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Neoclassical compounds are
compound word In linguistics, a compound is a lexeme (less precisely, a word or sign) that consists of more than one stem. Compounding, composition or nominal composition is the process of word formation that creates compound lexemes. Compounding occurs wh ...
s composed from combining forms (which act as
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 ...
es or stems) derived from
classical Latin Classical Latin is the form of Literary Latin recognized as a literary standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It was used from 75 BC to the 3rd century AD, when it developed into Late Latin. In some later pe ...
or
ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
roots.
New Latin New Latin (also called Neo-Latin or Modern Latin) is the revival of Literary Latin used in original, scholarly, and scientific works since about 1500. Modern scholarly and technical nomenclature, such as in zoological and botanical taxonomy ...
comprises many such words and is a substantial component of the
technical Technical may refer to: * Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle * Technical analysis, a discipline for forecasting the future direction of prices through the study of past market data * Technical drawing, showing how something is co ...
and
scientific Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence ...
lexicon of English and other languages, via international scientific vocabulary (ISV). For example, ''
bio- Bio or BIO may refer to: Computing * bio(4), a pseudo-device driver in RAID controller management interface in OpenBSD and NetBSD * Block I/O, a concept in computer data storage Politics * Julius Maada Bio (born 1964), Sierra Leonean politic ...
'' combines with '' -graphy'' to form ''
biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...
'' ("life" + "writing/recording").


Source of international technical vocabulary

Neoclassical compounds represent a significant source of Neo-Latin vocabulary. Moreover, since these words are composed from
classical language A classical language is any language with an independent literary tradition and a large and ancient body of written literature. Classical languages are typically dead languages, or show a high degree of diglossia, as the spoken varieties of the ...
s whose prestige is or was respected throughout the Western European culture, these words typically appear in many different languages. Their widespread use makes technical writing generally accessible to readers who may only have a smattering of the language in which it appears. Not all European languages have been equally receptive to neoclassical technical compounds. German and Russian, for instance, have historically attempted to create their own technical vocabularies from native elements. Usually, these creations are German and Russian calques on the international vocabulary, such as ''Wasserstoff'' and "водород" (''vodoród'') for ''
hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic ...
''. Like any exercise in language prescription, this endeavour has been only partially successful, so while official German may still speak of a ''Fernsprecher'', public
telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into el ...
s will be labelled with the internationally recognized ''Telefon''.


Formation, spelling, and pronunciation

These words are compounds formed from Latin and Ancient Greek root words. Ancient Greek words are almost invariably romanized (see transliteration of Ancient Greek into English). In English: *Ancient Greek ''αι'' becomes ''e'' or ''æ''/''ae''; *Ancient Greek groups with ''γ'' plus a velar stop consonant such as ''γγ'', ''γκ'' or ''γξ'' become ''ng'', ''nc'' (or ''nk'' in more recent borrowings) and ''nx'' respectively; *Ancient Greek ''ει'' often becomes ''i'' (occasionally it is retained as ''ei''); *Ancient Greek ''θ'' becomes ''th''; *Ancient Greek ''κ'' becomes ''c'' (subject to
palatalization Palatalization may refer to: *Palatalization (phonetics), the phonetic feature of palatal secondary articulation *Palatalization (sound change) Palatalization is a historical-linguistic sound change that results in a palatalized articulation ...
in English pronunciation) or ''k''; *Ancient Greek ''οι'' becomes ''e'' or sometimes ''œ''/''oe'' in British English; *Ancient Greek ''ου'' usually becomes ''u'', or occasionally ''ou''; *Ancient Greek ' (
rho Rho (uppercase Ρ, lowercase ρ or ; el, ρο or el, ρω, label=none) is the 17th letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 100. It is derived from Phoenician letter res . Its uppercase form uses the sa ...
with '' spiritus asper'') becomes ''rh''; *Ancient Greek ''υ'' becomes ''y''; *Ancient Greek ''φ'' becomes ''ph'' or, very rarely, ''f''; *Ancient Greek ''χ'' becomes ''ch''; *Ancient Greek ''ψ'' becomes ''ps''; *Ancient Greek ''ω'' becomes ''o''; *Ancient Greek rough breathing becomes ''h-''. Thus, for example, Ancient Greek ''σφιγξ'' becomes English (and Latin) '' sphinx''. Exceptions to these romanizing rules occur, such as ''
leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...
(leukaemia)''; compare '' leukocyte'', also ''leucocyte''. In Latin, and in the target languages, the Greek vowels are given their neoclassical values rather than their contemporary values in
demotic Greek Demotic Greek or Dimotiki ( el, Δημοτική Γλώσσα, , , ) is the standard spoken language of Greece in modern times and, since the resolution of the Greek language question in 1976, the official language of Greece. "Demotic Greek" ( ...
. Ancient Greek words often contain
consonant cluster In linguistics, a consonant cluster, consonant sequence or consonant compound, is a group of consonants which have no intervening vowel. In English, for example, the groups and are consonant clusters in the word ''splits''. In the education f ...
s which are foreign to the
phonology Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how languages or dialects systematically organize their sounds or, for sign languages, their constituent parts of signs. The term can also refer specifically to the sound or sign system of a ...
of contemporary English and other languages that incorporate these words into their lexicon: ''
diphthong A diphthong ( ; , ), also known as a gliding vowel, is a combination of two adjacent vowel sounds within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: that is, the tongue (and/or other parts of the speech ...
''; '' pneumatology'', '' phthisis''. The traditional response in English is to treat the unfamiliar cluster as containing one or more silent letters and suppress their pronunciation, more ''modern'' speakers tend to try and pronounce the unusual cluster. This adds to the irregularities of English spelling; moreover, since many of these words are encountered in writing more often than they are heard spoken, it introduces uncertainty as to how to pronounce them when encountered. Neoclassical compounds frequently vary their stressed syllable when suffixes are added: '' ágriculture, agricúltural.'' This also gives rise to uncertainty when these words are encountered in print. Once a classical compound has been created and
borrowed ''Borrowed'' is a 2022 drama film directed by Carlos Rafael Betancourt and Oscar Ernesto Ortega. The film explores the relationship between two men living in South Florida. ''Borrowed'' stars Jonathan Del Arco and Héctor Medina, and had its worl ...
, it typically becomes the foundation of a whole series of related words: e.g. ''
astrology Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...
, astrological, astrologer/astrologist/astrologian, astrologism''. Mainstream medical and ISV pronunciation in English is not the same as
Classical Latin Classical Latin is the form of Literary Latin recognized as a literary standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It was used from 75 BC to the 3rd century AD, when it developed into Late Latin. In some later pe ...
pronunciation. Like
Ecclesiastical Latin Latin, also called Church Latin or Liturgical Latin, is a form of Latin developed to discuss Christian thought in Late Antiquity and used in Christian liturgy, theology, and church administration down to the present day, especially in the Ca ...
, it has a regularity of its own, and individual sounds can be mapped or compared. Although the Classical Latin pronunciation of ''venae cavae'' would be approximately , the standard English medical pronunciation is .


History and reception

English began incorporating many of these words in the sixteenth century; ''
geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, a ...
'' first appeared in an English text in 1535. Other early adopted words that still survive include ''
mystagogue A mystagogue (from el, μυσταγωγός, mystagogos, "person who initiates into mysteries") is a person who initiates others into mystic beliefs, and an educator or person who has knowledge of the sacred mysteries of a belief system. Another ...
'', from the 1540s, and '' androgyne'', from the 1550s. The use of these technical terms predates the
scientific method The scientific method is an Empirical evidence, empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century (with notable practitioners in previous centuries; see the article hist ...
; the several varieties of divination all take their names from neoclassical compounds, such as '' alectryomancy'', divination by the pecking of
chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domestication, domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey junglefowl, grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster ...
s. Not all English writers have been friendly to the inflow of classical vocabulary. The Tudor period writer Sir John Cheke wrote: and therefore rejected what he called "
inkhorn term An inkhorn term is a loanword, or a word coined from existing roots, which is deemed to be unnecessary or overly pretentious. Etymology An inkhorn is an inkwell made of horn. It was an important item for many scholars, which soon became symbo ...
s". Similar sentiments moved the nineteenth century author William Barnes to write "pure English," in which he avoided Greco-Latin words and find
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...
equivalents therefor: for Barnes, the newly invented art of the ''
photograph A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now creat ...
'' became a ''sun-print''. Unlike this one, some of Barnes's coinages caught on, such as '' foreword'', Barnes's replacement for the '' preface'' of a book. Later, Poul Anderson wrote a jocular piece called '' Uncleftish Beholding'' in a
constructed language A constructed language (sometimes called a conlang) is a language whose phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, instead of having developed naturally, are consciously devised for some purpose, which may include being devised for a work of fiction ...
based on English which others have called "Ander-Saxon"; this attempted to create a pure English vocabulary for
nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...
. For more information, see Linguistic purism in English.


More recent developments

Many such words, such as ''
thermometer A thermometer is a device that measures temperature or a temperature gradient (the degree of hotness or coldness of an object). A thermometer has two important elements: (1) a temperature sensor (e.g. the bulb of a mercury-in-glass thermomete ...
'', ''
dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23  million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
'', '' rhinoceros'', and '' rhododendron'', are thoroughly incorporated into the English lexicon and are the ordinary words for their referents. Some are prone to
colloquial Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom normally employed in convers ...
shortening; ''rhinoceros'' often becomes ''rhino''. The
binomial nomenclature In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, b ...
of taxonomy and
biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditar ...
is a major source for these items of vocabulary; for many unfamiliar species that lack a common English name, the name of the
genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...
becomes the English word for that life form. In the
metric system The metric system is a system of measurement that succeeded the decimalised system based on the metre that had been introduced in France in the 1790s. The historical development of these systems culminated in the definition of the Intern ...
, prefixes that indicate multipliers are typically Greek in origin, such as ''kilogram'', while those that indicate
divisor In mathematics, a divisor of an integer n, also called a factor of n, is an integer m that may be multiplied by some integer to produce n. In this case, one also says that n is a multiple of m. An integer n is divisible or evenly divisible by ...
s are Latin, as in ''millimeter'': the base roots resemble Greek words, but in truth are
neologism A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...
s. These metric and other suffixes are added to native English roots as well, resulting in creations such as '' gigabyte''. Words of mixed Latin and Greek lineage, or words that combine elements of the classical languages with English – so-called hybrid words – were formerly castigated as "
barbarism Barbarism, barbarity, or barbarous may refer to: * Barbarism (linguistics), a non-standard word, expression, or pronunciation ** Hybrid words, formerly called "barbarisms" * Any society construed as barbarian ** Barbarian invasions, a period of m ...
s" by prescriptionist usage commentators; this disapproval has mostly abated. Indeed, in scientific nomenclature, even more exotic hybrids have appeared, such as for example the dinosaur '' Yangchuanosaurus''. Personal names appear in some scientific names such as ''
Fuchsia ''Fuchsia'' () is a genus of flowering plants that consists mostly of shrubs or small trees. The first to be scientifically described, ''Fuchsia triphylla'', was discovered on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic ...
''. Neoclassical compounds are sometimes used to lend grandeur or the impression of scientific rigour to humble pursuits: the study of '' cosmetology'' will not help anyone become an ''
astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...
''. Compounds along these models are also sometimes coined for humorous effect, such as ''odontopodology'', the science of putting your foot into your mouth. These humorous coinages sometimes take on a life of their own, such as '' garbology'', the study of garbage. Some neoclassical compounds form
classical plural English nouns are inflected for grammatical number, meaning that, if they are of the countable type, they generally have different forms for singular and plural. This article discusses the variety of ways in which English plural nouns are formed ...
s, and are therefore irregular in English. Others do not, while some vacillate between classical and regular plurals.


Translation

There are hundreds of neoclassical compounds in English and other European languages. As traditionally defined, combining forms cannot stand alone as free words, but there are many exceptions to this rule, and in the late 20th century such forms are increasingly used independently: ''bio'' as a clipping of ''biography'', ''telly'' as a respelt clipping of ''television''. Most neoclassical combining forms translate readily into everyday language, especially nouns: ''bio-'' as ‘life’ ''-graphy'' as ‘writing, description’. Because of this, the compounds of which they are part (usually ''classical'' or ''learned compounds'') can be more or less straightforwardly paraphrased: ''biography'' as ‘writing about a life’, ''neurology'' as ‘the study of the nervous system’. Many classical combining forms are designed to take initial or final position: ''autobiography'' has the two initial or preposed forms ''auto-'' and ''bio-'', and one postposed form ''-graphy''. Although most occupy one position or the other, some can occupy both: ''-graph-'' as in ''graphology'' and ''monograph''; ''-phil-'' as in ''philology'' and ''Anglophile''. Occasionally, the same base is repeated in one word: ''logology'' the study of words, ''phobophobia'' the fear of fear.


Preposed and postposed

Prefixes include: ''aero-'' air, ''crypto-'' hidden, ''demo-'' people, ''geo-'' earth, ''odonto-'' tooth, ''ornitho-'' bird, ''thalasso-'' sea. Many have both a traditional simple meaning and a modern telescopic meaning: in ''biology'', ''bio-'' means ‘life’, but in '' bio-degradable'' it telescopes ‘biologically’; although ''hypno-'' basically means ‘sleep’ (''hypnopaedia'' learning through sleep), it also stands for ‘hypnosis’ (''hypnotherapy'' cure through hypnosis). When a form stands alone as a present-day word, it is usually a telescopic abbreviation: ''bio'' biography, ''chemo'' chemotherapy, ''hydro'' hydroelectricity, ''metro'' metropolitan. Some telescoped forms are shorter than the original neoclassical combining form: ''gynie'' is shorter than ''gyneco-'' and stands for both ''gynecology'' and ''gynecologist''; ''anthro'' is shorter than ''anthropo-'' and stands for ''anthropology''. Suffixes include: ''-ectomy'' cutting out, ''-graphy'' writing, description, ''-kinesis'' motion, ''-logy'' study, ''-mancy'' divination, ''-onym'' name, ''-phagy'' eating, ''-phony'' sound, ''-therapy'' healing, ''-tomy'' cutting. They are generally listed in dictionaries without the interfixed vowel, which appears however in such casual phrases as ‘ologies and isms’.


Variants

Some classical combining forms are variants of one base. Some are also free words, such as ''mania'' in ''dipsomania'' and ''phobia'' in ''claustrophobia''. Some are composites of other elements, such as ''encephalo-'' brain, from ''en-'' in, ''-cephal-'' head; and ''-ectomy'' cutting out, from ''ec-'' out, ''-tom-'' cut, ''-y'', a noun-forming suffix that means "process of".


Formation

In Greek and Latin grammar, combining bases usually require a thematic or stem-forming vowel. In ''biography'', from Greek, the thematic is -''o''-; in ''agriculture'', from Latin, it is ''-i-''. In English morphology, this vowel can be considered as an interfix: in biology, the interfix '' -o-''; in ''miniskirt'', the interfix '' -i-''. It is usually regarded as attached to the initial base (''bio-'', ''mini-'') rather than the final base (''-graphy'', ''-skirt''), but in forms where it is conventionally stressed, it is sometimes considered as part of the final base (''-ography'', ''-ology''). If the final element begins with a vowel (for example, ''-archy'' as in ''monarchy''), the mediating vowel has traditionally been avoided (not *'), but in recent coinages it is often kept, sometimes accompanied by a hyphen (''auto-analysis'', '' bioenergy'', ''
hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined a ...
'', not *', *''bienergy'', *'). Its presence helps to distinguish neoclassical compounds like ''biography'' and ''agriculture'' from vernacular compounds like ''teapot'' and ''blackbird''.


Origin

Generally, English has acquired its neoclassical compounds in three ways: through French from Latin and Greek, directly from Latin and Greek, and by coinage in English on Greek and Latin patterns. An exception is ''schizophrenia'', which came into English through German, and is therefore pronounced ‘skitso’, not ‘’.


Terminological variation

Most dictionaries follow the ''
Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...
'' in using ''combining form'' (''comb. form'') to label such classical elements. In appendices to dictionaries and grammar books, classical combining forms are often loosely referred to as roots or affixes: ‘a logo …, properly speaking, is not a word at all but a prefix meaning word and short for logogram, a symbol, much as telly is short for television’ (Montreal ''Gazette'', 13 Apr. 1981). They are often referred to as affixes because some come first and some come last. But if they were
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 ...
es proper, a word like ''biography'' would have no base whatever. While affixes are grammatical (like prepositions), classical combining forms are lexical (like nouns, adjectives, and verbs): for example, ''bio-'' translates as a noun (life), ''-graphy'' as a verbal noun (writing). This is why some reference works also call them stems. They are also often loosely called roots because they are ancient and have a basic role in word formation, but functionally and often structurally they are distinct from roots proper: the ''-graph'' in ''autograph'' is both a root and a classical combining form, while the ''-graphy'' in ''cryptography'' consists of root ''-graph-'' and suffix ''-y'', and is only a classical combining form.


Philology


Conservative philological tradition

From the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...
until the mid-20th century, the concept of derivational purity has often regulated the use of classical compounds, with a philological goal of like with like (Greek with Greek, Latin with Latin) and a minimum of hybridization. For example, ''biography'' is Greek, ''agriculture'' Latin; but this ideal has seen only limited realization in practice, as for example the word ''television'' is a hybrid of Greek ''tele-'' and Latin ''-vision'' (probably so coined because the ‘pure’ form ''telescope'' had already been adopted for another purpose).


Contemporary developments

Generally, classical compounds were a closed system from the 16th century to the earlier 20th century: the people who used them were classically educated, their teachers and exemplars generally took a purist's view on their use, contexts of use were mainly technical, and there was relatively little seepage into the language at large. However, with the decline of classical education and the spread of technical and quasitechnical jargon in the media, a continuum has evolved, with at least five stages:


Pure classical usage

In the older sciences, classical combining forms are generally used to form such strictly classical and usually Greek compounds as ''anthocyanin'', ''astrobleme'', ''chemotherapy'', ''chronobiology'', ''cytokinesis'', ''glossolalia'', ''lalophobia'', ''narcolepsy'', ''osteoporosis'', ''Pliohippus'', ''sympathomimetic''.


Hybrid classical usage

In technical, semitechnical, and quasitechnical usage at large, coiners of compounds increasingly treat Latin and Greek as one resource to produce such forms as ''accelerometer'', ''aero-generator'', ''bioprospector'', ''communicology'', ''electroconductive'', ''futurology'', ''mammography'', ''micro-gravity'', ''neoliberal'', ''Scientology'', ''servomechanism''.


Hybrid classical/vernacular usage

In the later 20th century, many forms have cut loose from ancient moorings: ''crypto-'' as in preposed ''Crypto-Fascist'' and ''pseudo-'' as in ''pseudoradical''; postposed ''-meter'' in ''speedometer'', ''clapometer''. Processes of analogy have created coinages like '' petrodollar'', '' psycho-warfare'', ''microwave'' on such models as ''
petrochemical Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable ...
'', ''psychology'', ''microscope''. Such stunt usages as ''eco-doom'', ''eco-fears'', ''eco-freaks'', common in journalism, often employ classical combining forms telescopically: ''eco-'' standing for ''ecology'' and ''ecological'' and not as used in ''economics''. In such matters, precision of meaning is secondary to compactness and vividness of expression.


Combining forms as separate words

In recent years, the orthography of many word forms has changed, usually without affecting pronunciation and stress. The same spoken usage may be written ''micro-missile'', ''micro missile'', ''micromissile'', reflecting the same uncertainty or flexibility as in ''businessman'', ''business-man'', ''business man''. When used in such ways, classical compounds are often telescopic: ''Hydro substation'' Hydro-Electricity Board substation, ''Metro highways'' Metropolitan highways, ''porno cult'' pornography cult.


New classical compounds

The mix of late 20th century techno-commercial coinages includes three groups of post- and non-classical forms: (1) ''Established forms'': ''econo-'' from ‘economic’, as in ''econometric'', ''Econo-Car''; ''mini-'' from ‘miniature’, as in ''miniskirt'', ''mini-boom''; ''-matic'' from ‘automatic’, as in ''Adjustamatic'', '' Instamatic'', ''Stackomatic''. (2) Less established forms, often created by blending: ''accu-'' from ‘accurate’, as in '' Accuvision''; ''compu-'' from ‘computer’, as in ''Compucorp''; ''docu-'' from ‘documentary’, as in ''docudrama''; ''perma-'' from ‘permanent’, as in ''permafrost'' and ''permaban''; ''dura-'' from ‘durable’, as in ''Duramark''. (3) Informal vernacular material in pseudo-classical form: '' Easibird'', '' Healthitone'', '' Redi-pak'', '' Relax-A-Cizor'' (relax, exerciser).


Similar systems

In East Asia, a similar role to Latin and Greek has been played by Chinese, with non-Chinese languages both borrowing a significant number of words from Chinese and using morphemes borrowed from Chinese to coin new words, particularly in formal or technical language. See Sino-Japanese vocabulary, Sino-Korean vocabulary, and Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary for discussion. The coinage of new native terms on Chinese roots is most notable in Japanese, where it is referred to as . Many of these have been subsequently borrowed into Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese, with the same (or corresponding) characters being pronounced differently according to language, just as happens in European languages – compare English ''
biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditar ...
'' and French ''
biologie Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...
.'' For example, 自動車 (Japanese ''jidōsha,'' Korean ''jadongcha,'' Mandarin ''zìdòngchē'') is a Japanese-coined word meaning “automobile”, literally self-move-car; compare to ''auto'' (self) + ''mobile'' (moving).


See also

;Topics * English words of Greek origin * Hybrid word *
Interlingua Interlingua (; ISO 639 language codes ia, ina) is an international auxiliary language (IAL) developed between 1937 and 1951 by the American International Auxiliary Language Association (IALA). It ranks among the most widely used IALs and is ...
* International scientific vocabulary * Internationalism (linguistics) *
-ism ''-ism'' is a suffix in many English words, originally derived from the Ancient Greek suffix ('), and reaching English through the Latin , and the French . It means "taking side with" or "imitation of", and is often used to describe philosoph ...
*
Latin influence in English Although English language, English is a Germanic language, it has Latin influences. Its grammar and core vocabulary are inherited from Proto-Germanic, but a significant portion of the English vocabulary comes from Romance languages, Romance and ...
* -ology *
Sino-xenic vocabularies Sino-Xenic or Sinoxenic pronunciations are regular systems for reading Chinese characters in Japan, Korea and Vietnam, originating in medieval times and the source of large-scale borrowings of Chinese words into the Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese ...
, for similar constructs in Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, etc. ;Lists * List of Germanic and Latinate equivalents in English *
List of Greek and Latin roots in English The English language uses many Greek and Latin roots, stems, and prefixes. These roots are listed alphabetically on three pages: * Greek and Latin roots from A to G * Greek and Latin roots from H to O * Greek and Latin roots from P to Z. Some ...
* List of Latin and Greek words commonly used in systematic names *
List of Latin words with English derivatives This is a list of Latin words with derivatives in English (and other modern languages). Ancient orthography did not distinguish between ''i'' and ''j'' or between ''u'' and ''v''. Many modern works distinguish u from v but not i from j. In this a ...


Bibliography

* McArthur, Tom (ed.): ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'', (Oxford University Press, 1992). * Plag, Ingo "Word-Formation in English", Cambridge University Press, 2003, ISBN à0521525632, 9780521525633


External links

* ''Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language 1998'' entries o
classical compound
an

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neoclassical Compound English grammar Etymology Linguistic morphology Greek language Latin language