, as in, “We had a few drinks in a bar”. Once
again, the part (the “bar”, where staff serve drinks) refers to the whole (the entire pub or
club).
We often refer to objects by the name of something that they are physically made
of; Examples of this include a "glass" that you drink from, or "plastic" in reference to a
credit or debit card. These terms are classed as synecdoche, as once again the part (an
element that it is made of) refers to the whole (the complete object).
In all of these examples, we are referring to a thing (such an object or a person)
by the name of something that is a part of it. You can think of this type of synecdoche
as zooming in on a particular detail of a thing.
The whole that refers to the part
"Watch out, the police are coming!" If you heard somebody shout this phrase, you
wouldn't assume that the entire police force are coming round the corner - it would be
several officers who work for the police. And so in this phrase, there is a whole (“the
police”) that refers to a part (some police officers).
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Let's say a parent speaks to their child and tells them, “I've had a word with your
school”; we understand this as meaning, “I've had a word with the teachers at your
school ”. The school is a whole that contains the teachers.
Are you starting to get the picture? You can think of this type of synecdoche
as zooming out to reveal the whole that a thing is part of.
An extremely common use of this type of synecdoche is using the name of a
place (such as a country or city) to represent a group of people or an industry that is
based there . One example of this is the term “Hollywood”, meaning the mainstream
movie industry. As many major studios are based in Hollywood, California, you could
say, "I hope to make it in Hollywood" and we would assume that you are trying to become
a movie star.
In any international sports match, people refer to each team by the name of the
country they represent, for example: “Germany is playing Italy”. What this means is, "The
German football team is playing the Italian football team".
Other examples include:



“Broadway” or “The West End” to mean mainstream theatre (as in, “She's a
Broadway star”, or “It was a West End flop”).
“Downing Street” to mean the UK Prime Minister and staff (as in, “Downing
Street announces latest budget”).
“The White House” to mean the US president and staff (as in, “The White House
releases details of climate initiative”).
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UNIT 10: WORD-FORMATION: PREFIXES, SUFFIXES AND COMPOUNDS
 Oxymoron
An oxymoron is a figure of speech that puts two words next to each other with
very different meanings that end up making sense in a strange way. The first word is
usually used to describe the second word in a way that contrasts with it.
Old news is an everyday example of an oxymoron, as news is meant to be
current.
It might be quite hard to wrap your head around this definition - how on earth can
opposites make sense together? Let's take a look at some examples to explain.
Oxymorons are probably more common than you think. These examples should
help you understand how oxymorons are used, and how two opposites together can make
sense!
There are hundreds of oxymorons, so let's take a look at some of the most common
ones.
Deafening silence. The two words which make up this oxymoron mean
completely different things. 'Deafening' means something so loud you can't hear anything
else, and 'silence' is the opposite, a lack of sound. But when the two words are combined,
they give a new meaning. Deafening silence means 'an absence of noise that cannot be
ignored'.
Although oxymorons might seem quite complicated, you probably already know
some, and perhaps even use oxymorons in everyday. Have you ever heard the
phrases, small crowd, going nowhere, or good grief? These are all commonly used
oxymorons that use contrasting words to create new meanings.
We know that a crowd is usually a large group of people rather than a small one,
that you can't actually be going nowhere, and we can see that good and grief are
contrasting words. Once you are able to spot common oxymorons like these, it should get
easier to identify and understand them when you come across them in literature.
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