Afterthoughtful (Afterthought + Thoughtful)

BLENDINGS

 afterthoughtful (afterthought + thoughtful)

 agitprop (agitation + propaganda)

 alcopop (alcohol + pop)

 bash (bat + mash)

 Breathalyzer (breath + analyzer)

 camcorder (camera + recorder)

 clash (clap + crash)

 docudrama (documentary + drama)

 electrocute (electricity + execute)

 emoticon (emote + icon)

 faction (fact + fiction)

 fanzine {fan + magazine)

 flare (flame + glare)

 flirtationship (flirting + relationship)

 glimmer (gleam + shimmer)

 guitarthritis (guitar + arthritis)

 infotainment (information + entertainment)

 Jazzercize (jazz + exercise)

 moped (motor + pedal)

 motorcade (motor + cavalcade)

 palimony (pal + alimony)

 pornacopia (pornography + cornucopia)

 pulsar (pulse + quasar)

 sexcapade (sex + escapade)

 slanguage (slang + language)

 smash (smack + mash)

 smog (smoke + fog)

 sportscast (sports + broadcast)

 stagflation (stagnation + inflation)

 staycation (stay home + vacation)

 telegenic (television + photogenic)

 textpectation (text message + expectation)

 transistor (transfer + resistor)

 workaholic (work + alcoholic)

CLIPPING

·  Some of the most common products ofclippingare names--Liz, Ron, Rob, Sue, and so on. Clipping is especially popular in thespeechof students, where it has yielded forms likeprofforprofessor,phys-edforphysical education,poli-sciforpolitical science, andburgerforhamburger. However, many clipped forms have also been accepted in general usage:doc, ad, auto, lab, sub, deli, porn, demo,andcondo.
"A more recent example of this sort that has become part of general Englishvocabularyisfax, fromfacsimile(meaning 'exact copy or reproduction')."
(W. O'Grady, J. Archibald, M. Aronoff, and J. Rees-Miller,Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction, 4th ed. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001)

·  Other examples of clipped forms in English includebiz, caps, celebs, deli, exam, flu, gator, hippo, hood, info, intro, lab, limo, mayo, max, perm, photo, ref, reps, rhino, sax, sitcom, stats, temp, thru, tux, ump, veep, andvet.

·  As time-savers and breath-savers,clipped wordsdefy the pedants and win their way to respectability. This has been true for a long time--witnesspianofrompianoforteandcellofromvioloncello."
(Theodore Bernstein,Miss Thistlebottom's Hobgoblns, 1971)

·  "Clipping. A part of a word which serves for the whole, such asadandphone. These examples illustrate the two chief types: the first part is kept (the commoner type, as indemo, exam, pub, Gill) and the last part is kept, as infridgeandflu. There are also several clippings which retain material from more than one part of the word, such asmaths(UK),gents, andspecs. . . . Several clipped forms also show adaptation, such asfries(fromFrench fried potatoes),Betty(fromElizabeth), andBill(fromWilliam)."
(David Crystal,The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, 2nd ed. Cambridge Univ. Press, 2003)

Borrowing

Borrowing is the word formation process in which a word from one language is borrowed directly into another language. For example, the following common English words are borrowed from foreign languages:

·  algebra – Arabic

·  bagel – Yiddish

·  cherub – Hebrew

·  chow mein – Chinese

·  fjord – Norwegian

·  galore – Irish

·  haiku – Japanese

·  kielbasa – Polish

·  murder – French

·  near – Sanskrit

·  paprika – Hungarian

·  pizza – Italian

·  smorgasbord – Swedish

·  tamale – Spanish

·  yo-yo – Tagalog

Borrowed words are also referred to as loanwords.

Coinages

Coinage is the word formation process in which a new word is created either deliberately or accidentally without using the other word formation processes and often from seemingly nothing. For example, the following list of words provides some common coinages found in everyday English:

·  aspirin

·  escalator

·  heroin

·  band-aid

·  factoid

·  Frisbee

·  Google

·  kerosene

·  Kleenex

·  Laundromat

·  linoleum

·  muggle

·  nylon

·  psychedelic

·  quark

·  Xerox

BACK FORMATION

Back-formationis either the process of creating a newlexeme(less precisely, a new "word") by removing actual or supposedaffixes, or to theneologismformed by such a process. Back-formations are shortened words created from longer words, thus back-formations may be viewed as a sub-type ofclipping.

Each back-formation in this list is followed by the original word from which it was back-formed.

Word Formation: Conversion

written by: Heather Marie Kosur • edited by: Rebecca Scudder • updated: 9/22/2010

Part two of "Word Formation: Creating New Words in English" covers the process of conversion, which is the word formation process whereby a word of one part of speech converts into a word of another part of speech, e.g., the noun Google changing into the verb to google.

·  Conversion

Conversion is the word formation process in which a word of one grammatical form becomes a word of another grammatical form without any changes to spelling or pronunciation. For example, the nounemailappeared in English before the verb: a decade ago I would have sent you an email (noun) whereas now I can either send you an email (noun) or simply email (verb) you. The original nounemailexperienced conversion, thus resulting in the new verbemail. Conversion is also referred to as zero derivation or null derivation with the assumption that the formal change between words results in the addition of an invisible morpheme. However, many linguistics argue for a clear distinction between the word formation processes of derivation and conversion.

Noun to Verb Conversion

The most productive form of conversion in English is noun toverbconversion. The following list provides examples of verbs converted from nouns:

·  access – to access

·  bottle – to bottle

·  can – to can

·  closet – to closet

·  email – to email

·  eye – to eye

·  fiddle – to fiddle

·  fool – to fool

·  Google – to google

·  host – to host

·  knife – to knife

·  microwave – to microwave

·  name – to name

·  pocket – to pocket

·  salt – to salt

·  shape – to shape

·  ship – to ship

·  spear – to spear

·  torch – to torch

·  verb – to verb

For example:

·  My grandmother bottled (verb) the juice and canned (verb) the pickles.

·  My grandmother put the juice in a bottle (noun) and the pickles in a can (noun).

·  She microwaved (verb) her lunch.

·  She heated her lunch in the microwave (noun).

·  The doctor eyed (verb) my swollen eye (noun).

Verb to Noun Conversion

Another productive form of conversion in English is verb tonounconversion. The following list provides examples of nouns converted from verbs:

·  to alert – alert

·  to attack – attack

·  to call – call

·  to clone – clone

·  to command – command

·  to cover – cover

·  to cry – cry

·  to experience – experience

·  to fear – fear

·  to feel – feel

·  to hope – hope

·  to increase – increase

·  to judge – judge

·  to laugh – laugh

·  to rise – rise

·  to run – run

·  to sleep – sleep

·  to start – start

·  to turn – turn

·  to visit – visit

For example:

·  The guard alerted (verb) the general to the attack (noun).

·  The enemy attacked (verb) before an alert (noun) could be sounded.

·  Sometimes one just needs a good cry (noun).

·  The baby cried (verb) all night.

·  We need to increase (verb) our productivity to see an increase (noun) in profits.

Verb to noun conversion is also referred to as nominalization.

Other Conversions

Conversion also occurs, although less frequently, to and from other grammatical forms. For example:

·  adjective to verb: green → to green (to make environmentally friendly)

·  preposition to noun: up, down → the ups and downs of life

·  conjunction to noun: if, and, but → no ifs, ands, or buts

·  interjection to noun: ho ho ho → I love the ho ho hos of Christmastime.

Word Formation: Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Eponyms

In order to understand word formation fully, the processes of abbreviation, acronym, and eponym need to be included. Also linked to in this article are downloadable vocabulary lists of common English abbreviations, acronyms, and eponyms.

·  Abbreviations

Abbreviation is the word formation process in which a word or phrase is shortened. Initialisms are a type of abbreviation formed by the initial letters of a word or phrase. Although abbreviation is largely a convention of written language, sometimes abbreviations carry over into spoken language. For example:

Written Abbreviations

·  Apr. – April

·  cm – centimeter(s)

·  d. – died, died in

·  dept. – department

·  Dr. – doctor

·  Jr. – Junior

·  Mr. – Mister

·  oz – ounce(s)

·  Sun. – Sunday

·  yd – yard(s)

Spoken-Written Abbreviations

·  A.M. – ante meridiem [in the morning]

·  B.C.E. – Before Common Era

·  GOP – Grand Old Party (Republican Party)

·  HIV – Human Immunodeficiency Virus

·  i.e. – id est [that is]

·  JFK – John Fitzgerald Kennedy

·  OJ – orange juice

·  PMS – premenstrual syndrome

·  RSVP – répondez s'il vous plait

·  VIP – very important person

Abbreviation is related to both the word formation processes of clipping and blending.

·  Acronyms

Acronyms are words formed by the word formation process in which an initialism is pronounced as a word. For example,HIVis an initialism for Human Immunodeficiency Virus that is spoken as the three letters H-I-V. However,AIDSis an acronym for Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome that is spoken as the wordaids. Other examples of acronyms in English include:

·  ASAP – as soon as possible

·  AWOL – absent without leave

·  laser - light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation

·  NASA – National Aeronautics and Space Administration

·  NASDAQ - National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations

·  PIN – personal identification number

·  radar - radio detection and ranging

·  scuba - self-contained underwater breathing apparatus

·  TESOL – Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages

·  WASP – White Anglo-Saxon Protestant

Acronyms are related to the word formation process of abbreviation.

·  Eponyms

Eponyms are a word form by the word formation process in which a new word is formed from the name of a real of fictitious person. For example:

·  atlas – Atlas

·  boycott – Charles C. Boycott

·  cardigan – James Thomas Brudnell, 7th Earl of Cardigan

·  cereal – Ceres

·  dunce – John Duns Scotus

·  guillotine – Joseph Ignace Guillotin

·  jacuzzi – Candido Jacuzzi

·  luddite – Ned Ludd

·  malapropism – Mrs. Malaprop

·  mesmerize – Franz Anton Mesmer

·  mirandize – Ernesto A. Miranda

·  narcissistic – Narcissus

·  nicotine – Jean Nicot

·  pasteurization – Louis Pasteur

·  poinsettia – Noel Roberts Poinsett

·  praline – César de Choiseul, Count Plessis–Praslin

·  sadistic – Marquis de Sade

·  salmonella – Daniel Elmer Salmon

·  sandwich – John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich

·  volcano – Vulcan