Back-Formal ion implies the use of analogy to bring about a sort of reversal of the process of derivation, to make a new word. Thus, the words 'henpeck', 'televise', 'enthuse', 'burgle' and 'sunburn' are made by reducing or subtracting a part of the original words 'henpecked', 'television',
'enthusiasm', 'burglar' and 'sunburnt' respectively even though the converted words may not have existed originally in English. Similarly, the words like 'book-keep', 'house-keep', and 'typewrite' are formed by reducing 'book-keeping', 'house-keeping' and 'type-writing'. Some of the oldest examples of back-formations are, as Otto Jesperson points out, "/o backbite (1300), to partake(partake, 16th c), to soothsay and conycatch (Shakesp.)" (Growth and Structure of the English Language, p. 165).
(vi) Reduplication
In this process we make a type of compounds in which both elements
or components are same or only slightly different. 'Tom-tom', 'dilly-dally',
'goody-goody', 'wishy-washy' and 'pooh-pooh' are some examples of such
5. Unappalin’ – Adjective used to describe a person with a combination
of physical attractiveness, ruthless ambition and limited mental
capacity.
6. Rickwad – An individual who claims to be a devout Christian but
supports policies that indicate otherwise.
The Washington Post Neologism Competition
Every year The Washington Post runs an annual competition in which the
readers of the newspaper are asked to submit alternative meanings to
existing words. The results are often extremely amusing. Here are examples
of Washington Post neologisms:
1. Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.
2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.
3. Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
4. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.
5. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.
6. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly
answer the door in your nightgown.
7. Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.
8. Gargoyle (n.), olive-flavored mouthwash.
9. Flatulance (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over
by a steamroller.
10. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.
11. Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.
12. Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
13. Pokemon (n), a Rastafarian proctologist.
14. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.
15. Frisbeetarianism (n.), The belief that when you die, your Soul flies up
onto the roof and gets stuck there.
16. Circumvent (n.), an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by
Jewish men.
Current neologisms xraygoogleblack holeprequel Internet jumping the shark plus-size blog wardrobe malfunction truthiness- usage on The Colbert Report was neologistic fauxhawk consumerizationalso:kleenexhoover
band-aidFrisbee
What's the difference between an acronym and an abbreviation?
Many people feel they have the same meaning, but traditionally there is a
difference:
An acronym is a word that is that is made by taking the first letter of the
full name or sentence. For example, there is a famous Swedish furniture
company is called IKEA. It is the short form of
forIngvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd. The company name is called IKEA;
it is read like any other word. It is never spelled out letter by letter: I - K- E-
A.
An abbreviation is used by taking the first letter of a longer sentence. Each
letter is spelled out and not read as a word. Two examples are BBC (British
Broadcasting Corporation) and CNN(Cable News Network).
Here are ten examples of common acronyms and abbreviations:
R.S.V.P.
"Répondez s'il vous plaît", a French phrase that translates to "please
respond" or literally "respond, if you please". It is used on invitation cards.
When you receive an RSVP you must reply to the invitation saying whether
you accept or decline the invitation.
ESL / EFL
Both of these abbreviations have the same meaning and are very common
to see for learners of English.
ESL means English as a second language. - It is mostly used in American
English.
EFL means English as a foreign language. - It is mostly used in British
English.
Neither of them needs use a full-stop in between the letters -it is EFL, not
E.F.L
Note: On the same subject we use ESOL (English for speakers of other
languages) and TESOL(teaching English to speakers of other languages).
P.M. / A.M.
Both of these are used when telling the time:
A.M. - Also written as p.m. and pm, it stands for "post meridiem" (Latin
for "after noon" in the 12-hour clock).
P.M. - Also written as a.m. and am, it stands for "ante meridiem" ("before
noon").
AD / BC
BC (or B.C) stands for "before Christ".
AD (or A.D) stands for "Anno Domini" (Latin for "In the year of Our Lord").
ASAP
ASAP (or A.S.A.P.) stands for "as soon as possible". We you use this
abbreviation when we want someone to do something quickly: "Send me
the report ASAP."
DIY
DIY (or D.I.Y) stands for "do it yourself". The term used by various
communities that focus on people (called 'do-it-yourselfers' or 'DIYers')
creating or repairing things for themselves without the help of paid
professionals.
B.Y.O.B.
B.Y.O.B. or (BYOB) often seen on invites to parties. It stands for "bring your
own bottle / booze"; you are invited to a party, but you should bring your
own drinks.
ETA
ETA (not E.T.A) stands for "estimated time of arrival". It is the time when a
form of transport (like a train or plane) is expected to arrive in a place. The
opposite is ETD ("estimated time of departure").
P.S.
P.S (or PS) stand for "post script" and is used at the end of written letters
to add extra information.
I.e. / E.g.
These two abbreviations are easily confused and both used when writing:
I.e. (or i.e. / I.E.) stands for "id est" (Latin for "That is (to say)" or "in other
words").
E.g. (or e.g. / E.G.) stands for "exempli gratia" (Latin for "for example").
Duplicative Type - Repetitive Compound words: Rhythmic word formation.
Consider following examples for its rhythm:
1) ack-ack - anti aircraft fire
2) aye-aye - yes (found used by seamen)
3) bang-bang - sound of a gun when firing
4) beriberi - disease due to vitamin B deficiency
5) bonbon -a candy or sweet that often has a center of fondant, fruit, or nuts
and is coated with chocolate or fondant
6) boo-boo - a stupid mistake or blunder
7) bye-bye - goodbye
8) cha-cha - ballroom dance (Latin)
9) choo-choo - A locomotive train or sound of the train
10) chop chop - right away; quickly (from pidgin English)
11) froufrou - Fussy or showy dress
12) goody goody - someone virtuous or smug
13) ha-ha - the sound of laughter
14) hush-hush - secret; confidential
15) muumuu - loose, bright Hawaiian dress
16) night-night - goodnight
17) no-no - forbidden
18) papa - father
19) pawpaw - same as papaya
Do you find any change between the two word components? No. You find
that the initial word is simply duplicated. There is no rhyming, but repetition
of identical constituents for the sake of rhythm.
B. Alliterative Type - Repetitive Compound words: Another peculiar word
formation. Consider following examples for yet another peculiarity.
1) chit-chat - informal gossipy talk
2) clip clop - sound of a horse's hooves
3) criss-cross - made of lines which cross each other repeatedly
4) dilly-dally - to loiter
5) ding-dong - the sound of a bell
6) flim-flam - foolishness
7) flip-flop - several meanings, 1. sound of repeated flapping 2. a backward
8) somersaut 3. a sandal with a piece between the toes
9) hip-hop - type of music
10) knick-knack - a small ornament or trinket
11) mish-mash - a confused mixture
12) ping pong - table tennis
13) pitter-patter - a light, tapping sound such as of rain drops
14) riff-raff - rabble; people who are worthless
15) riprap - broken stones on water used to protect riverbanks
16) see-saw - children playing on a piece of wood with a central balance
which
allows it to move up and down
18) shilly-shally - unable to come to a decision
19) tick tock - sound of a clock
20) tittle-tattle - idle chat or gossip
21) zigzag - sharp turns in alterating directions
Is there rhyming? Yes. You might have noticed that these compound words
do not rhyme in the usual way. Have you noticed that the two components
of these words have same consonants? Yes you agree. Then what makes the
difference? Yes the vowels alone are replaced. So they are alliterative i.e. the
repetition of usually initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring
words or syllables.
C. Rhyming Type - Repetitive Compound words: This peculiar word
formation is for the sake of rhyming. Consider following examples:
1) airy-fairy - One that is insubstantial or impractical
2) argy-bargy - verbal dispute
3) artsy-fartsy - pretentiously or affectedly artistic (also arty-farty)
4) boo hoo - crying sound
5) boogie-woogie - piano jazz style
6) bow-wow - the sound of a dog
7) easy-peasy - very easy
8) fuddy-duddy - conservative or dull person
9) hanky-panky - suspicious behaviour
10) heebie-jeebies - nervousness
11) helter-skelter - haphazard
12) higgledy-piggledy - muddled
13) hocus-pocus - trickery; a magician's incantation
14) hodge-podge - a confused mixture
15) hoity-toity - haughty
16) itsy-bitsy - tiny
17) jeepers creepers - exclamation of surprise
18) mumbo-jumbo - derogatory reference to a religious or spiritual ritual
19) namby-pamby - feeble, weak
20) nitty gritty - the facts
21) okey-dokey - OK
22) super-duper - very pleasing
23) willy-nilly - whether it's wanted or not
dis-: I dislike the medicine. + distrust, dissatisfiedil-: It is illegal to jaywalk. + ill-mannered, illiterateim-: His actions were improper. + imperfect, impracticalin-: His answer was incorrect. + inactive, insecureir-/ear He is an irresponsible ski bum. + irregular, irreplaceable
mal-: What caused the alarm to malfunction? + malformed, malpracticemis-: I mistrust some politicians. + misguided, mismatchnon-: He flew nonstop to New York. + nonfood, nondairyun-: I can't unzip my coat. + unable, undocounter-: Water will counteract the burning. + counterculture, countermoveanti-: He put antifreeze in the car. + antibiotic, antismoking
re-: (again): Frank will rewrite his letter. + redo, retellpre- (before): The pizza is precut. + presold, pregameco- (together): Fred's coworker is ill. + copilot, coanchorde- (from, remove): We should defrost the refrigerator. + decode, destabilizebe- (by): Will you stand beside me? + behead, becalma- (on): The empty boat is afloat. + afire, awash
hyper- (over): The monkey is hyperactive. + hyperacidity, hyperexcitedhypo- (under): Hypodermic needles are used to give flu shots. + hypotensioninter-(between): Go on the interstate (between cities) highway. + interbanksub- (below): His temperature is subnormal. + subzerosuper- (over): The fireman made a superhuman effort. + supermarkettrans- (across): Linberg made the first transatlantic flight. + transpolar
uni- (one) Charlie rode his unicycle in the parade. + unilateral, unisexbi- (two) He is riding his mountain bicycle. + biannual, biplanetri- (three) Timmy got a tricycle for Christmas. + tricolor, trianglequadr- (four) A square is a quadrangle. + quadriplegic, quadrennialquin- (five) Have you heard of the Dione quintuplets? + quintet, quintuplicatedec- (ten) We are near the end of the decade. + decathlon, decalogue
centi- (hundredth or hundred) There are 2.54 centimeters in an inch. + centiliter, centennialmilli- (thousandth) Fingernails grow one millimeter in about 10 days. + milliliter, milligramkilo- (thousand) A kilogram is a little over two pounds. + kilometer, kilowattmega- (million) A megaton is a very large amount. + megadose, "megabucks"
semi- (half) He drew a semicircle.+ semiannual, semitrailermulti- (more than one, many) "Syllable is a multisyllabic word. + multistage, multilingualpoly- (many) A polysyllable is a big word. + polygon, polygraphmicro- (very small) You can see germs with a microscope. + microbe, microchipmacro- (large) You can see macroscopic bugs with the naked eye. + macroscale, macronutrientmini- (small) What is the doctor's minimum fee? + minibike, miniskirtmaxi- (extra large) What is the maximum you will pay? + maximize, maximal
