This chapter describes the processes through which words ‘enrich' or expand their stem or base so as to produce new words to unfold new meanings and uses (seen from the grammatical perspective). These new patterns resulting from the various types of associations are the most numerous at the level of the English lexicon. That is why, their description will be fairly detailed: a knowledgeable acquisition of prefixes and suffixes will provide both for a better understanding of the meaning of words and for their correct use.
Words can become structurally richer by means of affixation or derivation,by way of compounding or composition, by blending and telescoping as well as by repetition or reduplication. This is a particular word creating pattern whereby lexical formations join one and the same word through lexical repetition with or without any phonetic change within the repeated elements of the compound. Its particularity lies in its being equally a sort of compounding as well as a sort of phonetic alteration (where either vowels or consonants are substituted on account of rhyming purposes).
[...] subsequent to, later than ; 3. posterior to postcolonial, postdate, postatomic, postmodernist, postorbital, precaution, preliminary, prerequisite - ex- 1. out of, outside ; 2. not ; 3. former : exclave, exstipulate, ex-president - con- with, together, jointly (com- before m and col before concentrate, collaborate, commingle - per- 1. throughout, thoroughly: 2. containing the largest possible or a relatively large proportion of a (specified) chemical element containing an element in its highest or a high oxidation state: perchloroethylene, perchloric acid - inter- between : among : in the midst: intercrop, interpenetrate, interstellar; 2 : reciprocal interrelation : located between: interface, carried on between international, occurring between interborough, shared by, involving, or derived from two or more interfaith; between the limits of : within intertropical, existing between: intercommunal - extra- outside, beyond extrajudicial - super- 1 a over and above: higher in quantity, quality, or degree than: more than superhuman in addition: extra supertax b exceeding or so as to exceed a norm superheat; in or to an extreme or excessive degree or intensity supersubtle surpassing all or most others of its kind superhighway; 2 situated or placed above, on, or at the top of superlunary; specifically: situated on the dorsal side of next above or higher supertonic; having the (specified) ingredient present in a large or unusually large proportion superphosphate; constituting a more inclusive category than that specified superfamily; superior in status, title, or position superpower; superabsorbent, superachiever, superactiv - sub- under: beneath: below: subsoil, subaqueous; 2 subordinate: secondary: next lower than or inferior to substation, subeditor; subordinate portion of: subdivision of subcommittee, subspecies; with repetition (as of a process) so as to form, stress, or deal with subordinate parts or relations sublet, subcontract; less than completely, perfectly, or normally: somewhat subacute, subclinical; 4a: almost: nearly suberect; falling nearly in the category of and often adjoining bordering on subarctic - circum- around, about circumpolar - abs-, from: abuse, abnormal - bi- twice: bilingual, bipartition - com-, con- with: co-ordinate, commute, connect - de- down, separation, depriving of: depend, depart, deform - non- negative meaning: non-sense - sub- under: subdue, support, subject, sub-technical Prefixes of Germanic origin: - on, in, off, from ashore, away, asleep - be- about, over in besprinkle; thoroughly in bewitch; denominative in behead, belittle, cover with in besnow 17 BASE-ENRICHING WORD BUILDING PROCESSES for- off, away: forget, forbid, forsake mis- badly: mistake, mislead out- out of: outcome outrun, more than, exceed: outnumber, outlive with- against: withdraw, withstand Prefixes of Greek origin: - an- anarchy, - di- twice: diphthong, dilemma; bicycle, bifocal, bilingual, dichotomy, diode, dioxide - ec- (out from): eccentric, ecstatic - multi- (many): multicultural, multifaceted - poly-, (many): polychomotous, polygyny, polysulfide, polyethylene, polymer - semi- precisely half of semidiameter; half in quantity or value semiannual, semiliterate, semimonthly to some extent, partly, incompletely semi-independent, semidry partial, incomplete semiconsciousness, semidarkness, having some of the characteristics of semiporcelain; quasi: semigovernmental, semimonastic. [...]
[...] -ship c. –hood c. –ette c. 3. Select of the examples below the noun/adjective-forming suffixes: 1. a. -ed 2. a. [...]
[...] In terms of parts of speech they form, suffixes are: 23 BASE-ENRICHING WORD BUILDING PROCESSES i. Noun-forming suffixes In Old English noun-forming suffixes were closely connected to gender, some of them being used in the creation of masculine nouns ( -ere to express occupations fiscere=fisher, wrītere=writer, scribe), some others beprodicung feminine nouns to describe occupations (-estre: spinnestre=woman who spins, bæcestre=woman who bakes). The suffix –hād (present-day produces masculine nouns: childhād. A few present-day suffixes were initially independent words, such as dōm (judgment, law) and lāc (gift) in wedlāc (wedlock). a. denominal nouns: abstract. [...]
[...] The suffix function of interest to lexicology is that of changing the grammatical function of the base. Thus, according to the word class that results after suffixation, there exist noun forming suffixes, verb forming suffixes, etc. Unlike prefixation, suffixation may also produce stress shifts, like in /simul′taneous/, /simulta′neity/. In terms of their productivity, suffixes may be divided into productive or ‘living' ones (-less, -ish, -ling, -ness, -ate, -ous, -mentist/-ism, -ette), and nonproductive or obsolete -ship, which are either very rarely or no longer used to make new words. [...]
[...] - number of sides of something ‘-lateral' . - words for large numbers/exponents ‘-ilion' . - less common categories: o number of leaflets/petals on a leaf/flower ‘-foliate' . o chemical valences; ‘-valent' . o division into parts ‘-partite' Give four examples of parasynthetic formations and describe their structure in terms of lexical elements. . . . [...]
APA Style reference
For your bibliographyOnline reading
with our online readerContent validated
by our reading committee
