Lexicology Flashcards
Neologism
Affixation
Derivational morphemes added to create new meanings
Shortening
When morpehemes in the word are dropped
Compounding
Two separate words that are combined eg. Main circuit board -> motherboard
Blending
When the morphemes from separate words are combined
Backformation
When affixes are incorrectly removed to switch classes
Conversion of word class
When a word switches classes without morphological change
Initialism, Acronym
When letters representing a longer lexeme are used in its place
Contraction
When letters are removed but marked with an apostrophe
Borrowings
When letters are removed but marked with an apostrophe
Commonisation
When proper nouns (often brand names) becomes the common term
Abbreviation
A shortened form of a word or phrase
Lexeme
