WORDS AND WORD-FORMATION PROCESSES
1. Etymology
The study of the origin and history of a word is known as its etymology, a term
which, like many of our technical words, comes to us through Latin, but has its
origins in Greek (etymon original form + logia study of), and is not to be confused
with entomology, also from Greek (entomon insect).
2. Coinage
One of the least common processes of word formation in English is coinage, that is,
the invention of totally new terms. The most typical sources are invented trade names
for commercial products that become general terms (usually without capital letters)
for any version of that product. Older examples are aspirin, nylon, vaseline and
zipper; more recent examples are kleenex, teflon, tylenol and xerox.
3. Borrowing
As Bill Bryson observed in the quotation presented earlier, one of the most common
sources of new words in English is the process simply labeled borrowing, that is, the
taking over of words from other languages. Throughout its history, the English
language has adopted a vast number of words from other languages, including
croissant (French), dope (Dutch), lilac (Persian), piano (Italian), pretzel (German),
sofa (Arabic), tattoo (Tahitian), tycoon (Japanese), yogurt (Turkish) and zebra
(Bantu).
4. Coumpounding
This combining process, technically known as compounding, is very common in
languages such as German and English, but much less common in languages such as
French and Spanish. Common English compounds are bookcase, doorknob,
fingerprint, sunburn, textbook, wallpaper, wastebasket and waterbed. All these
examples are nouns, but we can also create compound adjectives (good-looking, low-
paid) and compounds of adjective (fast) plus noun (food) as in a fast-food restaurant
or a full-time job.
5. Blending
1. Etymology
The study of the origin and history of a word is known as its etymology, a term
which, like many of our technical words, comes to us through Latin, but has its
origins in Greek (etymon original form + logia study of), and is not to be confused
with entomology, also from Greek (entomon insect).
2. Coinage
One of the least common processes of word formation in English is coinage, that is,
the invention of totally new terms. The most typical sources are invented trade names
for commercial products that become general terms (usually without capital letters)
for any version of that product. Older examples are aspirin, nylon, vaseline and
zipper; more recent examples are kleenex, teflon, tylenol and xerox.
3. Borrowing
As Bill Bryson observed in the quotation presented earlier, one of the most common
sources of new words in English is the process simply labeled borrowing, that is, the
taking over of words from other languages. Throughout its history, the English
language has adopted a vast number of words from other languages, including
croissant (French), dope (Dutch), lilac (Persian), piano (Italian), pretzel (German),
sofa (Arabic), tattoo (Tahitian), tycoon (Japanese), yogurt (Turkish) and zebra
(Bantu).
4. Coumpounding
This combining process, technically known as compounding, is very common in
languages such as German and English, but much less common in languages such as
French and Spanish. Common English compounds are bookcase, doorknob,
fingerprint, sunburn, textbook, wallpaper, wastebasket and waterbed. All these
examples are nouns, but we can also create compound adjectives (good-looking, low-
paid) and compounds of adjective (fast) plus noun (food) as in a fast-food restaurant
or a full-time job.
5. Blending
