Word formation

By: Basmala Mubarak, Salma Tarek,

Sondos Mohamed, Habiba Nader, Omar
Bahaa, and Alaa Mohamed
 Whoa!
Have you ever wondered
how new words appear in
English?
The process of creating new words is called
word formation. Language constantly
changes to adapt to new ideas, trends, and
technology.
 New words emerge every year. Technology,
internet culture, and social trends influence
language.
Example: Words like influencer, meme,
and FOMO didn’t exist decades ago
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Word
formation
 What is word Formation?

Word formation is how new words enter a language.

It happens because society evolves, and we need
new ways to express ideas.
Example: Binge-watch (a word that didn’t exist
before streaming services)
More examples on word formation:

● Google → From a company

name to a verb (to google
something).
● Selfie → Created by adding
-to self (a self-taken photo).
● Vlog → A mix of video and
blog (video-based content)
Why Word Formation Matters?

Without it, language would become outdated.

Helps people communicate in a changing world.
Reflects cultural, social, and technological
progress.
influencer branch
A C
B D
podcast Emoji
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Etymology
 What is Etymology?

Etymology is the study of the origin and

history of words.
It shows how words change over time and
where they come from.
Example: The word etymology comes from
Greek etymon (true meaning) + logia (study).
 Why is Etymology Important?

Helps us understand the history and meaning of words.

Shows connections between languages.
Explains why some words have unexpected spellings or
meanings.
Example: Knight (Old English: cniht) used to mean “servant”
before evolving into a noble title
Where Do Words Come From?

Venus Neptune
Venus has Neptune is the
extremely high farthest planet from
temperatures the Sun

Mercury Saturn Jupiter

Mercury is the Saturn is a gas Jupiter is the
closest planet to giant and has biggest planet of
the Sun several rings them all
 Examples of
Etymology in
English:

Robot
Salary
Pandemic
Google
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Coinage
 Definition:
Coinage is the creation of completely new
words in a language.

Common Source:
Many coinages come from brand names
that become general words.
 Examples of Coinage:
Older examples: aspirin, nylon, vaseline, zipper

Recent examples: granola, Kleenex, Teflon, Xerox

Google as a Modern Example:

Originally from “googol” (a large number).
Now, “google” (lowercase) is a verb meaning “to search the internet.”

Other Examples of Coinage:

New products and concepts:

“eBay” (online shopping platform) → “ebaying” (buying or selling on eBay).
Ex : (“Have you tried ebaying it?”)
 Eponym
s
Definition:
An eponym is a word that comes
from the name of a person or place.
 Types of Eponyms
People’s Scientists/
names: Place names: Inventors:
Hoover (vacuum Jeans (from the 1. Fahrenheit
cleaner, from Italian city of (temperature scale,
William Hoover). from the German,
Genoa where the
1. Sandwich (from Gabriel Fahrenheit).
type of cloth was
the eighteenth- 2.
first made) 2. Volt ( electricity,
century Earl of
from the Italian,
Sandwich who
Alessandro Volta).
first insisted on
having his bread 3. Watt ( steam
and meat engine, from the Scottish
together while inventor, James Watt).
gambling).
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Borrowing
What is
Borrowing?
Definition:
Borrowing is the process of taking words from
other languages and using them in English.
 Common Borrowed Words in English
English has borrowed words from many languages,
including:

French → croissant. Dutch →

dope

Persian → lilac. Italian →

piano

German → pretzel. Arabic →

sofa
Special Type of Borrowing:

Loan-Translation
(Calque)
 Examples of Calques:

French → gratte-ciel (“scrape-sky”) = skyscraper

Dutch → wolkenkrabber (“cloud scratcher”) =

skyscraper

German → Wolkenkratzer (“cloud scraper”) =

skyscraper

English → superman (from German Übermensch)

Spanish → perros calientes (“hot dogs”)

COMPOUNDIN
G
BLENDING
CLIPPING
3. Compounding:
Definition: Combining two or more independent words
into a new term.

Examples:

Book + Case → Bookcase

Sun + Burn → Sunburn.
Common in German/English; rare in French/Spanish.
Compounding: Cross-Linguistic
Examples in German: Lehn + Wort → Lehnwort
("loanword"). Hmong: hwj ("pot") + kais ("spout") →
Types of Compounds:

Adjectives Adjective
Nouns
+ Noun:
Waterbed, Good-looking,
low-paid. Fast-food
textbook. restaurant
 5. Blending : of two words (beginning of
.Definition: Merging parts
one + end of another).
Example: Smoke + Fog → Smog .

Blends often reflect cultural trends (e.g., technology,

lifestyle).

Classic Blends: Brunch (breakfast + lunch).

Motel (motor + hotel) .

Tech Blends (Beginnings Combined): Modem
(modulator + demodulator) .

Language Mixes: Franglais, Spanglish

7.
Clipping:
Definition : Shortening a multi-syllable word
(casual/informal). Animated Examples:
Advertisement → Ad.
Common in names (Mike → Michael)
education (exam → examination)

8. Clipping (Hypocorisms) :
Definition: Clipping + adding -y/-ie
(Australian/British English).
Examples: Barbecue → Barbie.
Handkerchief → Hankie.
 Comparison table

Compounding Full words combined Sunburn, Textbook

Parts of two words

Blending merged
Smog, Brunch

Shortened form of a
Clipping word
Ad, Exam
 "What might
Chrissy pressies
mean?
Answer : Christmas presents
 ★ Backformation
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4 ★ Conversion

★ Acronyms
What is Backformation?

This process involves creating a new

word, typically a verb, by reducing an
existing noun.
Examples:
televise (from Liaise (from “liaison”)
“television”)
opt (from “option”)
donate (from “donation”)
backform (from
emote (from “emotion”) “backformation”)
enthuse (from babysit (from “babysitter”)
The “-er” Pattern

Many English verbs are backformed

from nouns ending in –er
Examples:
work (from “worker”)
edit (from “editor”)
sculpt (from “sculptor”)
burgle (from “burglar”)
peddle (from “peddler”)
swindle (from “swindler”)
What is Conversion?

This is also known as category change

and functional shift

This process involves changing the

function of a word without changing
its form.

Example: The noun bottle becomes

the verb bottle:
 Types of Conversion

1. Noun → Verb
- Butter (noun) → butter (verb): “Have you buttered the
toast?”

- Chair (noun) → chair (verb): “Who will chair the meeting?”

- Vacation (noun) → vacation (verb): “They’re vacationing

in Florida.”

- Impact (noun) → impact (verb): “This will impact the

 2. Verb → Noun
- Guess (verb) → guess (noun): “Take a guess!”

- Spy (verb) → spy (noun): “He’s a spy.”

- Phrasal verbs → Nouns:

- Print out (verb) → printout (noun): “Give me the

printout.”

- Take over (verb) → takeover (noun): “It’s a hostile

takeover.”
 3. Verb → Adjective
- See through (verb) → see-through (adjective): “See-
through material”

- Stand up (verb) → stand-up (adjective): “A stand-up

comedian”
4. Adjective → Verb or Noun
- Dirty (adjective) → dirty (verb): “Don’t dirty the
floor!”

- Empty (adjective) → empty (verb): “Empty the

room”

- Crazy (adjective) → crazy (noun): “He’s a crazy”

- Nasty (adjective) → nasty (noun): “Don’t trust the

nasty”
 5. Compound Nouns
- Ball park (noun) → ball-park (adjective/verb):
- “A ball-park figure.” (adjective)
- “Ball-park the cost.”(verb)
- Carpool (noun) → carpool (verb): “Let’s carpool.”
- Microwave (noun) → microwave (verb): “Microwave the
food.”
6. Prepositions → Verbs
- Up (preposition) → up (verb): “They’ll up the price.”

- Down (preposition) → down (verb): “We downed some

beers.”
 Meaning Changes in Conversion
Sometimes, words shift meaning when they
convert:

- Doctor (noun) = a medical professional.

Doctor (verb) = to tamper with something (negative): “He
doctored the evidence.”

- Total (adjective) = whole amount.

Total (verb) = to destroy (negative): “He totaled his car.”

- Run around (verb) = to move quickly.

Runaround (noun) = avoiding responsibility (negative): “They gave
 What Are
1.
Acronyms?

Acronyms are short words made from

the first letters of other words.
 2. Types of Acronyms
There are 2 main types:
A. Letter-by-Letter B. Word-like Acronyms
Acronyms

You say each letter separately: You pronounce them like norma
words:
- CD = “Compact Disk”
- NATO
- VCR = “Video Cassette Recorder” - NASA
- UNESCO
 3. Acronyms That Become
Everyday Words
- Laser = “light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation”

- radar = “radio detecting and ranging”

- scuba= “self-contained underwater breathing apparatus”

- zip code = “zone improvement plan” code

- snafu = “situation normal, all fouled up” (some argue the “f-word”
is different ).
 4. Clever Acronyms
Organizations sometimes pick names
to make a meaningful acronym:

- MADD = “mothers against drunk

driving”

- WAR = “women against rape”

 5. Acronyms People Use
Wrongly
They are regularly used with one of their
elements repeated

- ATM = “automatic teller machine” → People say “ATM

machine” (but “machine” is already in “ATM”!).

- PIN = “personal identification number” → People say

“PIN number” (but “number” is already in “PIN”!).
 05
Derivation
Prefixes + Suffixes +
Infixes
 Affixes
Small linguistic units that are added to
words to change their meaning or
grammatical context.

1) Prefixes 2) Suffixes 3) Infixes

Prefixes are added Suffixes are added to Infixes are inserted into the
to the beginning of the end of words. For middle of words. They
the words. example, the suffix – are rare in English and
less is added to care,
For example: the often used for emphasis
changing the meaning
prefix un- is added and emotional
to careless.
to happy, changing expressions in informal
the meaning to the context. For example,
opposite. Singabloodypore!
 Examples of prefixes and suffixes
Suffixes Prefixes
• Happiness • Preview
• Teacher • Disconnect
more than one suffix : more than one prefix:
• Hopelessness • Unmistakeable

Both!
Disagreeable
Prefixes and suffixes changing word
Prefixes
class Suffixes
Prefixes typically do not change Suffixes can change the word
the word class. They modify the class. They shift the grammatical
meaning of the word without category of the word. For
altering it’s grammatical category. example : the word hard (adjective)
For example, the word kind becomes hardships (noun)
becomes unkind.
However, some prefixes change Some suffixes do not change the
the word’s category. word class. For example:
Examples: • -hood changes the word child
• En changes nouns and into childhood.
adjectives into verbs: Enjoy and
Enlarge
 Infixes in Kamhmu
In Kamhmu, Infixes are used to change verbs into
nouns:
Verb Nouns
• See ( to drill ) • Srnee ( a drill )
• Toh ( to chisel ) • Trnoh ( a chisel )
• Hiip ( to eat with a spoon ) • Hrniip ( a spoon )
• Hoom ( to tie ) • Hrnoom ( a thing with which to tie )
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Multiple
6 Processes

Multiple processes often work together to form

words.
Borrowing + Clipping
Ex: Deli
The process:
1. The word “delicatessen” was borrowed from German
2. It was shortened (clipping) to deli
Ex: “I stopped by the deli to grab a sandwich and some
fresh cheese for lunch.”
 Compounding + Conversion

Ex: Snowballed
The process:
1. Snow and ball were combined to form the noun
snowball (Compounding)
2. the noun snowball was turned into a verb (snowballed)
through conversion
Ex: What started as a small disagreement quickly
snowballed into a major argument
Acronym + Backformation
Ex: lase
The process:
1. The acronym laser (Light Amplification by Stimulated
Emission of Radiation) was created.
2. the verb lase was formed by removing the -er suffix, a
process called backformation
Ex: The scientist used a special device to lase a focused
beam of light onto the material
 Acronym + Derivation
Ex: Waspish
The process:
1. Create the acronym WASP from (White Anglo-Saxon
Protestant)
2. lose the capital letters and add the suffix –ish (derivation)
Meaning having the qualities of a WASP

Ex: After missing her morning coffee, she was in a particularly

waspish mood all day.
Acronym + Hypocorism (Shortening +
Suffix)
Ex: Yuppie

The process:
1. The phrase “young urban professional was shortened”
to yup (acronym)
2. The suffix -ie was added to create yuppie
(hypocorism)

Ex: The new café was packed with yuppies sipping lattes
and working on their laptops
 Analogy (Creating Words Based on Similarity)

Ex: Yuppie

The process:
1. The word yuppie was formed by analogy with the
earlier word hippie.
yippie (from Youth International Party) also influenced
its creation.
The word yappie was created by analogy with yuppie.
 The lifespan of new words

Many new words don’t last long, but some become

permanent.
Language evolves, and new words often face resistance
before being accepted.
Ex:
Words like advisory and presidential were once criticized
as vulgar but are now standard.
Thank you
!