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Neologisms are often formed by combining existing words (see compound noun and adjective) or by giving words new and unique suffixes or prefixes. [9] Neologisms can also be formed by blending words, for example, "brunch" is a blend of the words "breakfast" and "lunch", or through abbreviation or acronym, by intentionally rhyming with existing words or simply through playing with sounds.
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Icelandic rafmagn, "electricity", is a half-calqued [definition needed] coinage that literally means "amber power". raf translates the Greek root ἤλεκτρον (ḗlektron), which means "amber" magn, "power", is descriptive of electricity's nature but not a direct calque from the source word "electricity" Samviska (conscience).
In linguistics, back-formation is the process of forming a new word by removing actual affixes, or parts of the word that is re-analyzed as an affix, from other words to create a base. [5] Examples include: the verb headhunt is a back-formation of headhunter; the verb edit is formed from the noun editor [5]
Glim was an 18th century back-formation from "Glimmer", and doesn't predate "Candle". handfast: contract, pledge handfast leech physician leech The meaning of the small bloodsucking creature coexisted with the meaning of physician. The former is still used today. lich corpse lich liss relief liss reave: rob reave
For example, biography is Greek, agriculture Latin; but this ideal has seen only limited realization in practice, as for example the word television is a hybrid of Greek tele-and Latin -vision (probably so coined because the 'pure' form telescope had already been adopted for another purpose).
Nick David/Getty Images. 17. Lit “Certain words are so widespread at a specific moment that they become a fad in and of themselves. 'Lit' stands out to me as one of those words,” says VP of ...
For example, the noun green in golf (referring to a putting-green) is derived ultimately from the adjective green. Conversions from adjectives to nouns and vice versa are both very common and unnotable in English; much more remarked upon is the creation of a verb by converting a noun or other word (for example, the adjective clean becomes the ...