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21 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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ETYMOLOGY
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Etymology – Grk etumos: “real, actual, precise” -ologia: “study of”
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“the origin and analysis of a word as shown by breaking it down into its constituent historical elements”
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DEFINITION:
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DEFINITION: “the explanation or description of what a thing is; or what a word or phrase means or has meant”
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“the explanation or description of what a thing is; or what a word or phrase means or has meant”
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• ROOT/BASE:
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– e.g. MOV- = the base of removal
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“the central element of a word which is left after the removal of all affixes”
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AFFIX:
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e.g. intangible
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“a collective term for prefixes, suffixes and infixes”;
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PREFIX:
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e.g. prefix
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“one or more letters or syllables placed at the beginning of a word to modify its meaning”;
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– ASSIMILATION:
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in- + literate > illiterate, ob + press > oppress
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“the process by which adjacent sounds (usually consonants) acquire similar or identical characteristics,”
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EUPHONY:
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– e.g. ad- + -literation > alliteration
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“the tendency toward greater ease of pronunciation resulting in combinative changes, largely due to speed and economy of utterance”
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VOWEL GRADATION:
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e.g. re- + CAPT- + -ion > reCEPTion, in- + HAB - + -it(e) + -ion > inHIBition
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“a change in the internal vowel of a base, often when the base is prefixed,”
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ACRONYM:
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e.g. – zip ( code ): Zone Improvement Plan, – yuppie: Young Urban Professional, – scuba: Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus, – nimby: Not In My Back Yard, – snafu: Situation Normal All Fouled Up, – posh: Port Out, Starboard Home,
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“an abbreviation that spells a word or pronounceable unit,”
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BACK FORMATION:
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e.g. – reune < reunion – surveil < surveillance – lase/lasing < laser
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“the creation of simpler forms from more complex forms, usually by the removal of an affix,”
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APHERESIS:
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– e.g. paper the house (< wallpaper), rise < arise, bide < abide, light < alight, – good-bye < “god-be-with-thee” – hello < “whole-be-thou”
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“the elimination of the first letter or syllable of a word”
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HYBRID:
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– off-color: English/Latin – superman: Latin/English – ultrafast: Latin/English – teledata: Greek/Latin – audiophile: Latin/Greek, – microprocessor: Greek/Latin,
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“a word composed of elements drawn from different languages”
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SUFFIX:
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-ion, -nt
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“one or more letters added to the end of a word to modify its meaning, and also often change its part of speech”
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SUBSTANTIVE:
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e.g. a deductible – the good, the bad and the ugly – a heavy, a stiff, a moderate – the Aggies, Big Blue, the Longhorns, the Trojans – trojans, rubbers, prophylactics
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“an adjective which functions as a noun, without changing the form of the word,”
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DISSIMILATION:
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e.g. meridiem (< *medi-diem), familiar < famili-al, cf. general, lunar < lun-al, cf. renal
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“the process by which two similar or identical sounds diverge or become unlike, usually in order to facilitate pronunciation,”
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PARTICIPLE:
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e.g. preserving, preserved n.b. Latin -t(um) is cognate with English -ed
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“an adjective formed from a verb, in English usually by adding -ing (present) or -ed (past) to a verb base,”
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SEMANTIC CHANGE:
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– e.g. carrothead, egghead, meathead
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“the modification of meaning in a word”
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METAPHOR:
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e.g. “All the world’s a stage …” – the arm of a chair, the butt of a rifle, a ship plowing through waves, head over heels
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“an implied comparison between two things,”
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SPECIALIZATION:
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e.g. – RADIC-: “root” > “one type of root, radish”, – RAP-: “seize, pillage” > “seize a woman by force, rape”, – VOT-: “wish, prayer” > “wish of a council, vote”, – LIQUOR-: “fluid” > “alcoholic drink, liquor/liqueur”,
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“the process by which the meaning of a word moves from a more general to a more specific sense,”
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GENERALIZATION:
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e.g. – TREMENDUS: “dreadful, to be trembled at” > “awesome, huge, amazing, very good, tremendous” – COMOEDIA: “party-song, ribald verse” > “humorous drama, anything funny or comical” – TRIUMPHUS: “Roman parade in honor of a victorious general” > “military conquest, any sort of triumph”
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“the process by which the meaning of a word moves from a more specific to a more general sense,”
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FUNCTIONAL CHANGE:
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– e.g. what’s in (or out): preposition > adjective, – to out someone: preposition > verb – pros and cons: (Latin) prefix/preposition > noun, – to while away the time: conjunction > verb, – to firm up: adjective > verb, – to black out: adjective > verb
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“the process by which a word takes on a new usage as a different part of speech, without a change in form or the addition of a suffix”(vs. participles: verbs > adjectives, with the addition of a suffix)
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