Formation and Origin of Words - English Grammar Notes

• Introduction
• Answers

Introduction

• Some words in the English language have unique origins and formations.
  1. Sound words (onomatopoeias)
     - Some of the words imitate the sounds they represent. These words are called sound or onomatopoeic words. For example, the words bang and crash describe a loud, sudden noise. The word murmur describes a low, soft noise that keeps going.
     - Many English words imitate noises made by animals. For example, the word chirp imitates the short, high sound made by a small bird or a cricket.
     
     Other examples of sound (onomatopoeic) words
     
     Beep         gobble           neigh        squeal
     blast          growl            purr          tick
     buzz          hiss               quack       zip
     clang         honk              rip           clatter
     hum          roar               crack        meow
     smash       crunch            moo         splash
     
     Exercise 1
     
     Write a sound word for each of the following descriptions.
     1. The sound of something breaking
     2. The loud, deep sound of a lion.
     3. The sound of a clock.
     4. The sound of an angry dog.
     5. The sound of a loud bell.
     6. The sound made by a duck.
     7. The sound of a bottle opening.
     8. The sound of a cat drinking milk.
     9. The sound of a bomb exploding.
     10. The sound of a snake.
  2. Words that come from names of people and places (Eponyms)
     - Some of the words in the English language come from the names of people and places.
     
     Examples:
     

     Word	Meaning	Named after
     Sandwich	Two or more slices of bread with meat between them.	John Montagu, the fourth Earl of Sandwich, who liked eating meat between slices of bread.
     Maverick	A person who breaks from conventional actions	Samuel Maverick, a Texas cattle owner who refused to brand the calves of one of his herds as per the requirements.
     Saxophone	A musical wind instrument	Adolphe Sax, the Belgian inventor of the musical instrument.
     Madras	A cotton cloth with a design or pattern on plain background	Madras, a city in India, where it was invented.
     Rugby	A game	Rugby school. England, where rugby was invented.
     Tarantula	A large, hairy spider	Taranto, a town in Italy where Tarantulas are found.
     Shylock	A greedy money-lender	The relentless and vengeful money- lender in Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice.
     Sousaphone	A musical instrument	John Phillip Sousa, an American composer who invented the Sousaphone.

     
     - There are many more words in the English language which originated from names of people or places.
     
     Exercise 2
     
     Find out from your dictionary the origins and meanings of the following English words.
     1. lima bean              6. guppy            11. guillotin
     2. cardigan                7. cheddar         12. macadam
     3. bloomer                8. quisling         13. pasteurisation
     4. canary birds           9. silhouette       14. watt
     5. Ferris wheel          10. Marxism       15. ohm
  3. Words formed from blending two or more words (portmanteau words)
     - Some words in the English language are a blend of two or more words or morphemes.
     
     Examples:
     

     Word	Combination of	Meaning
     Smog	Smoke + fog	A combination of smoke and fog in the air.
     Fantabulous	Fantastic + fabulous	Incredible, astonishing, unbelievable, wonderful
     Brunch	Breakfast + lunch	A late breakfast taken some hours before lunch
     Wikipedia	Wiki + encyclopaedia	A website
     Comcast	Communication + broadcast
     Verizori	Veritas + horizon
     Accenture	Accent + future
     Spork	Spoon + fork	An eating utensil that is a combination of a spoon and a fork.
     Skort	Skirt + shorts	An item of clothing that is part skirt and short.
     Simulcast	Simultaneous + broadcast	To broadcast a programme on television and radio at the same time
     Cyborg	Cybernetic + organism
     Motel	Motor + hotel	A roadside hotel

     
     
     Exercise 3
     
     Identify the words that are blended to form the following words. Find out their meanings from your dictionary.
     1. slithy             6. breathalyser
     2. chortle           7. cable gram
     3. galumph        8. camcorder
     4. bash              9. edutainment
     5. blog             10. email
  4. Words formed by use of prefixes and suffixes
     Some words are formed addition of prefixes and suffixes to other words.
     
     Prefixes

     - A prefix is a word part that is added to the beginning of a word to form another word or to change its meaning. The word to which the prefix is added is called the base word.

     Examples:
     

     Prefix	Base word	New word
     un  pre	friendly  pay	unfriendly prepay

     
     - A prefix changes the meaning of the base word. For example, the prefix un-above means “not”. Hence, unfriendly means “not friendly”. Each prefix has its own meaning.

     More examples of common English prefixes
     

     Prefix	Meaning	Examples
     mis re pre ante anti contra counter en extra inter intra non over post pre pro re semi trans un under	wrong, incorrectly again before, in advance before, preceding opposing, against, the opposite against opposition, opposite direction put into or on outside, beyond between, among inside, within absence, negation excessively, completely after in time, or order before in time, place order or importance favouring, in support of again half, partly across, beyond not beneath, below	misspell – to spell incorrectly revisit – visit again preschool – before school antecedent, ante-room anti-aircraft, antibiotic, anticlimax contraceptive, contraband counter-attack, counteract engulf, enmesh extraordinary, extracurricular interact, interchange intramural, intravenous non-smoker, non-alcoholic overconfident, overjoyed postpone, post-mortem precondition, preadolescent Pro-African repaint, reawaken semicircle, semi-conscious transnational, transatlantic unacceptable, unreal, unhappy, unmarried underarm, undercarriage

     Exercise 4

     Give the meaning of the following prefixes and write two examples each of words in which they are used. Use your dictionary.

     1. ultra-           6. infra-
     2. hypo-           7. hypo-
     3. hemi-           8. hemi
     4. ex-               9. ex-
     5. dia               10. dia
        
     
     Suffixes
     - A suffix is a word part that is added to the end of a base word to form a new word or to change its meaning.
     
     Example:
     
     Enjoy + able = enjoyable
     
     - Each suffix has its own meaning. The suffix “able” means “capable of”. Hence enjoyable means “capable of being enjoyed”.
     
     Common English suffixes
     

     Suffix	Meaning	Examples
     Noun Suffixes -acy -al -ance, -ence -dom -er, -or -ism -ist -ity, -ty -ment -ness -ship -sion, -tion Verbs suffixes -ate -en -ify, -fy -ize, ise Adjective suffixes -able, -ible -al -esque -ful -ic, -ical -ious, ous -ish - ive -less -y	state or quality act or process of quality of place or state of being one who doctrine, belief one who quality of condition of state of being position held state of being become become make or become become capable of being pertaining to reminiscent of notable for pertaining to characterized by having the quality of having the nature of without characterized by	privacy, advocacy refusal, dismissal Maintenance, eminence freedom, kingdom trainer, protector Communism, Marxism chemist, pharmacist veracity, curiosity argument, armament heaviness, fearlessness fellowship, headship concession, transition eradicate, fumigate enlighten, fugliten terrify, specify civilize, apologize edible, presentable regional, sectional picturesque fanciful, colourful musical, mythic nutritious, portentous fiendish, greenish creative, abusive endless, pointless sleazy, cheeky

     
     Exercise 5
     
     Add an appropriate suffix to each of the following words and then give the meaning of the new word.
     1. hope            6. green
     2. read             7. wear
     3. child             8. fear
     4. grey             9. kind
     5. play             10. wash

Answers 

Exercise 1

1. crack                   6. quack
2. roar                     7. pop
3. tick                     8. lap
4. growl                  9. boom
5. chime                10. hiss

Exercise 2

1. Lima bean – a broad, flat, pale-green or white bean used as a vegetable – named after Lima, the capital of Peru where it was grown first.
2. Cardigan – a kind of a pullover or sweater that buttons down the front – named after J.T. Brudwell, the 7th Earl of Cardigan.
3. Bloomer – a woman’s baggy and long garment for the lower body – named after Amelia Bloomer, an American women rights and temperance advocate.
4. Canary birds – yellow songbirds – named after Canary Islands, Spain, where they are found in large numbers.
5. Ferris wheel – a special wheel for an amusement park – named after the inventor G.W. Ferris.
6. Guppy – the most popular freshwater tropical fish – named after R.J.L. Guppy, the man who introduced it in England.
7. Cheddar – A firm Cheese – named after the English village of Cheddar, where it was first made.
8. Quisling – a person who treacherously helps to prepare for enemy occupation of his own county, a traitor – named after Vidkum Quisling, a Norwegian politician.
9. Silhouette – an outline portrait or profile – named after a French minister of finance, Etienne de Silhouette.
10. Marxism – the political and economic theories of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels – named after Karl Marx.
11. Guillotine – a device used for carrying out executions – named after Dr. Joseph Guillotine, the designer.
12. Macadam – small, broken stones that are used for making roads – named after John L. McAdam, a Scottish engineer who invented this kind of a road.
13. Pasteurisation – the process of heating milk, wine, beer, or other liquids hot enough to kill harmful bacteria and to prevent or stop fermentation – named after Louis Pasteur, a French chemist, who invented the process.
14. Watt – Unit of measuring electric power – named after James Watt, a Scottish engineer, who pioneered in the development of the steam engine.
15. Ohm – a measure of electrical resistance – named after George S. Ohm, a German physicist.

Exercise 3

1. slithy – lithe + slimy                  6. breathalyser – breath + analyser
2. chortle – chuckle + short           7. cablegram – cable + telegram
3. galumph – gallop + triumph       8. camcorder – camera + recorder
4. bash – bang + smash                9. edutainment – education + entertainment
5. blog – web + log                      10. email – electronic + mail

Exercise 4

1. utra – beyond – ultraviolet, ultrasonic
2. syn – in union – synchronize, symmetry
3. sub – at a lower position – submarine, subsoil
4. peri – round, about – perimeter
5. out – surpassing, exceeding – outperform
6. infra – below – infrared, infrastructure
7. hypo – under – hypodermic, hypothermia
8. hemi – half – hemisphere
9. ex – previous – ex-wife, ex-policeman
10. dia – across, through – diagonal

Exercise 5

1. hopeful – full of hope                          6. greenish – having green colour
2. reader – a person who reads               7. weary – tired
3. childish – having manners of a child     8. fearless – lacking fear
4. greyish – having grey colour               9. kindness – the quality of being kind
5. playful – fond of playing                    10. washable – can be washed