Etymology terms
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Transcript of Etymology terms
Etymology terms
Euphemism• A word or phrase that is
considered less offensive or less vulgar than the one it replaces
• “she passed away today”
Colloquial language• Everyday language;
usually applies to the spoken word
Cognates• Words formed by
combining the roots of 2 different languages
Blend words• Words that blend two
already defined words: for example, “smog” (smoke+fog) or “jazzercise” (jazz music + exercise)
Hybrids• A word which
etymologically has one part derived from one language, and another part from another language
• Ex: bioluminescenceGreek “bios” meaning
“living” + Latin “lumen” meaning “light”
linguistics• Study of the origins and
structure of human language
• Sub-disciplines include evolutionary linguistics, historical linguistics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, and neurolinguistics
semantics• Study in the historical
change in the meaning of words – how language conveys meaning
• For example, the sentence “Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.” is well-formed in word order, but makes no sense!
• Or “A student met every professor.” A different student, or the same student?
Word component• Part of a word, such as
the root
Abstract word• A word not perceived by
the five senses• Ex: love, success,
freedom, good, moral , democracy, and any –ism (chauvinism, Communism, feminism, racism, etc.)
Clipped words• New words that are
shortened forms of existing words (for example, “cab” which was clipped from “cabriolet,” which was a one-horse carriage with 2 seats and a folding top)
analogy• The process of connecting
information from one subject to another particular subject
• Example: Milk : Cow :: Egg : ChickenAnalogies have been discussed
since classical antiquity by philosophers, scientists, and lawyers!
inflection• Alteration of a word to
indicate different grammatical and syntactical relations
jargon• Specialized expressions
native to a particular field, subculture, or region
affix• Word element attached to
a root word• Can be a prefix, suffix,
combined form, or infix (“infix” is a word inserted within the base form)
acronym• Word formed from the
initial letters or groups of letters of words in a phrase or series of words
• Examples: MADD (Mother’s Against Drunk Driving), NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
Apheresis and aphesis• Removal of a letter,
syllable, or unaccented vowel from the beginning of a word, such as “coon” for “racoon” or “till” for “until”
Romance languages• Comprise all the
languages derived from Latin, the language of ancient Rome
• 6 most common: Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Romanian, and Catalan (the official language of Andorra, a small country in southwestern Europe)
infusion• Process by which words
are introduced into another language
doublet• Words in different
languages derived from the same root
• Ex: “shirt” and “skirt” both Germanic, the first Old English, the second Old Norse
• Ex: “chief” and “chef” both from French (at different times)
Loan words• A word borrowed from
one language and incorporated into another
• Ex: “hors d’oeuvre” or “détente”
Abbreviations notes• dim. = diminutive, a word
used to convey a slight degree of the word meaning, smallness of the object, intimacy, or endearment (such as behaving like or talking to children)
Abbreviations notes cont’d• eccl. = ecclesiasticalMeaning a word associated
with the church• var. = variant, meaning it
differs from another word in form only, being of the same essence/substance
Abbreviations notes cont’d• vulgar = Vulgar Latin,
meaning dialects of Latin spoken after the fall of the Roman Empire (in other words, nonstandard) as opposed to classical Latin (standard)