- •Передмова
- •Revision:
- •Reading:
- •Dissertations:
- •Electronic Resources:
- •Revision:
- •Reading:
- •Electronic resources:
- •Revision:
- •Reading:
- •Dissertations:
- •Electronic Resources:
- •Semantic change Definition of semantic change / Extension (Generalization) / Narrowing (Specializaation) /Amelioration / Pejoration / Further kinds of semantic change / Folk etymology
- •Revision:
- •Reading:
- •Electronic Resources:
- •2.3 Polysemy Stages of semantic change /Definition of polysemy and polysemes / Polysemy vs Homonymy / Examples of polysemes / Polysemy vs Indeterminacy /Linguistic processes governing polysemy
- •Revision:
- •Reading:
- •Electronic Resources:
- •2.4 Homonymy and paronymy Definition of Homonyms / Origins of Homonyms / Partial Homonyms / Homographs / Homophones / Capitonyms / Heterologues / Stylistic use of Homonyms / Paronyms
- •Revision:
- •Reading:
- •Dissertations:
- •Electronic Resources:
- •Antonymy Definition of Antonyms / Derivation of Antonyms / Gradable Antonyms / Complementary Antonyms / Other types of Antonyms /Auto-Antonyms
- •Revision:
- •Reading:
- •Electronic resources:
- •2.6 Synonymy Definition of Synonymy and Synonyms / Types of Synonyms / The Basic Semantic Functions of Synonyms / Synonym Paradigms / Non-Lexical Synonymy /
- •Revision:
- •Reading:
- •Dissertations:
- •Electronic Resources:
- •Other semantic relations between words Hyponyms and Hypernyms / Incompatibility / Holonymy and Meronymy / Series / Hierarchies
- •Revision:
- •Reading:
- •Dissertations:
- •Electronic Resources:
- •Word-formation
- •Revision:
- •Reading:
- •Dissertations:
- •Electronic Resources:
- •3.2 Affixation Definition and affix types / Suffixation / Semi-suffixes / Prefixation / Semi-prefixes
- •Revision:
- •Reading:
- •Dissertations:
- •Solid compound adjectives
- •Revision:
- •Reading:
- •Dissertations:
- •Electronic Resources:
- •3.4 Minor linear derivation types
- •Revision:
- •Reading:
- •Electronic Resources:
- •Revision:
- •Reading:
- •Revision:
- •Reading:
- •5. Phraseology
- •Revision:
- •Reading:
- •Electronic Resources:
- •Revision:
- •Reading:
- •Dissertations:
- •Electronic Resources:
- •Revision:
- •Reading:
- •Dissertations:
- •Dictionaries:
- •Online resources:
- •Exercises
- •Reading:
- •Subject index
- •Name index
Dissertations:
Андрусяк І.В. Англійські неологізми кінця ХХ століття як складова мовної картини світу: Дис... канд. філол. наук: 10.02.04. / І.В. Андрусяк. — Ужгород, 2003. — 268 c.
Врабель Т. Т. Словотворча прагматика у сучасній англійській мові: Автореф. дис... канд. філол. наук: 10.02.04 / Т. Т. Врабель. — Донецьк, 2005. — 20 с.
Гармаш О. Л. Система словотвору англійської мови та інноваційні процеси: Автореф. дис... канд. філол. наук:
Шиманович Г.М. Назви осіб як відображення динаміки розвитку англійської мови у ХХ столітті / Ганна Миколаївна Шиманович // Мовні і концептуальні картини світу. – №7. – Київ: ЛОГОС. – 2002 – С.527-532.
Electronic Resources:
Albright A. From clusters to words: grammatical models of nonce-word acceptability / Adam Albright [Електронний ресурс]. – Chicago, 2008. - http://web.mit.edu/albright/www/papers/Albright-LSA2008Handout.pdf
Nonce-word. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Електронний ресурс]. – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonce_word 12 February 2010 at 00:32.
3.2 Affixation Definition and affix types / Suffixation / Semi-suffixes / Prefixation / Semi-prefixes
Affixation is creating new words by adding affixes to the base morpheme (a root or a stem). Affixes can either be derivational, i.e. used to produce new words, like –able, -ful or pre-; or inflectional, i.e. used to build grammatical forms, like the plural ending –s or the past participle ending –ed.
Affixes can be productive (e.g. -ness) and unproductive (e.g. the Old English noun-forming suffix –th, as in length, strength, depth, width). Some affixes possess absolute productivity, which means that they are able to produce an almost unlimited number of derivatives from various stems. “There is a line to be drawn between ‘actual Enlgish words’ (e.g. sandstone, unwise) and ‘potential English words’ (e.g. lemonstone, unexcellent), both of these being distinct from ‘non-English’ words like selfishless which, because it shows suffix –less added to an adjective rather than to a noun, does not even obey the rules of word-formation.
Affixes possess relative meanings, i.e. their meanings become actualized within the word. The meanings of the affixes are generalized. For example, words with the suffix -er, may have the general meaning ‘doer of the action’, like driver; or the prefix pre- has the general meaning of ’before’, like prenuptual (before marriage).
The main types of affixes in the English language are suffixes and prefixes. Derivation types using affixes are called, respectively, suffixation and prefixation.
Suffixation is adding a word-forming morpheme (a suffix) to the end of the base morpheme to coin a new word. Unlike prefixes, suffixes commonly alter the word-class of the base. For example, the adjective soft is changed into an abstract noun softness by the addition of the suffix –ness.
Table 1 contains the list of the commonest derivational suffixes
Abstract-noun-makers |
||
> age |
frontage, mileage, marriage, cleavage, acreage, peerage, rootage, herbage, harbourage, hermitage, parsonage |
|
> dom |
officialdom, stardom, martyrdom, freedom, dukedom, computerdom, fandom, rascaldom |
|
>ery |
drudgery, slavery, robbery, tomfoolery, adultery, apery, jewellery, greenery, crockery, pottery, cutlery, monkery, jobbery, mastery, misery; tannery, brewery, nunnery, vinery, bindery |
|
> ful |
capful, cupful, bucketful, spoonful |
|
> hood |
brotherhood, girlhood, statehood, sainthood, selfhood, priesthood, womanhood |
|
> ing |
farming, panelling, cabling, carrying, law-making, deafening, gearing, glazing, landscape-gardening, calling, daring, leading |
|
> ism |
idealism, racism, voluntarism, vulgarism, sizeism, sexism, gangsterism, meteorism, Darwinism |
|
> ocracy |
aristocracy, democracy |
|
> ship |
airmanship, draftsmanship, horsemanship, fellowship, friendship, acquaintanceship, authorship, censorship, citizenship, readership, listenership, membership, (your) Worship, (your) ladyship |
|
Concrete-noun-makers |
||
>eer |
engineer, racketeer, pioneer, volunteer |
|
> er |
teenager, cooker, plumber, financier, right-winger, courtier, villager, prisoner, New-Yorker, cottager |
|
> ess |
actress, waitress, lioness, largess, duress |
|
> ette |
kitchenette, dinette, leaderette, luncheonette, pianette, storiette, anchorette, brunette, suffragette, majorette, usherette, leatherette |
|
> let |
booklet, piglet, annulet, chainlet, eaglet, frontlet, necklet |
|
> ling |
fledgeling, firstling, fondling, groundling, overling, dapperling, underling, frogling, gosling, duckling |
|
> ster |
gangster, gamester, oldster, punster, rhymester |
|
Adverb-makers |
||
> ly |
quickly, happily, harshly, outwardly, naturally, daily, hourly, namely |
|
> ward(s) |
northwards, onwards, south-westward, skyward(s), eastward, shoreward, seaward |
|
> wise |
clockwise, lengthwise, otherwise, chequerwise, archwise, anticlockwise, percentagewise, budgetwise, trade-wise, bank-wise, tonnage-wise |
|
Verb-makers |
||
> ate |
orchestrate, chlorinate, activate, capacitate, sanitate |
|
> en |
deafen, ripen, shorten, strengthen, brighten, lighten, quicken |
|
> ify |
beautify, certify, aerify, acetify |
|
>ize/>ise |
modernize, advertise, extemporize, Americanize, oxidize |
|
Adjective-/noun-makers |
||
> ese |
Chinese, Portuguese, Vietnamese, cablese, commercialese, fashionese, journalese, Johnsonese |
|
> (i)an |
republican, agrarian, Parisian, Arabian, Georgian, Mohammedian |
|
> ist |
socialist, loyalist, moralist, technologist, palaeontologist, pacifist, monogamist |
|
> ite |
socialite, Luddite, Adamite, Benthamite, Carmelite, Trotskyite, urbanite, Yemenite |
|
Nouns from verbs |
||
> age |
breakage, wastage, usage, leakage, linkage |
|
> al |
refusal, revival, accrual, appraisal |
|
> ant |
informant, lubricant, celebrant, occupant, accountant, expectorant, inhalant |
|
> ation |
exploration, education, abirritation, activation, amelioration, cancellation, avocation, canalization, coloration |
|
> ee |
payee, absentee, appointee, mortgagee, selectee, abandonee, amputee, callee |
|
> er |
writer, driver, mocker, sinner, rider, leader, peacemaker, boarder, beginner, winner, , eraser, conditioner, container, extinguisher, sprayer |
|
> ing |
building, clothing, absorbing, kidnapping, camping |
|
> ment |
amazement, equipment, measurement, movement, embankment |
|
> or |
actor, supervisor, visitor, inventor, objector, decorator, transistor, ventilator |
|
Nouns from adjectives |
||
> ity |
rapidity, falsity jocosity, jollity, lability, magnanimity |
|
> ness |
happiness, kindness, abruptness, absoluteness, callousness, dampness, absent-mindedness, blessedness, all-at-once-ness, donothingness, thingness |
|
Adjectives from nouns |
||
> ed |
pointed, blue-eyed, talented, bearded, diseased, dungereed, kind-hearted, three-cornered, wounded, escaped |
|
> esque |
Kafkaesque, Romanesque, arabesque, Byzantinesque, Japanesque, statuesque, picturesque |
|
> ful |
useful, successful, blushful, beautiful, hopeful, blissful |
|
> ic |
atomic, Celtic, Gothic, angelic |
|
> (c)al |
editorial, accidental, additional, anginal, accidental, comical, theatrical, hysterical, aboriginal, canonical, categorical |
|
> ish |
Swedish, Polish, Lettish, British, Danish, liquorish, mawkish, modish, monkeyish, dilettantish, foolish |
|
> less |
careless, childless, healthless, roomless, sinewless, showerless, successless, changeless, countless |
|
> ly |
friendly, cowardly, womanly, motherly, manly, fatherly, hourly, daily, weekly, fortnightly, yearly |
|
> ous |
ambitious, desirous, dangerous, hazardous, abdominous, acetous, anonymous, bicephalous, righteous, dubious, spacious, capricious, heterophyllous |
|
> y |
sandy, hairy, healthy, dirty, horsy, nervy, newsy, pacificatory, panicky, witty |
|
Adjectives from verbs |
||
> able |
drinkable, washable, acceptable, passable, drinkable, adaptable, lovable |
|
> ive |
attractive, explosive, apprehensive, pensive, meditative |
|
Table 1. The Commonest English Derivational Suffixes
At the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st centuries such suffixes as -er; -ee; -ese; -ist have been particularly popular.
Words formed by means of the suffix -er have a generalized meaning of:
Doer of the action: writer, bypasser, singer, swimmer, dancer, jogger, fighter, diner, diver, hiker, dieter, acquirer, affirmer, authorizer, avower, babbler, bystander, cardholder, caregiver, caretaker;
An instrument: zipper, dish-washer, scraper, tighter, stinger, lighter, flipper, eraser, buffer, chiller, chopper, eyeliner;
Personal identification (way of life, belonging to a place, a group or a philosophy), profession: astronomer, philosopher, hacker, hipster, designer, photographer, prisoner, sniper, quitter, New Yorker, Londoner, northerner, villager, sixth-former, first-grader, bagpiper, bungler, latenighter, homesitter, dolittler.
An object possessing something denoted by the formative word (a metonymic model): three-wheeler, double-decker, locker.
The suffix –ee has a general meaning of ‘the patient of an action’, the one over whom the action is performed:
Nouns derived from verbs denoting ‘a person affected by an action’: employee, payee, trustee, trainee, tutee, referee, addressee, examinee, abductee, acceptee, adoptee, advisee, amputee, arrestee, awardee, communicate, conominee, dedicatee, deportee, designee, detainee, devotee, dischargee, done, draftee, electee, evictee, expellee, hackee, internee, interrogate, interrogee, interviewee, invitee, kidnappee, murderee, nominee, nonemployee, relocate, rejectee, selectee, transportee;
Nouns derived from adjectives, verbs or nouns denoting ‘a person described as or concerned with’: absentee, refugee, escapee, mortgagee, alienee, allottee, appellee, appointee, appraisee, assignee, attendee, bailee, bargee, biographee, bribee, conferee, consignee, contactee, cotrustee, debauchee, delegatee, departee, devisee, distributee, divorcee, drawee, endorsee, enlistee, enrollee, entrée, evacuee, franchisee, grantee, indictee, indorsee, inductee, legatee, lessee, libelee, licensee, listee, obligee, parolee, patentee, pawnee, payee, permittee, persecutee, pledgee, pollee, presentee, promise, retiree, returnee, signee, standee, transferee, warrantee.
Though, already in the year 1920 D.H. Lawrence uses this suffix to denote a victim of murder in his novel “Women in love”. Observe how, using various suffixes, the author explains his ideas:
It takes two people to make a murder: a murderer and a murderee. And a murderee is a man who is murderable. And a man who is murderable is a man who in a profound if hidden lust desires to be murdered6.
Another popular noun-forming suffix is –ist, which is used to derive words with the meaning ‘a person involved in or interested in’, such as dramatist, publicist, atheist, socialist, physicist, motorist, violinist, Buddhist, evolutionist, creationist, secularist, militarist, horticulturist, feminist, sexist, ageist, animalliberationist, healthist, particularist, pugilist.
Among adjective-forming suffixes the suffix –ese must be mentioned (which has the general meaning of ‘the language of’ or ‘the quality of’). By analogy with such words as Chinese and Japanese such words as Americanese, Washingtonese, jourmnalese, newspaperese, headlinese, golphese, telegraphese, computerese, legalese, motherese, fashionese, officialese have been coined.
By analogy with the suffixation model, parts of compounds are sometimes used to coin new words. In cases when many words are coined with help of the same element, the meaning of this element becomes generalized and its nature becomes close to that of a suffix. For example, in words sportswear, menswear, footwear, nightwear, swimwear the element –wear has a generalized meaning ‘a group of clothes used for a particular purpose’. Such words could also be called ‘pseudo-compounds’(Зацний, 1998, с.6), as the meaning of the second element is generalized.
At the end of the 20th – the beginning of the 21st centuries the process of conversion of lexemes into affixes (or, rather, semi-affixes) has been particularly active. Y.A. Zatsny names the following among the most productive semi-suffixes (Зацний, 1998, с.6): -abuse, -friendly, -line, -person, -something, -speak, -ware,-watch. Table 2 represents some derivatives with the most productive English semi-suffixes.
>abuse |
childabuse, internetabuse, drug-abuse, alcohol-abuse, substance-abuse, animal-abuse, police-abuse, peer-abuse |
>friendly |
user-friendly, investor-friendly, market-friendly, earth-friendly, eco-friendly, life-friendly, environment-friendly, vegetation-friendly, reader-friendly, kid-friendly, child-friendly, family-friendly, bandwidth-friendly, human-friendly |
>line |
hotline, helpline, topline, aidline, carline, dateline, hardline, hemline, hipline, jawline, lifeline, mainline, midline, multiline, neckline, plotline, roofline, sideline, silkaline, skyline, streamline, timeline, touchline, trotline, truckline, waistline |
>person |
chairperson, spokesperson, salesperson, businessperson, layperson, anchorperson, cameraperson, congressperson, craftsperson, draftsperson, handyperson, houseperson, layperson, newsperson, waitperson, weatherperson |
>something |
to denote age, more than: twenty-something, thirty-something, fourty-something, fifty-something; |
>speak |
fashionspeak, ecospeak, technospeak, doublespeak (by analogy with Newspeak in G. Orwell’s ‘1984’) |
>ware |
software, hardware, cheapware, wetware, barware, caneware, chinaware, earthenware, freeware, giftware, kitchenware, lusterware, metalware, silverware, tableware, teaware, tinware, vapourware, willowware, woodenware, yellowware |
>watch |
deathwatch, dogwatch, midwatch, outwatch, stopwatch, nightwatch, daywatch. |
Table 2. The Most Productive English Semi-suffixes
Table 3 shows other semi-suffixes that have been productive at the end of the 20th – the beginning of the 21st centuries as well:
>addicted |
alcohol-addicted, cocaine-addicted, chocolate-addicted, carbon-addicted, food-addicted, game-addicted, online-addicted, internet-addicted, net-addicted, comfort-addicted; |
>babble |
ecobabble, psychobabble, technobabble, eurobabble, conspiracy-babble, officebabble, babybabble, mediababble, Internetbabble, blonde-babble, sideshow-babble, actor-babble, fashionbabble, abortion-babble, science-babble; |
>fold |
in combination with numeral stems, Latin stems denoting quantity and English pronouns of quantity: threefold, fifteenfold, bifold, hundredfold, manyfold, millionfold, multifold, severalfold, thousandfold, trifold |
>head |
meaning ‘crazy about, addicted to’: cyberhead, digithead, nethead, sleepyhead, dopehead; |
>odd |
used with numerals, meaning ‘a bit more than’ thirty-odd, twenty-odd, fourty-odd, fifty-odd; |
>aid |
medicaid, relief-aid, food-aid, cash-aid, health-aid, grant-aid, net-aid; |
>aware |
eco-aware, ecologically-aware, politically-aware. |
>phobia |
technophobia, homophobia, computerphobia, photophobia |
>ville |
cyberville, Pleasantville, Farmville, wordville, |
> polis |
ideopolis, cosmopolis, megalopolis |
>land |
badland, benchland, blackland, downland, dreamland, fantasyland, filmland, parkland, screenland, tableland |
>sphere |
blogosphere, bathysphere, photosphere |
Table 3. Productive English Semi-suffixes
Sometimes slang becomes the source of wordbuilding components. Thus, slangy nouns junkie (a drug-addict) and savvy (knowledge, expertise) have started to function as semi-suffixes:
>junkie (synonymic to –head): data-junkie, java-junkie, sports-junkie, adrenaline-junkie, vinyl-junkie, magazine-junkie, information-junkie, knowledge-junkie, TV-junkie, science-junkie, fastfood-junkie, thrill-junkie, LSD-junkie, download-junkie, shoe-junkie, weather-junkie;
>savvy: business-savvy, techno-savvy, techsavvy, market-savvy, media-savvy, computer-savvy, startup-savvy, Cosmo-savvy, theatre-savvy, stock-savvy, crime-savvy, web-savvy, street-savvy,industry-savvy, production-savvy, money-savvy, career-savvy, fitness-savvy, design-savvy, Eurosavvy.
Sometimes semi-suffixes are produced using shortened stems (rear or initial parts of stems). For example, the element –tex in such names of cloth types as lastex, goretex, Playtex is the initial part of the word textile.
The same way, the rear part of the word sputnik (-nik) has served to coin a number of new lexemes with the general meaning ‘liking sth or doing sth denoted by the stem’ (dognik, popcornik, latenik, fashionnik, US-nik, sweetnik) or ‘often saying sth denoted by the stem’ (no-goodnik, enoughnik, so-whatnik, allrightnik). Words coined by means of semi-affixes of this sort have a telescopic nature.
The word hamburger, which originates from the name of a city in Germany (Hamburg), has as a result of false etymology been interpreted as stemming from two words: ham and burger. The part burger was later lexicalised and now denotes almost any type of sandwich. Besides, it is used as a semi-affix to form such words as chickenburger, fishburger, sausageburger, vegeburger.
The other examples of semi-suffixes originated from rear parts of word stems are:
>mail: goldmail, breakmail, greymail, greenmail (the words have been coined by analogy with blackmail and denote different types of blackmailing).
>gate: donorgate, Irangate, filegate, travelgate, Monicagate, Camillagate, tapegate, Raegangate (the words coied by analogy with Watergate to denote different kinds of scandals, especially political scandals).
>cade: autocade, camelcade, motorcade, tractorcade have been coined by analogy with cavalcade, as if the element >cade were to mean ‘a line of’, ‘procession’, although in fact this elemet is the result of the development of a Latin ending (Зацний, 1998, с.6).
>holic: in the 80s-90s of the 20th century multiple words have been coined to denote a person with any sort of addiction by analogy with alcoholic: chocoholic, milkaholic, phonaholic, spendaholic. The element >(а)holic, taken from the word alcoholic, has turned thus into a semi-suffix, although etymologically the suffix in this word is >іс (Зацний, 1998, с.6). Some other examples of the word with this semi-suffix are: foodoholic, golphoholic, shopoholic, shoeholic, clothesholic, webaholic, cookoholic.
>erati: the word glitterati derived from glitter+literati in the middle of the XXth century, and in the 90s it became a mold for some new coinages to denote people famous in certain spheres: culturati, cyberati, digerati, glamorati, journarati, creating a new semi-suffix, >erati (people famous in a particular sphere).
>zine: ‘a magazine’, ‘a regular issue’: letterzine, E-zine, catazine, skazine, thriftzine, Webzine.
>tel: airtel, boatel, condotel (from hotel).
>nomics: burgernomics, cуbernomics, mediconomics, Reiganomics, Clintonomics (from economics).
>plex: movieplex, megaplex, twelveplex (from multiplex).
>tainment: docutainment, casinotainment, edutainment, infotainment, transportainment (from entertainment).
>cize: (from exercise): jazzercise, aquacise, aerobicise;
>thon: (from marathon): dancethon, telethon;
>ocracy: (from aristocracy): do-ocracy, acre-ocracy, cheer-ocracy, Wiki-ocracy, she-ocracy, hip-ocracy, dumb-ocracy7;
>stan (from Afganistan, Pakistan): nerdistan;
>wood (from Hollywood): Bollywood.
Prefixation is adding a word-forming morpheme (a prefix) to the beginning of the base morpheme (the root or stem) to coin a new word. Prefixes do not normally alter the word-class of the base. Productive prefixes normally have a light stress on their first (or only) syllable, the main stress of the word coming on the base: ,pre’fabricated.
Table 4 shows the common English prefixes.
With the meaning of negation |
|
a> |
atheist, amoral, asexual, asymmetric |
dis> |
disagree, disadvantage, disaffected, disallow, disapprove, disarm, disband, disbelieve, disobey, disconsolate, discontent, discourtesy, dishonest, disinterested, dislike, disorder, disorganized, disuse |
in> |
indecisive, infinite, inaccurate, inadmissible, inadequate, inappropriate, inattentive, inauthentic, incivility, incomparable, incompatible, incompetent, incomprehensive, indecipherable, independent, indescribable, indestructible, insoluble, intransitive |
non> |
nonaligned, noncitizen, noncombatant, noncommittal, noncompliance, nonconformist, noncontroversial, non-flammable, nonlinear, nonpartisan, nonprofit, nonproliferattion, nonsmoker, nonslip, non-stick, non-stop, non-violent, non-white |
un> |
unadorned, unaffected, unaffiliated, unacquainted, unapologetic, unassisted, unbearable, unbecoming, unblemished, unblinking, uncensored, unconcealed, undemanding, undeniable, unhelpful, unsustainable, untamed, unvoiced, unwaged, unwary, unwise |
With the meaning of reversal |
|
de> |
debunk, decode, decommission, decompose, decompress, decrease, deflate, defraud, defrost, degenerate, dehumanize, dehumidifier, deselect |
dis> |
disarm, disable, disappear, discharge, disclose, discolour, disconnect, discontinue, discourage, discover, disengage, disentangle, disfigure, disgrace, disinfect, dismember, disunite |
un> |
unbalance, unban, unbend, unbutton, uncork, undo, undress, unfriend, unmask, untangle, untie, unveil, unwind |
With disparaging meaning |
|
ab> |
abnormal, abuse |
mal> |
maladministration, malcontent, malformation, malfunction, malnourished, malnutrition, malodorous, malpractice, maltreat |
mis> |
misapply, misbehave, miscalculate, miscarriage, miscast, misconceive, misconduct, misconstrue, misdiagnose, misinterpret, mishear, misjudge, mislead, misname, misplace, misprint, misquote, misshapen, mistreat, mistrust |
pseudo> |
pseudoclassic, pseudointellectual, pseudopregnancy, pseudorandom, pseudoscientific, pseudosophisticated, pseudotuberculosis
|
With the meaning of size or degree |
|
arch> |
archangel, archbishop, archdeacon, archdiocese, archduchess, archduke, archenemy, archrival |
co> |
cohabit, co-pilot, co-produce, cooperative, co-author, coexist |
hyper> |
hyperactive, hypercritical, hypermarket, hypercard, hypersensitive, hypertension, hyperventilate |
mega> |
megabucks, megahertz, megabyte, megaloan, megamerger, megaphone, megastar, megaton, megawatt |
mini> |
minibar, minicab, miniskirt, minibus, minidisc, minivan |
out> |
outbid, outclass, outdo, outbid, outgrow, outlast, outmanoeuvre, outnumber, outrun, outsell, outshine, outsmart, outvote, outweigh, outwit |
over> |
overbook, overcompensate, overcook, overcrowded, overdeveloped, overdressed, overdue, overeat, overgrowth, overheat, overload, overplay, overpopulated, overpriced, overqualified, overreact, oversell, oversized, oversleep, overstay |
sub> |
subcontract, subconscious, subculture, subeditor, subnormal, subplot, subsonic,subset, substructure, subtitle, subtotal |
super> |
superabundant, supercharged, supercomputer, superglue, superhero, superhighway, superhuman, supermarket, superman, supermodel, superpower, supersonic, superstar, superstate, superwoman |
sur> |
surtax, surcharge, surbase, surcoat, surpass, surplus, surprint, surrealism |
ultra> |
ultramodern, ultracasual, ultracool, ultrahot, ultracompetent, ultraconservatism, ultracontemporary, ultradense, ultrafeminine, ultralight, ultrarapid, ultraroyalist, ultrasensitive, ultraslick, ultrasmart |
under> |
underachieve, underage, undercharge, underclass, undercut, underdone, underemployed, underestimate, underexpose, underfed, underfunded, undernourished, underrate, undersell, undersized, understaffed, underused, undervalue, underweight |
vice> |
vice-captain, vice-chair, vice-president, viceregal, viceroy |
With the meaning of orientation |
|
anti> |
anti-aircraft, antibody, anti-choice, anticlockwise, anticoagulant, anticyclone, antidepressant, antidote, antifreeze antigen, antilock, antihero, antipersonnel, antiperspirant, antisocial, antithesis |
auto> |
autobiography, autocracy, autograph, autoimmune, autopilot, autosuggestion |
contra> |
contraindicate, contraflow, contradistinction, contradistinguish,contraindicate, contralateral, contraposition |
counter> |
counterclockwise, counteract, counteradvertising, counterassault, counterbalance, countercultural, countereffort, countermeasure, counterplay, counterproductive, countertendencies, countertrade, countertradition, counterweight, counterworld |
pro> |
proabortion, proactive, procreate, prolabor, pro-socialist, proconsul, provirus |
With the meaning of location and distance |
|
extra> |
extracellular, extracorporeal, extraembryonic, extragalactic, extrajudicial, extralinguistic, extralogical, extramarital, extramundane, extramural, extranuclear, extraordinary, extraterrestrial, extraterritorial, extratextual, extravascular |
fore> |
foreshore, foreleg, forearm, forebody, forebrain, forecourt, foredeck, foreface, forefeet, forefinger, foreground, forehand, forelady, forelock, forequarter, foreshorten, foreside, foreyard |
inter> |
intermarry, interplay, interannual, intercaste, intercede, interchange, interdepend, interdisciplinary, interdistrict, interdivisional, interinstitutional, interinvolve, intermeddle, interrelation, interreligious, intersubjective, intertie, intervillage |
intra> |
intravenous, intranational, intracardiac, intracerebral, intradermal, intragalactic, intragenic, intramolecular, intramural, intrapersonal, intraplate, intrapopulation, intraspecies, intrastate, intravascular, intrazonal |
pan> |
pan-African, pan-American, pandemic |
super> |
supercontinent, supercorporation, superscript, superstructure |
tele> |
telescope, telephone, telecast, telecommunication, telecourse, telegragh, teleplay, teleport, teleprinter, teleview, television |
trans> |
transplant, transatlantic, transact, transcend, transfiguration, transformation, transliteration, transmigration, transplant, transsexualism, transhipping |
under> |
underarm, underbelly, undercarriage, underclothes, undercoat, undercover, undercurrent, underfloor, underfoot, undergarment, underground, underpass, underwater |
With the meaning of time and order |
|
after> |
after-birth, after-care, after-effect, after-glow, after-life, after-math, after-shave, after-shock, after-taste, after-thought |
ante> |
antechamber, antedate, antenatal, anteroom |
ex> |
ex-husband, ex-wife, ex-president |
fore> |
forewarn, foreshadow, forecast, forecheck, foreclose, foredate, foredoom, forefather, forefeeling, forejudge, foregather, foreknow, orenoon, foreplay, forerun, foresee, foreshock, foreshow, foresight, forespeak, foretaste, foreteller, forethought |
neo> |
neo-Gothic, neoclassical, neo-colonial, neoconservatism, neoliberal, neonatal, neoorthodox, neorealism |
paleo> |
paleolithic, paleobotany, paleoanthropology, paleobiology, paleoclimatology, paleoecology, paleogeography, palaeographic, paleopathology, paleozoology |
post> |
postwar, postmodern, postaccident, postadolescent, postapocalyptic, postarrest, postatomic, postattack, postbiblical, postbourgeois, postclassical, postconvention, postfire, posttraumatic, postvaccinal, postworkshop |
pre> |
preassign, preboil, precensored, predefine, predestination, predetermine, predigest, preelect, pre-exist, prefreeze, prehistorical, preluncheon, premature, premodernism, prepay, prepuberty, preregistration, prewrap, preschool, premarital |
proto> |
protogalaxy, protohistorian, protohuman, protolanguage, protoplanet, protoplasm, protostar, prototype, protozoology, prototype, proto-European |
re> |
recycle, renew, re-join, reinvent, remarry, remodel, relocate, reenter, restart, retry, rewrite |
With the meaning of number |
|
bi> |
bicycle, bifocal, biceps, bilingual, billion, binary, bivalve, bimonthly, bigamy, biathlete, bicarbonate, bisexual, biped, binomial, bisect, biannual, bicameral, bicentennial, bicephalous, biaxial, bicuspid, bilateral |
demi> |
demigod, demitasse, demijohns, demilune, demimonde, demirep, demisemiquaver, demivolt, demiworld |
di> |
dioxide, digraph, dilemma, diode, disyllable, diatomic, dichotomy, dihedral, dimorphism, dioxide, diphthong, dipolar, disaccharide |
mono> |
monorail, monodrama, monogram, monohybrid, monolayer, monolingual, monomania, monomolecular, mononuclear |
multi> |
multiracial, multiaxial, multicampus, multidisciplinary, multiethnic, multihandicapped, multilingual, multinuclear, multipower, multiservice, multistoried, multitasking, multivariable, multivitamin, multiwavelength |
poly> |
polytechnic, polygamy, polycentrism, polychromatic, polyclinic, polycyclic, polycystic, polydactyl, polyembryonic, polyglot, polygon, polygraph, polymer, polymorph, polynomial, polynuclear, polyrhythmic, polysyllable, polyvinyl |
semi> |
semicircle, semidetached, semiautobiographical, semiautomatic, semiconductor, semiconscious, semiconserative, semidarkness, semideaf, semidocumentaries, semidwarf, semifitted, semiflexible, semifluid, semitransparent, semiyearly |
tri> |
trimaran, tripod, trialogue, triarchy, trichromatic, trident, trifocal, trifold, trigram, trigraph, trilinear, trilingual, trimester, Trinitarian, trinocular, trioxide, triphase, triplet, trisyllable, tritheism, triumvirate, triunity, trivalent, triweekly |
uni> |
unisex, unicycle, uniaxial, unicameral, unicellular, unicolor, unicorn, unidimensional, unidiomatic,unidirectional, unification, unilateral, unilinear, uniparental, unipod, unipolar, univalent, univocal |
Table 4. Common English Prefixes
Some prefixes take part in grammatical conversion: the words derived with their help belong to a word class different from the original word.
The prefix a> turns verbs into adjectives: astride, aboard, adrift, ajar, amiss, asleep, awake, awash.
Prefixes be> and en> participate in the process of deriving verbs from nouns and adjectives:
be>: befriend, belittle, bejewel, bespatter, bewitch;
en/em>: encase, enflame, endanger,empower, enlarge.
Prefixes in the English language have different origin. Such prefixes as over- and under- are former English adverbs.
There are a number of prefixes in the English language that are of Latin and Greek origin. Among them super> (superhero, supermodel), anti> (antispam, antiallergic), ultra> (ultrafashion, ultraheat), hyper> (hypertension, hypersensitivity); micro> (microbiology, mocrogroup); mono> (monotonous, monokini); bi> (bilateral, bifunctional); mini> (minivan, miniskirt); maxi> (maxidress, maxicoat).
A case of false etymology has lead to deriving new words by means of prefixation (the names of swimming suits for women bikini, trikini and monokini). The word bikini was derived from the name of the island Bikini in the Pacific. Later its initial part started to be perceived as a prefix with dual semantics (denoting two of something), therefore bikini is understood as a swimming suit consisting of two pieces, trikini – the one consisting of three pieces, and monokini is a one-piece swimming suit.
At the end of the 20th century the prefix über- was borrowed into English from German to denote the highest degree of a quality in semantic superlatives instead of such prefixes as super- or ultra- (compare supermodel – übermodel; ultrafashion - überfashion).
There are a number of semi-prefixes in the English language that are by origin are similar to semi-suffixes. Among them are:
Docu>: docuhistory, docufantasy, documusical, docuopera, docurecreation, docudrama;
Near-: nearaccident, neardeath, nearmonopoly;
Petro>: (from petrol): petrocurrency, petroeconomy, petropower, petrosheik;
Woman>: woman-doctor, woman-officer, womanpower.
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