Notes on Word Formation and Greek Roots (Lessons 1-5)

The Word

Definition (David Crystal, 1992): "the smallest unit of grammar which can stand alone as a complete utterance. It is a unit of expression in both spoken and written language."
- Orthographic word: unit bounded by spaces in writing.
- Phonological word: unit in speech bounded by real or potential pauses or juncture features.
- Abstract level: a grammatical unit consisting of morphemes (minimally, one free morpheme) and functioning to form phrases, clauses, and sentences.

The Lexeme

The notion of a word is more complex than a single definition.
Example in context: "The contract is witnessed by others and duly recorded."
Learners typically look up the base form in a dictionary (record) rather than the inflected form (recorded).
Recording, record, records, and recorded are different realizations of the same abstract vocabulary item, the lexeme RECORD.
Lexemes are the vocabulary items listed in dictionaries.
Key takeaway: physical word forms are realizations of lexemes.
- Examples of realizations (same lexeme): see, sees, seeing, saw, seen → all realizations of SEE.
- catch, catches, catching, caught → realizations of CATCH.
- tall, taller, tallest → realizations related to TALL.
- boy, boys → realizations of BOY.
- woman, women → realizations of WOMAN.

The Word Form

A word-form is a particular physical realization of a lexeme in speech or writing.
Example: the lexeme SEE has five different word-forms (see, sees, seeing, saw, seen).
The word-form tallest has seven letters.
If counting words in a passage, these five forms (see, sees, seeing, saw, seen) count as five word-forms of the same lexeme.

The Grammatical Word

A word form that bears grammatical properties (morphology and syntax), such as part of speech, tense, gender, number, etc.
Example using the verb CUT and the noun CUT:
- (a) Usually, I cut the bread on the table. → present tense, non-third person verb form of CUT.
- (b) Yesterday, I cut the bread in the sink. → past tense verb form of CUT.
- (c) That is why I have a cut on my finger. → CUT as a noun (a separate lexeme from the verb) with different class.
Conclusion: the same word-form (cut) can belong to different lexemes (verb CUT vs noun CUT) and thus be different grammatical words.

The Morpheme

Morphology: the study of word structure.
Simple words: cannot be segmented into smaller meaningful units (e.g., the, fierce, desk, eat, fee, at, water, drink).
Morphologically complex words: can be broken into smaller meaningful units (e.g., spoons, shirts) where the -s marks plurality.
Morpheme: the smallest unit that is either meaningful or has a grammatical function. A morpheme cannot be broken down into smaller units that are meaningful or mark a grammatical function.

Recurrent Morphemes

Some morphemes recur across many words with the same function, e.g., the negative morpheme un- (unwell, unsafe, unclean, unhappy, unfit, uneven).
Not all morphemes recur; for example, -dom appears in a relatively smaller set (martyrdom, kingdom, sheikhdom).
Morphemes can be combined to form more complex words (e.g., antidisestablishment and reincarnation).
Question for analysis: how to segment such complex words into morphemes? The following section provides standards/criteria for analyzing words.

Analyzing Words

Morpheme as the minimal meaningful unit implies each morpheme in a complex word should have a clear-cut meaning.
Some exceptions: prefixed morphemes like pre- and post- have clear meanings, while -fer (bear, bring, send) from Latin is etymologically meaningful but may not have a stable synchronic meaning across all words (prefer, infer, defer, confer, transfer).
Some linguists argue that the word in its entirety must be meaningful, not that each morpheme must have a stable meaning.
Conclusion: while morphemes are units of meaning, some morphemes do not have a consistent, universal semantic value across all occurrences.

Types of Morphemes: Roots, Affixes, Stems and Bases

7-1. Roots

A root is the core of a word, not reducible further. It may undergo minor changes in different realizations of a lexeme.
Example: LOOK → word-forms: look, looks, looking, looked; the look- part is the root.
Free morphemes: roots that can stand alone and carry meaning (lexical morphemes: nouns, adjectives, verbs, prepositions, adverbs).
Function words: a subset of free morphemes that signal grammatical relations rather than meaning (articles a, the; demonstratives this, that; pronouns I, you; conjunctions and, or, etc.).
Not all roots are free: many roots cannot occur in isolation; such roots are bound morphemes (e.g., -ceive in perceive, conceive, receive).

7-2. Affixes

Affixes are bound morphemes that attach to a base/root/stem.
English affixes types: (i) prefixes, (ii) suffixes, (iii) infixes.
- Prefixes: affix before the root (e.g., in- in incapable, invalid, indifference).
- Suffixes: affix after the root (e.g., -ly in happily, quickly, angrily).
- Infixes: inserted into the root itself (common in Semitic languages; rare in English).

7-3. Stems and Bases

Stem: the form of a word before inflectional affixes are added.
- Example: cats → stem cat + inflectional suffix -s; workers → stem work + suffix -er (to form worker) + suffix -s (plural).
Base: any unit to which affixes can be added (could be a root or a stem).
All roots are bases, but not all bases are free roots; bases may include affixes.
Inflectional vs derivational affixes:
- Inflectional: signal syntactic information (e.g., number, tense).
- Derivational: alter the meaning or grammatical category of the base.

Exercises

1) Define and give one fresh example of each: lexeme, grammatical word, word-form, morpheme.
2) Analyze morphemes in: dislike, unwind, report, distrust, uncover, recover, unable, rewrite, unlock, landless, disunited, redraw, ex-monk, disallow, penniless, unhappy, repel, ex-coach, disable, undo. Meaning of morphemes represented by ex-, in-, dis-, un-, re-, and -less?
3) In the Dickens sentence: Mr. Nickleby shook his head, and motioning them all out of the room, embraced his wife and children, and having passed them by turns to his languidly beating heart, sunk exhausted on his pillow.
- (a) List five free and three bound morphemes.
- (b) List three functional morphemes.

Lesson Two: Word-Formation Processes (I)

Three main word-formation types (affixation):
- Prefixation: prefix + base; sometimes changes word class; e.g., pre + determine.
- Suffixation: base + suffix; sometimes changes word class; e.g., friend + less.
- Compounding: base + base to form a new lexical unit; often the first base subcategorizes the second.
Organization: Each item presented with: Affix; Variations; Meaning; Mode of Combination; Examples.

Prefixation

1. Negative Prefixes: A-, AN-; DIS-; IN-; NON-; UN-
- Examples: amoral, asexual, anhydrous; disobey, disloyal, disorder; incomplete, incapable, incompetent; non-smoker, non-perishable; unfair, unwise, unforgettable.
2. Reversative/Privative Prefixes: DE-; DIS-; UN-
- Examples: decentralized, defrost, desegregate; disconnect, disinfect, disown; undo, untie, unzip.
3. Pejorative Prefixes: MAL-; MIS-; PSEUDO-
- Examples: maltreat, malformed; miscalculate, misfire; pseudo-classicism, pseudo-intellectual.
4. Prefixes of Degree or Size: ARCH-; CO-; HYPER-; MINI-; OUT-; OVER-; SUB-; SUPER-; SUR-; ULTRA-; UNDER-
- Examples: archduke, arch-enemy; co-education, cooperative; hypersensitive; mini-market; overeat; under- específicas; ultramicroscope.
5. Prefixes of Orientation and Attitude: ANTI-; CONTRA-; COUNTER-; PRO-
- Examples: anti-social; contradistinction; counter-espionage; pro-American.
6. Locative Prefixes: FORE-; INTER-; SUB-; SUPER-; TRANS-
- Examples: forearm; international; subcontract; supermarket; transplant.
7. Prefixes of Time and Order: EX-; FORE-; POST-; PRE-; RE-
- Examples: ex-president; foretell; post-war; pre-war; re-evaluate.
8. Number Prefixes: BI-, DI-; POLY-, MULTI-; SEMI-, DEMI-; TRI-; UNI-, MONO-
- Examples: bicycle; polyglot; semicircle; tripartite; unisex; unidirectional.

Lesson Two: Prefixes (continued)

The list includes many more entries with systematic patterns; note how prefixes modify meaning and sometimes word class.

Lesson Three: Word-Formation Processes (II)

Suffixation

1. Noun Suffixes

1-1. Denominal Nouns: Abstract

-AGE, -ERY/-RY, -FUL, HOOD, -ING (material), -ING (activity), -ISM, -OCRACY, SHIP
- Examples: baggage, mileage; drudgery, slavery, nursery, refinery; spoonful, glassful; boyhood, widowhood; tubing, carpeting; cricketing, farming; idealism, racism; democracy, dictatorship.

1-2. Denominal Nouns: Concrete

-EER, -ER, -ESS, -ETTE, -LET, -LING, -STER
- Examples: pamphleteer, engineer; teenager, villager; waitress, hostess; kitchenette, leafet; booklet, piglet; princeling, duckling; trickster, roadster.

1-3. Deverbal Nouns

-ANT, -EE, -ER/-OR, -AGE, -AL, -ATION, -ING, -MENT
- Examples: inhabitant, appointee, singer; agentive nouns; -age (breakage, drainage); -al (revival, upheaval); -ation (exploration); -ing (building); -ment (arrangement).

1-4. De-adjectival Nouns

-ITY, -NESS
- Examples: elasticity, sanity; meanness, happiness, usefulness.

1-5. Noun/Adjective Suffixes

-ESE, -(I)AN, -IST
- Examples: journalese; Darwinian; violinist; republican; Parisian; Chomskyan.

2. Adjective Suffixes

2-1. Denominal Suffixes (adjectives from nouns)

-ED, -FUL, -ISH, -LESS, -LIKE, -LY, -Y, etc.
- Examples: wooded, useful, fearless, doglike, kindly, daily, sandy.

2-2. Deverbal Suffixes (adjectives from verbs)

-ABLE, -IVE; sometimes -ATIVE (talkative, affirmative)
- Examples: debatable, washable; attractive, productive; talkative, talkative; decorative → decorative, etc.

3. Adverb Suffixes

-LY, WARD(S), -WISE
- Examples: calmly; earthward; clockwise; education-wise.

4. Verb Suffixes

-ATE, -EN, -IFY/-FY, -IZE/-ISE
- Examples: orchestrate, sadden, simplify, modernize.

Lesson Four: Word-Formation Processes (III)

Compounding

A compound is a lexical unit formed from more than one base that functions as a single word.
Generally two bases (some exceptions abbreviated). Types include noun compounds, adjective compounds, verbless compounds, etc.

1. Noun Compounds

1-1. Type: Subject and Verb

SUNRISE (subject + deverbal noun; the sun rises). Very productive: bee-sting, daybreak, earthquake, frostbite, heartbeat, landslide.

1-2. Type: Verb and Object

BLOODTEST (object + deverbal noun). Moderately productive: birth-control, book review, crime report, dress-design, self-control, self-destruction, tax cut.

1-3. Type: Verb and Adverbial

SWIMMING POOL (verbal noun in -ing + adverbial). Very productive: diving board, freezing point, frying pan, typing paper.

1-4. Verbless Compounds

WINDMILL, TOY FACTORY, BLOODSTAIN, DOORKNOB, SECURITY OFFICER (types with noun-noun combinations; some convey power/production or function).

2. Adjective Compounds

2-1. Type: Verb and Object

MAN-EATING (object + -ing participle). Self is a common first constituent: breathtaking, record-breaking, self-justifying.

2-2. Type: Verb and Adverbial

OCEAN-GOING (adverbial + -ing). Examples: law-abiding, self-employed.

2-3. Type: Verbless

FOOTSORE (noun adverbial element + adjective); GRASS-GREEN (noun + adjective).

3. Verbless Compounds (continued)

Examples include DARKROOM, FROGMAN, SNOWFLAKE, ASHTRAY, etc., often expressing purpose or characteristic.

Lesson Five: Greek Roots, Prefixes & Suffixes (I)

Greek Roots & Meanings

anthrop – man, mankind
arch, archi – chief, first
biblio, bibli – book
dem – people
gen, gon – kind, race, origin
gon – angle
gyn, gynaec – woman, female
graph, gram – write, describe
log – idea, word, study
miso – hate
meter, metr – measure
phil – love
phon – sound
theo – god
Vowel linking between roots: the most common linking vowel is o (e.g., phonograph). A linking vowel may be part of the original root (anthropology). Either such vowel may be absent before a root starting with a vowel (misanthrope).
Greek roots are listed without the linking vowel, with exceptions: (1) vowels other than o appear (arch, archi); (2) vowels appear when the element seldom occurs without a vowel (geo); or when the vowel distinguishes the element from a similar root/prefix (bio-life; bi-two).
Variations such as graph (from a verb) and gram (from a noun) are listed without distinction in meaning.
Do not confuse this root with metr meaning mother; metropolis, metronym.

Greek Prefixes & Meanings

archae-, archa- ancient
caco- bad, ill
eu- good, well
hetero- various, unlike
homo- same
mega-, megalo- large, long
micro- small
macro- large, long
olig- few
ortho- correct, straight
pan-, panto- all
poly- many
tele- far, distant

Greek Suffixes & Meanings

-latry, -later, -latrous – worship; worshipper
-mancy, -mancer, -mantic – divination, diviner, pertaining to divination
-mania, -maniac – madness for; one who has a madness for
-phobia, -phobiac, -phobe – dread of; fearful of; one who fears

Words to Learn (selected examples)

anthropology, anthropometry, aphonia, archaeology, bibliomania, bibliophile, cacography, cacophony, euphony, graphology, megalomania, megaphone

Combinations and Examples with "anthropo-"

anthropology = anthropo + log + y
- Noun (mass noun): The study of humankind; includes cultural or social anthropology; physical anthropology; etc.
- Examples of related terms: anthropocentric, anthropoid, anthropomorphic, anthropopathy, anthropophagi, anthroposophy.
anthropometry = anthropo + metr + y
- Noun: Scientific study of measurements/proportions of the human body.
aphonia (also aphony) = a + phon + ia
- Noun: Inability to speak due to laryngeal/mouth disease or damage.
- Origin: Late 17th cent. from Greek aphonia, from aphonos 'voiceless'.
archaeology (US also archeology) = archaeo + log + y
- Noun: Study of human history/prehistory via excavation and artefacts.
- Origin: Early 17th cent.; from Greek arkhaiologia ‘ancient history'.
bibliomania = biblio + mania
- Noun: Passionate enthusiasm for collecting books.
bibliophile = biblio + phile
- Noun: A person who loves or collects books.
cacography = caco + graph + y
- Noun: Bad handwriting or spelling (archaic).
cacophony = caco + phon + y
- Noun: Harsh discordant sounds; metaphorical uses too.
euphony = eu + phon + y
- Noun: Pleasing sound; tendency to phonetic ease; euphony in language.
graphology = grapho + log + y
- Noun: Study of handwriting to infer character; study of writing systems.
megalomania = megalo + mania
- Noun: Obsession with power; delusions of grandeur; often in psychiatric contexts.
megaphone = mega + phone
- Noun: A device to amplify a voice.