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Diminutive Suffix
A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formation device used to express such meanings. In many languages, such forms can be translated as "little" and diminutives can also be formed as multi-word constructions such as " Tiny Tim". Diminutives are often employed as nicknames and pet names when speaking to small children and when expressing extreme tenderness and intimacy to an adult. The opposite of the diminutive form is the augmentative. Beyond the ''diminutive form'' of a single word, a ''diminutive'' can be a multi-word name, such as "Tiny Tim" or "Little Dorrit". In many languages, formation of diminutives by adding suffixes is a productive part of the language. For example, in Spanish can be a nickname for someone who is overweight, and by adding an suffix, it becomes which is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Root Word
A root (or root word) is the core of a word that is irreducible into more meaningful elements. In morphology, a root is a morphologically simple unit which can be left bare or to which a prefix or a suffix can attach. The root word is the primary lexical unit of a word, and of a word family (this root is then called the base word), which carries aspects of semantic content and cannot be reduced into smaller constituents. Content words in nearly all languages contain, and may consist only of, root morphemes. However, sometimes the term "root" is also used to describe the word without its inflectional endings, but with its lexical endings in place. For example, ''chatters'' has the inflectional root or lemma ''chatter'', but the lexical root ''chat''. Inflectional roots are often called stems, and a root in the stricter sense, a root morpheme, may be thought of as a monomorphemic stem. The traditional definition allows roots to be either free morphemes or bound morphemes. Root ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Affix
In linguistics, an affix is a morpheme that is attached to a word stem to form a new word or word form. Affixes may be derivational, like English ''-ness'' and ''pre-'', or inflectional, like English plural ''-s'' and past tense ''-ed''. They are bound morphemes by definition; prefixes and suffixes may be separable affixes. Affixation is the linguistic process that speakers use to form different words by adding morphemes at the beginning (prefixation), the middle (infixation) or the end (suffixation) of words. Positional categories of affixes ''Prefix'' and ''suffix'' may be subsumed under the term ''adfix'', in contrast to ''infix.'' When marking text for interlinear glossing, as in the third column in the chart above, simple affixes such as prefixes and suffixes are separated from the stem with hyphens. Affixes which disrupt the stem, or which themselves are discontinuous, are often marked off with angle brackets. Reduplication is often shown with a tilde. Affixes which c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diminutives In Australian English
Diminutive forms of words are commonly used in everyday Australian English. While many dialects of English make use of diminutives and hypocorisms, Australian English uses them more extensively than any other.Sussex, Roland. 2004. Abstand, Ausbau, Creativity and Ludicity in Australian English. Australian Journal of Linguistics 24(1). 3-19. Diminutives may be seen as slang, but many are used widely across the whole of society. Some forms have also spread outside Australia to other English-speaking countries. There are over 5,000 identified diminutives in use in Australian English. Usage In other English dialects, diminutives usually imply smallness or have a childish connotation such as in 'birdie', 'doggy', or 'kitty'. While diminutives can be used in this way in Australian English, they are also used widely in a non-childish manner, with over 4,300 being recorded. For example, ''bikie'' (a motorcycle, or motorbike club member), does not imply a bicycle in a small or childish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comparison (grammar)
Comparison is a feature in the morphology or syntax of some languages whereby adjectives and adverbs are inflected to indicate the relative degree of the property they define exhibited by the word or phrase they modify or describe. In languages that have it, the comparative construction expresses quality, quantity, or degree relative to ''some'' other comparator(s). The superlative construction expresses the greatest quality, quantity, or degree—i.e. relative to ''all'' other comparators. The associated grammatical category is degree of comparison. The usual degrees of comparison are the ''positive'', which simply denotes a property (as with the English words ''big'' and ''fully''); the ''comparative'', which indicates ''greater'' degree (as ''bigger'' and ''more fully''); and the ''superlative'', which indicates ''greatest'' degree (as ''biggest'' and ''most fully''). Some languages have forms indicating a very large degree of a particular quality (called ''elative'' in Semit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Augmentative
An augmentative (abbreviated ) is a morphological form of a word which expresses greater intensity, often in size but also in other attributes. It is the opposite of a diminutive. Overaugmenting something often makes it grotesque and so in some languages, augmentatives are used primarily for comical effect or as pejoratives. Many languages have augmentatives for nouns, and some have augmentatives for verbs. Germanic languages English In modern English, augmentatives can be created with the prefixes: *''over-'': e.g., ''overlord'' and ''overqualified''. *''grand-'': e.g., ''grandmaster'' and ''grandparent''. *''super-'': e.g., ''supermarket'' and ''superpower''. *''mega-'': e.g., ''megastore'' and ''megastar''. *''arch-'': e.g., ''archrival'' and ''archangel''. Since the early 1990s, the prefix ''über-'' or ''uber-'' has also frequently been used as a borrowing from German. The suffix -zilla, expressing a monstrous quality, can also be considered an augmentative form. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
