Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
An unpaired word is one that, according to the usual rules of the language, would appear to have a related word but does not. [1] Such words usually have a prefix or suffix that would imply that there is an antonym , with the prefix or suffix being absent or opposite.
Additionally, there are numerous examples of words that have very widely accepted extended forms that have skipped one or more intermediary forms, e.g., "disestablishmentarian" in the absence of "disestablishmentary" (which does not appear in the OED). At any rate, while some US editors might consider "-ally" vs. "-ly" to be pleonastic in some ...
one who takes care of a building, e.g. a school (US: janitor; cf. s.v. custodian) one put in charge of a farm after eviction of tenant one who takes care of someone or something stopgap government or provisional government: one who takes care of real estate in exchange for rent-free living accommodations * carnival
Pig Latin (Igpay Atinlay) is a language game, argot, or cant in which words in English are altered, usually by adding a fabricated suffix or by moving the onset or initial consonant or consonant cluster of a word to the end of the word and adding a vocalic syllable (usually -ay or /eɪ/) to create such a suffix. [1]
These words are sometimes confused; venal means "corrupt", "able to be bribed", or "for sale"; venial means "pardonable, not serious". [46] [119] Standard: According to Catholic doctrine, eating meat on a Friday during Lent is a venial sin, but murder is a mortal sin. Standard: All ages have examples of venal politicians.
Examples of words created or changed through folk etymology include the English dialectal form sparrowgrass, originally from Greek ἀσπάραγος ("asparagus") remade by analogy to the more familiar words sparrow and grass. [8] When the alteration of an unfamiliar word is limited to a single person, it is known as an eggcorn.
Get AOL Mail for FREE! Manage your email like never before with travel, photo & document views. Personalize your inbox with themes & tabs. You've Got Mail!
For example, it is not a malapropism to use obtuse [wide or dull] instead of acute [narrow or sharp]; it is a malapropism to use obtuse [stupid or slow-witted] when one means abstruse [esoteric or difficult to understand]. Malapropisms tend to maintain the part of speech of the originally intended word.