English Language 9093 - Paper 3 - 2

eponym

a word that takes the name of its inventor or discoverer

prefix

Groups of letters placed before a word to alter its meaning.

suffix

a group of letters placed at the end of a word to change its meaning

root/stem

the part of a word which cannot be changed and which can be added to for a change in meaning

conversion

creating a new word or word class from an existing one or from different word class (green in golf )

telescoping

The contraction of a phrase, word or part of a word - like a telescope being closed (e.g. biodegradable from biologically degradable)

compounding

forming a word from two or more units that are themselves words (blackboard)

blending

forming a new word by joining the beginning of one word to the end of another (smog - smoke and fog )

coalescence

the phonological process whereby two sounds merge into one (assume - ashume)

backformation

the formation of a simpler word from an existing one that appears to be derived from it (enthuse - enthusiasm )

reduplication

repeating a whole syllable with identical or slight change e.g. 'dada' and 'mama'

borrowing

the introduction of specific words, constructions, or morphological elements from one language to another

neuter

Neither masculine nor feminine in gender, neutral

inflection

any form or change of form distinguishing grammatical forms of the same lexical unit (book - books, inflection -s)