Simone Luchini
Have you ever considered how new words and phrases come to be? Word formation in the English language is a never-ending phenomenon that is shaped by our desire to communicate. There are a multitude of ways word formation may occur, but one thing is for certain:
The diversity of human interactions is at the center of it all.
Keeping up with the ever-changing English vocabulary can certainly seem like a daunting task. How well do you think you will do in recognizing some of the more recently formed words in our language?
We collected a few relatively new words that you may or may not have encountered before. Check out some of these up-and-coming words and try to guess their origin and meaning! We’ve split them into different categories to help you along.
1. Compounding
Where do the words below come from, and what do they mean?
- Zoombombing
- Overzoomed
Click here for a hint:
Tip: With compounding we find that two words have been joined together to amalgamate their respective meanings. This is the most common type of word formation in English. Here’s how these words might be used in a sentence:
- “Did you hear John zoombombed our weekly meeting?”
- “Friday’s are always the hardest, I feel so overzoomed.”
Click here to see how these words were formed:
- Zoom + bombing -> Zoombombing – The act of raiding a Zoom call, usually on school related calls by posting pornography or otherwise offensive content
- over + zoomed -> overzoomed – Stressed because of too many video calls
2. Abbreviation
Where do the words below come from, and what do they mean?
- FYI
- WFH
Click here for a hint:
Tip: Abbreviation refers to the transformation of phrases into acronyms, by taking the first letter of each word in the phrase. This type of word formation is particularly popular in internet culture. Here’s how these words might be used in a sentence:
- “FYI, the class notes will be posted in the online platform.”
- “I will have to WFH this week, my dog will need surgery.”
Click here to see how these words were formed:
- FYI – For your information
- WFH – “Work from Home” – a concept popularized from COVID-19, where everyone is self-quarantined, resulting in many working from home.
3. Borrowing
Where do the words below come from, and what do they mean?
- Avatar
- Emoji
Click here for a hint:
Tip: Borrowed words are taken directly from another language. When words are borrowed, they tend to retain their spelling, but their pronunciation may change drastically. The medical field has been known to rely on numerous borrowed words, especially from Latin.
- “I changed my avatar’s hair color to pink today!”
- “The way you send emojis is so creative!”
Click here to see how these words were formed:
- Avatar – An avatar is the image or icon which represents a character (e.g., a website user). The word has been borrowed from the Sanskrit language, where it originally meant “incarnation”, typically referring to incarnations of deities in human form, or to gurus and spiritual leaders.
- Emoji – Emoji (from Japanese 絵文字, read えもじ) (pl. emoji) are tiny pictures people often use in texts. With increased use of texting, the word “emoji” became widespread.
4. Blending
Where do the words below come from, and what do they mean?
- Maskne
- Hangry
Click here for a hint:
Tip: Blending happens when two words are abbreviated and then merged into a single word. Much like with compound words, the meaning of the new word tends to stand at an intersection of the two blended words. This type of word formation is commonly adopted by today’s younger generations.
- “I don’t mind the distancing but this maskne is driving me crazy!”
- “It’s so late in the day; I’m getting really hangry!”
Click here to see how these words were formed:
- Maskne – Acne produced by wearing face masks.
- Hangry – When you haven’t eaten in a while, and then you become really angry; hungry + angry = hangry
5. Backformation and Affixation
Where do the words below come from, and what do they mean?
- Emote
- Vaccinate
Click here for a hint:
Tip: Backformation is when an existing word is modified by removing its affix. The word is effectively shortened and largely retains its original meaning. The opposite of backformation is affixation, where a word is turned into a longer version of itself.
- “She used an emote and her in-game character started dancing.”
- “I hope the doctor is able to vaccinate me before the holidays.”
Click here to see how these words were formed:
- Emote – Derived from the word “emotion”; to portray emotions in a theatrical manner. Also used in videogames to refer to commands that will make a character express an emotion.
- Vaccinate – To give a vaccine (from “vaccination”)
* Most of these words haven’t made it yet into formal dictionaries. These definitions have therefore been taken from the “urbandictionary.com” platform.