Word Formation

Types of Word Formation

1. Compounding
2. Conversion
3. Clipping
4. Blends
5. Backformation
6. Acronyms
7. Onomatopoeia
8. Eponyms
 1. Compounding
Definition: Two or more words
joined together to form a new
word.
Examples:
Home + work homework
Pick + pocket pickpocket
Note: The meaning of a compound is not
always the sum of the meanings of its parts.

Coconut oil oil made from coconuts.

Olive oil oil made from olives.
Baby oil oil
NOT foroil
babies
made from babies
cathouse a house where men visit prostitutes
blue-movies
blue-chip
 2. Conversion
Definition: Assigning an already existing
word to a new syntactic category.
Examples:
butter (N) to butter the bread
permit (V) an entry permit
empty (A) to empty the litter-bin
 3. Clipping

Definition: Shortening a polysyllabic word

by deleting one or more syllables
Examples:
Facsimile fax
Hamburger burger
Gasoline
Advertisement
Omnibus
 4. Blends

Definition: Similar to compounds, but

parts of the words are deleted.
Examples:
Motor + hotel Motel
Breakfast + lunch Brunch
Wireless + Fidelity Wi-Fi
Is this a blend?
 Case Study: Blends or Compunds
Wild-haired revolutionaries like Che Guevara have been
replaced by clean-cut metrosexual icons like soccer
star David Beckham and musician Ricky Martin.
(cbsnews.com, 25th November 2003).
No botox for the Retrosexual. No $1,000 haircuts. The
retrosexual man eats red meat heartily and at times
kills it himself. (The Washington Dispatch, 2nd May
2004).
Another recent coinage borne out of the current
preoccupation with male stereotyping is the noun and
adjective technosexual. (Macmillan Online, January
2005).
5. Back-formations
Definition: Creative reduction due to
incorrect morphological analysis.
Examples:
editor (1649)
edit (1791)
television (1907)
televise (1927)
 6. Acronyms
Definition: Words derived from the initials of
several words
Examples:
severe acute respiratory syndrome
SARS
Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus
SCUBA
 Other examples of Acronyms:

a) Radar a) Radio detecting and ranging

b) FYI b) For Your Information
c) TGIF c) Thanks God Its Friday
d) a.k.a d) also known as
e) Html e) Hypertext mark-up language
f) www f) World wide web
g) SWOT g) Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities and Threats
 7. Onomatopoeia
Definition: Words created to sound like the
thing that they name.

English Japanese Tagalog Indonesian

Cock-a-doo Kokekokko Kuk-kakauk Kukuruyuk

Meow Nya Niyaw Meong

 8. Eponyms

Definition: Words derived from

proper names or things.
Examples:
Kodak
Sandwich
Celcius
 Complete the process and
Identify the type of word formation:

1. Return on Investment ROI acronym

2. information, entertainment Infotainment blends
3. modulator, demodulator Modem blends
4. love, seat Loveseat compounding
5. International, police Interpol blends
6. A comb To comb conversion
7. delicatessen Deli clipping
8. Capt. Charles Cunningham Boycott Boycott eponym