English Morphology and Lexicology

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Chapter 4 Word formation 2

4.5 Clipping 4.6 Acronymy

Initialisms Acronyms

4.7 Back-formation 4.8 Words from proper names

4.5 Clipping omnibus-bus; aeroplane-plane; examination-exam automobile; taximeter cabriolet economics; gymnastics; mathematics; trigonometry luncheon; hamburger; coca cola-coke

4.5 Clipping 1. front clipping

earthquake helicopter telescope telephone

4.5 Clipping 2. back clipping

dormitory memorandum stereophonic gentleman fanatic discotheque

4.5 Clipping 3. front and back clipping

influenza refrigerator (fridge)

4.5 Clipping 4. phrase clipping

public house zoological garden popular music permanent waves

4.5 Clipping Changes in spelling and (or) sound

refrigerator (fridge) bicycle (bike) Coca cola (coke) perambulator (pram) television (telly)

4.6 Acronymy 4.6.1 Initialisms

Initialisms are words pronounced letter by letter, such as VOA (Voice of America). 4.6.2 Acronyms

Acronyms are words formed from initial letters but pronounced as a normal word, such as radar (radio detecting and ranging).

4.6.1 Initialisms 1. letters represent full words

A. D. (Anno Domini) =in the year after the birth of Jesus Christ B. C. (Before Christ) C. O. D. (cash on delivery) BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) c/o (care of) p.c. (post card) UFO (unidentified flying object)

4.6.1 Initialisms 2. letters represent parts of a word

TV (television) ID (identification; identity card) TB (tuberculosis) GHQ (General Headquarters)

4.6.2 Acronyms 1. formed from initial letters

WAVES (Women Appointed for Voluntary Emergency Service)

NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome)

BASIC (beginner’s all-purpose symbolic instruction code)

4.6.2 Acronyms 1. formed from initial letters

CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) laser (lightwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language)

4.6.2 Acronyms 2. initial letter of the first word +

another word N-bomb (nuclear bomb) D Notice (Defense Notice) G-man (Government man) D Day (decimalization day) V-Day (Victory Day)

4.7 Back-formation Suffixation vs. Back-formation

Suffixation=base+ suffix (work+ er=worker) Back-formation=word– suffix (edit=editor- or)

4.7 Back-formation 1. Abstract nouns

diagnose=diagnosis– is donate=donation– ion enthuse=enthusiasm- iasm gloom=gloomy- y greed=greedy- y

4.7 Back-formation 2. Human nouns

loaf=loafer– er sculpt=sculptor– or burgle=burglar- ar beg=beggar- ar

4.7 Back-formation 3. Compound nouns and others

eavesdrop=eavesdropping– ing merrymake=merrymaking– ing babysit=babysitter- er

4.7 Back-formation 4. Adjectives

drowse=drowsy- y laze=lazy- y frivol=frivolous- ous

4.8 Words from proper names 1. names of people: scientists/inventors

ampere (French physicist Ampere) farad (British physicist Faraday) ohm (German physicist Ohm) volt (Italian physicist Volta) watt (Scottish inventor Watt) diesel (German inventor Diesel) mackintosh (Scottish inventor Mackintosh) bloomers (Mrs Bloomers in New York)

4.8 Words from proper names 1. names of people: characters in

mythology cherub (a charming pretty little male child)

Cherub, a winged little attendant of God protean (able to assume different forms or

characters; versatile) Proteus, a sea deity with the gift of prophecy

and the power to assume different forms

4.8 Words from proper names 1. names of people: historical figures

bobby (BrE. policeman) Sir Robert Peel, founder of London police in early 19th century

cynic (one always suspicious of people’s motives); quisling (traitor) Vidkun Quisling, a Norwegian army officer who betrayed his country to the Nazis

4.8 Words from proper names 1. names of people: characters in literary works

quixotic (extravagantly romantic, idealistic, chivalrous) Don Quixote in the novel Don Quixote de la Mancha by Cervantes

sadism (getting sexual pleasure from hurting other people) Count Donation (Marquis) de Sade

robot (a humanoid mechanical creature) The mechanical monsters in the play R.U.R. by Karel Capek

4.8 Words from proper names 2. names of places

china (porcelain) from the homeland China

afghan (a kind of knitted rug) first made in Afghanistan

jersey (sweater) from Jersey Island in the US

champagne (a kind of wine) From Champagne in France where the wine

champagne was first produced rugby (a sort of ball games)

From a British Rugby school, which used to be known for the game

4.8 Words from proper names 3. names of books

utopia (a imaginary perfect society) from Sir Thomas More’s book Utopia

odyssey (an extended journey) From Homer’s epic The Odyssey

Babbit (a person concerned mainly with business and position, caring little for art or culture) from the novel Babbit by Sinclair Lewis

4.8 Words from proper names 4. trade names

nylon, orlon, dacron, rayon (4 types of fabric) Originally trade names

frisbee (a plate-like toy) deep-freeze (a deep freezer) Omega (a kind of cigarette) xerox (photocopier)

4.8 Words from proper names 4. trade names

boycott (refusal or refuse to do business with, as a way of disapproval or opposition) From the 19th century Landlord Captain

Boycott cabal (a clique or make secret plans for

political action) From the initial letters of the five ministers

Clifford, Ashley, Buckingham, Arlington, and Lauderdale

4.8 Words from proper names Words that are commonized from proper nouns have rich cultural associations, and thus stylistically vivid, impressive and thought-provoking.

4.8 Words from proper names I want to be TV’s czar of script and

grammar. the Roman Emperor Caesar any one with great or unlimited power;

authority

4.8 Words from proper names Churchill, a bent Pickwick in blue

uniform, looked up at him with majestic good humor, much older, more dignified, more assured. A naïve, benevolent character in Charles

Dickens’s The Pickwick Papers The word Pickwick not only describes

the outward appearance of Churchill, but also depicts his inward personality, building up an amiable image…

4.8 Words from proper names It is with procrustean thoroughness that the Soviet government squelches all dissent.

From Procrustes, a giant of Attica who tortured travelers by stretching or cutting off their limbs to make them fit his bed, hence ‘ruthless in trying to force conformity’ The Soviet government treats the dissent with the same cruelty as Procrustes did with the travelers…