Etymology terms

Euphemism

• A word or phrase that is considered less offensive or less vulgar than the one it replaces

• “she passed away today”

Colloquial language

• Everyday language; usually applies to the spoken word

Cognates

• Words formed by combining the roots of 2 different languages

Blend words

• Words that blend two already defined words: for example, “smog” (smoke+fog) or “jazzercise” (jazz music + exercise)

Hybrids

• A word which etymologically has one part derived from one language, and another part from another language

• Ex: bioluminescenceGreek “bios” meaning

“living” + Latin “lumen” meaning “light”

linguistics

• Study of the origins and structure of human language

• Sub-disciplines include evolutionary linguistics, historical linguistics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, and neurolinguistics

semantics

• Study in the historical change in the meaning of words – how language conveys meaning

• For example, the sentence “Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.” is well-formed in word order, but makes no sense!

• Or “A student met every professor.” A different student, or the same student?

Word component

• Part of a word, such as the root

Abstract word

• A word not perceived by the five senses

• Ex: love, success, freedom, good, moral , democracy, and any –ism (chauvinism, Communism, feminism, racism, etc.)

Clipped words

• New words that are shortened forms of existing words (for example, “cab” which was clipped from “cabriolet,” which was a one-horse carriage with 2 seats and a folding top)

analogy

• The process of connecting information from one subject to another particular subject

• Example: Milk : Cow :: Egg : ChickenAnalogies have been discussed

since classical antiquity by philosophers, scientists, and lawyers!

inflection

• Alteration of a word to indicate different grammatical and syntactical relations

jargon

• Specialized expressions native to a particular field, subculture, or region

affix

• Word element attached to a root word

• Can be a prefix, suffix, combined form, or infix (“infix” is a word inserted within the base form)

acronym

• Word formed from the initial letters or groups of letters of words in a phrase or series of words

• Examples: MADD (Mother’s Against Drunk Driving), NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

Apheresis and aphesis

• Removal of a letter, syllable, or unaccented vowel from the beginning of a word, such as “coon” for “racoon” or “till” for “until”

Romance languages

• Comprise all the languages derived from Latin, the language of ancient Rome

• 6 most common: Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Romanian, and Catalan (the official language of Andorra, a small country in southwestern Europe)

infusion

• Process by which words are introduced into another language

doublet

• Words in different languages derived from the same root

• Ex: “shirt” and “skirt” both Germanic, the first Old English, the second Old Norse

• Ex: “chief” and “chef” both from French (at different times)

Loan words

• A word borrowed from one language and incorporated into another

• Ex: “hors d’oeuvre” or “détente”

Abbreviations notes

• dim. = diminutive, a word used to convey a slight degree of the word meaning, smallness of the object, intimacy, or endearment (such as behaving like or talking to children)

Abbreviations notes cont’d

• eccl. = ecclesiasticalMeaning a word associated

with the church• var. = variant, meaning it

differs from another word in form only, being of the same essence/substance

Abbreviations notes cont’d

• vulgar = Vulgar Latin, meaning dialects of Latin spoken after the fall of the Roman Empire (in other words, nonstandard) as opposed to classical Latin (standard)