9. Words
9.1. Word formation processes
Sometimes, new words are added to a language, either due to neologism [niˈɑləd͡ʒɪzm̩ ] (the creation of a new word within the language itself) or due to borrowing (when one language, the recipient language, adapts words or other grammatical features from another language, the donor language).
Taboo avoidance is a special kind of neologism in which a word is replaced (either by a modified pronunciation or by a newly invented word) to avoid an obscene or taboo meaning, such as gosh for God. Taboo meanings are often centred on sexuality, bodily waste, and religion.
In this section, we will be using < and > symbols from historical linguistics to show the historical direction of change. For example, X > Y means that the older form X was replaced by the newer form Y, while Y < X means the opposite, that the newer form Y originated from the older form X.
Deriving
One of the most common ways to form new words is by adding new morphemes. There are two main kinds of morphemes, inflectional morphemes and derivational morphemes. We will learn more about the difference between them in Chapter 9, but for now, you can think about the two terms this way: inflectional morphemes add grammatical information to a word, such as plurality or a tense marker, while derivational morphemes create a new word.
Some examples of English derivational processes are shown in Table 1.
| Stem | Derivational morpheme | Derived word | |
| a. | new | -ness | newness |
| b. | play | -ful | playful |
| c. | playful | -ness | playfulness |
| d. | friend | -ly | friendly |
| e. | friendly | un- | unfriendly |
| f. | friend | -ship | friendship |
As shown by Table 1 examples (c) and (e), you can add more than one derivational morpheme to the same word.
When a grammatical pattern can be extended in predictable manners, it is called productivity. Some derivational morphemes are productive (like -ish) and others are not (like -ness), as shown in Table 2. While -ish can be used with all six stems, -ness can only be used with examples (a) to (c). We will discuss productivity more in Chapter 13.
| Adjective stem | with -ish | with -ness | |
| a. | new | newish | newness |
| b. | blue | bluish | blueness |
| c. | slow | slowish | slowness |
| d. | long | longish | *longness |
| e. | strong | strongish | *strongness |
| f. | popular | popularish | *popularness |
Borrowing
Another way that a language might acquire new words is through contact with another language.
In borrowing, the borrowed words are called loanwords and are often nativized, which means that the pronunciation, and sometimes the morphology, is changed to match the regular patterns of the recipient language. For example, the Innu word for pancake is tekanep, taken from French des crêpes /dekʀεp/. The determiner des is incorporated into the word, the /d/ is devoiced, /ʀ/ becomes /n/, and a vowel is added to break up the consonant cluster.
Borrowing can happen for a variety of reasons, including prestige (e.g., numerous French and Latin loanwords in academic English) and need (e.g., animal words such as moose, caribou, chipmunk, skunk, opossum, and raccoon have been borrowed into English from Algonquian languages). The direction of borrowing can often be inferred based on knowledge of phonology, sound change, morphology, cognates, real world geography, ecology, cultural differences, history, and so forth. Borrowing often occurs within particular semantic domains (food, religion, politics, and so forth), especially when very different cultures come into contact.
The same source word may take different paths and be borrowed multiple times into the same language. This may be because two languages are in contact over long periods of time and borrow the same word at multiple points in its history, with different pronunciations as the source language undergoes change. It also happens if the same word is borrowed from different dialects or varieties. For example, captain, chef, and chief all originate from caput, the Latin word for ‘head’, via French. Captain and chief were both borrowed in about the 14th century from the Old French words capitaine and chief. Capitaine came from the Latin capitaneus, a derived form of the word caput to mean ‘leader’ rather than ‘head’. Over the next few centuries, the French word chief became chef. It was then borrowed again into English in the 18th century as part of the phrase chef de cuisine ‘head of the kitchen’.
A calque or loan translation is a specific type of borrowing that includes a direct translation of an idiomatic loanword, rather than a phonological nativization, for example English black market < German Schwarzmarkt, literally ‘black market’.
Root creation
Sometimes a word is invented without basis on any previously existing words, which is called root creation. This happens most often in product naming and fiction. Some examples include google ‘a search engine brand’ or lightsaber ‘a laser sword from the series Star Wars‘. Sometimes, a product name expands to include all similar objects, regardless of brand. This is called genericization. Some examples include kleenex, thermos, or popsicle, which now refer to any facial tissue, double-walled food storage container, or frozen treat on a stick, regardless of brand. However, all three started as brand names originally. The word google is also well on its way in genericization. Do you call it googling even if you’re using a different search engine?
Shortening
Shortening an existing word is called clipping or truncation, like with math < mathematics, phone < telephone, or flu < influenza.
Sometimes people reanalyze a monomorphemic word to be polymorphemic, and then remove the extra morphemes. This is called backformation. For example, the noun editor existed before the verb edit. However, people misinterpreted the /-əɹ/ ending of editor to be the same as the derivational morpheme -er ‘one who does V’, and assumed that there must be a verb to edit to go with the noun editor. It is impossible to tell whether a word is a backformation without looking up which form came first in an etymological dictionary. Other examples of backformation include haze < hazy, diagnose < diagnosis, or Old English pise ‘pea’ (plural pisan) > Modern English pea (plural peas), with the singular formed by stripping of the supposed plural -s in the pise, even though pise was originally singular and had no plural morpheme.
Combining
Sometimes new words are coined by combining existing words. If you combine two roots and keep the whole of both roots, you’ve made a compound word, such as rainbow, blackboard, or greenhouse. In contrast, if one or both words is not fully preserved in the resulting form, this is called a blend or portmanteau. Examples of blends include motor hotel > motel, smoke + fog > smog, or breakfast + lunch > brunch.
If you only keep the first letter (or two) of each word in a phrase, it’s an acronym if you pronounce it like a word, as with laser < light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation or radar < radio detecting and ranging. On the other hand, if each letter in the abbreviation is pronounced as a letter, it is known as an initialism or alphabetism. Some examples include FBI > Federal Bureau of Investigation or UK > United Kingdom.
Did you know?
The Internet slang initialism LOL is claimed to have originated in Canada! Wayne Pearson, an IT consultant from Calgary, claims to have coined it as a teenager on a chatroom for Calgarians in the 1980s.
When a word that already exists is claimed to be an acronym, this is known as a backronym. There has been a recent trend of backronyms going viral on social media, masquerading as the true origin of the word. For example, a false idea now circulating says that news stands for notable events weather and sports, when the term really comes from the word new from the early 15th century. It is best to check an etymological dictionary before clicking “share” on such posts.
Etymological dictionaries
People often guess the history of a word incorrectly, and folk etymologies which are not historically accurate often circulate in communities. Sometimes folk etymologies can even drive language change! For example, penthouse comes from the Old French word apentis meaning ‘attached building.’ Due to similarity in meaning and pronounciation with the word house, its spelling changed over time to become the modern penthouse.
If you want to know the history of a word, you can look it up in an etymological dictionary. The best etymological dictionary for English is the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). The OED is paywalled, but you can likely access it online through your university’s library.
Another good online etymological dictionary to explore is the Online Etymology Dictionary by Douglas Harper. Although it is not technically an academic source, this is a free and reliable etymological dictionary of English.
There are many more etymological dictionaries and other resources out there that cover a wide variety of languages! Check your university library to see what you can find!
Key takeaways
- New words are added to language in a variety of ways. Neologisms can come from other languages, which are called loanwords, they can be formed within the language itself, or they can be coined in a process called root creation.
- Word formation processes that involve shortening an existing word include clipping and backformation.
- Word formation processes that involve combining existing words including compounding, blending, initialisms, and acronyms.
- The symbols < and > are used to show the direction of change in the study of historical linguistics. These symbols point at the newer form.
- You can look up the origins of a word in an etymological dictionary, such as the Oxford English Dictionary (OED).
Check your understanding!
References and further resources
Attribution
↪️ This section was adapted from lecture notes prepared by Nathan Sanders. Used with permission.
For a general audience
🧠 CrashCourse. 2020. Language Change and Historical Linguistics: Crash Course Linguistics #13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNkMC92kFLA.
🎉 Hudes, Sammy. 2015, October 7. What’s it like to coin the term LOL? Calgary Herald. https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/whats-it-like-to-coin-the-term-lol.
Reference materials
📑 Harper, Douglas. 2024. Online Etymology Dictionary. https://www.etymonline.com.
📑 Oxford University Press. 2023. Oxford English Dictionary. https://www.oed.com.
The coining of a new word.
When a word from one language is adopted by another language.
The coining of a word in order to avoid use of a word that is socially unacceptable.
The smallest meaningful unit in language.
A morphological process that adds grammatical information, such as number, tense, gender, or case.
A morphological process that creates a new lexeme.
The property of language that allows language users to create novel utterances and have those utterances be understood by others.
Changing the part of speech of a word without changing its form.
A word that has been borrowed from another language.
The process of a borrowed word adopting the phonology and possibly the morphology of the language it is borrowed into.
A borrowed phrase which is a direct translation of a phrase in another language.
A borrowed phrase which is a direct translation of a phrase in another language.
Coining a word without basis on any previously existing words.
When a brand name becomes the common name for all similar items.
The formation of a new word by shortening an existing one.
The formation of a new word by shortening an existing one.
A process whereby a language user reanalyzes a monomorphemic word to be polymorphemic and removes the additional morphemes.
A word with two or more roots.
A word formed by combining portions of two or more roots. At least one of the roots must be truncated in order to be a blend.
A word formed by combining portions of two or more roots. At least one of the roots must be truncated in order to be a portmanteau.
When the first letter or two of each word in a phrase is combined to form a new word, which is pronounced as a whole.
synonym: alphabetism
When the first letter or two of each word in a phrase is combined to form a new word, which is pronounced as a string of letters.
synonym: initialism
When the first letter or two of each word in a phrase is combined to form a new word, which is pronounced as a string of letters.
When a word that already exists is claimed to be an acronym.
A commonly believed etymology of a word that is not historically accurate.
