What is a word derivations

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Morphological derivation, in linguistics, is the process of forming a new word from an existing word, often by adding a prefix or suffix, such as un- or -ness. For example, unhappy and happiness derive from the root word happy.

It is differentiated from inflection, which is the modification of a word to form different grammatical categories without changing its core meaning: determines, determining, and determined are from the root determine.^[1]

Derivational patterns[edit]

Derivational morphology often involves the addition of a derivational suffix or other affix. Such an affix usually applies to words of one lexical category (part of speech) and changes them into words of another such category. For example, one effect of the English derivational suffix -ly is to change an adjective into an adverb (slow → slowly).

Here are examples of English derivational patterns and their suffixes:

• adjective-to-noun: -ness (slow → slowness)
• adjective-to-verb: -en (weak → weaken)
• adjective-to-adjective: -ish (red → reddish)
• adjective-to-adverb: -ly (personal → personally)
• noun-to-adjective: -al (recreation → recreational)
• noun-to-verb: -fy (glory → glorify)
• verb-to-adjective: -able (drink → drinkable)
• verb-to-noun (abstract): -ance (deliver → deliverance)
• verb-to-noun (agent): -er (write → writer)

However, derivational affixes do not necessarily alter the lexical category; they may change merely the meaning of the base and leave the category unchanged. A prefix (write → re-write; lord → over-lord) rarely changes the lexical category in English. The prefix un- applies to adjectives (healthy → unhealthy) and some verbs (do → undo) but rarely to nouns. A few exceptions are the derivational prefixes en- and be-. En- (replaced by em- before labials) is usually a transitive marker on verbs, but it can also be applied to adjectives and nouns to form transitive verbs: circle (verb) → encircle (verb) but rich (adj) → enrich (verb), large (adj) → enlarge (verb), rapture (noun) → enrapture (verb), slave (noun) → enslave (verb).

When derivation occurs without any change to the word, such as in the conversion of the noun breakfast into the verb to breakfast, it’s known as conversion, or zero derivation.

Derivation that results in a noun may be called nominalization. It may involve the use of an affix (such as with employ → employee), or it may occur via conversion (such as with the derivation of the noun run from the verb to run). In contrast, a derivation resulting in a verb may be called verbalization (such as from the noun butter to the verb to butter).

Derivation and inflection[edit]

Derivation can be contrasted with inflection, in that derivation can produce a new word (a distinct lexeme) but isn’t required to change this, whereas inflection produces grammatical variants of the same word.

Generally speaking, inflection applies in more or less regular patterns to all members of a part of speech (for example, nearly every English verb adds -s for the third person singular present tense), while derivation follows less consistent patterns (for example, the nominalizing suffix -ity can be used with the adjectives modern and dense, but not with open or strong). However, it is important to note that derivations and inflections can share homonyms, that being, morphemes that have the same sound, but not the same meaning. For example, when the affix -er, is added to an adjective, as in small-er, it acts as an inflection, but when added to a verb, as in cook-er, it acts as a derivation.^[2]

As mentioned above, a derivation can produce a new word (or new part of speech) but is not required to do so. For example, the derivation of the word «common» to «uncommon» is a derivational morpheme but doesn’t change the part of speech (adjective).

An important distinction between derivational and inflectional morphology lies in the content/function of a listeme^{[clarification needed]}. Derivational morphology changes both the meaning and the content of a listeme, while inflectional morphology doesn’t change the meaning, but changes the function.

A non-exhaustive list of derivational morphemes in English: -ful, -able, im-, un-, -ing, -er

A non-exhaustive list of inflectional morphemes in English: -er, -est, -ing, -en, -ed, -s

Derivation and other types of word formation[edit]

Derivation can be contrasted with other types of word formation such as compounding. For full details see Word formation.

Note that derivational affixes are bound morphemes – they are meaningful units, but can only normally occur when attached to another word. In that respect, derivation differs from compounding by which free morphemes are combined (lawsuit, Latin professor). It also differs from inflection in that inflection does not create new lexemes but new word forms (table → tables; open → opened).

Productivity[edit]

Derivational patterns differ in the degree to which they can be called productive. A productive pattern or affix is one that is commonly used to produce novel forms. For example, the negating prefix un- is more productive in English than the alternative in-; both of them occur in established words (such as unusual and inaccessible), but faced with a new word which does not have an established negation, a native speaker is more likely to create a novel form with un- than with in-. The same thing happens with suffixes. For example, if comparing two words Thatcherite and Thatcherist, the analysis shows that both suffixes -ite and -ist are productive and can be added to proper names, moreover, both derived adjectives are established and have the same meaning. But the suffix -ist is more productive and, thus, can be found more often in word formation not only from proper names.

See also[edit]

• Agglutination
• Collocation
• Inflection
• Nominalization
• Word formation
• Word root

References[edit]

• Speech and Language Processing, Jurafsky, D. & Martin J.,H.

In morphology, derivation is the process of creating a new word out of an old word, usually by adding a prefix or a suffix. The word comes from the Latin, «to draw off,» and its adjectival form is derivational.

Linguist Geert Booij, in «The Grammar of Words,» notes that one criterion for distinguishing derivation and ​inflection «is that derivation may feed inflection, but not vice versa. Derivation applies to the stem-forms of words, without their inflectional endings, and creates new, more complex stems to which inflectional rules can be applied.»

The derivational change that takes place without the addition of a bound morpheme (such as the use of the noun impact as a verb) is called zero derivation or conversion.

Examples and Observations

«Derivational morphology studies the principles governing the construction of new words, without reference to the specific grammatical role a word might play in a sentence. In the formation of drinkable from drink, or disinfect from infect, for example, we see the formation of new words, each with its own grammatical properties.»

– David Crystal, «How Language Works.» Overlook Press, 2005

Derivation vs. Inflection

Morphology may be divided into derivation—rules that form a new word out of old words, like duckfeathers and unkissable—and inflection—rules that modify a word to fit its role in a sentence, what language teachers call conjugation and declension.»

– Steven Pinker, «Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language.» Basic Books, 1999

«The distinction between inflectional morphology and derivational morphology is an ancient one. Fundamentally, it is a matter of the means used to create new lexemes (derivational affixes among other processes) and those used to mark the role of the lexeme in a particular sentence (accidence, inflectional morphology)…

«It seems that although we probably can maintain a distinction between inflectional and derivational morphology relatively well in English—albeit with certain problematical cases which do not invalidate the fundamental notion—the distinction is not helpful to us in understanding any other aspects of the morphology of English. The classification might be useful in terms of typology, but does not throw much light on the behavior of English morphological processes.»

– Laurie Bauer, Rochelle Lieber, and Ingo Plag, The Oxford Reference Guide to English Morphology. Oxford University Press, 2013

Derivation, Compounding, and Productivity

«Word-formation is traditionally divided into two kinds: derivation and compounding. Whereas in compounding the constituents of a word are themselves lexemes, this is not the case in derivation. For instance, -ity is not a lexeme, and hence taxability is a case of derivation. The word income tax, on the other hand, is a compound since both income and tax are lexemes. Changing the word class of a word, as happened in the creation of the verb to tax from the noun tax, is called conversion, and may be subsumed under derivation…

«Morphological patterns that can be systematically extended are called productive. The derivation of nouns ending in -er from verbs is productive in English, but the derivation of nouns in -th from adjectives is not: it is hard to expand the set of words of this type such as depth, health, length, strength, and wealth. Marchand (1969: 349) has observed some occasional coinings like coolth (after warmth) but notes that such word coinings are often jocular, and hence do not represent a productive pattern. If we want to coin a new English noun on the basis of an adjective, we have to use -ness or -ity instead.»

– Geert Booij, «The Grammar of Words: An Introduction to Linguistic Morphology.» Oxford University Press, 2005

Changes to Meaning and Word Class: Prefixes and Suffixes

«Derivational prefixes do not normally alter the word class of the base word; that is, a prefix is added to a noun to form a new noun with a different meaning:

Derivational suffixes, on the other hand, usually change both the meaning and the word class; that is, a suffix is often added to a verb or adjective to form a new noun with a different meaning:

• patient: outpatient
• group: subgroup
• trial: retrial
• adjective — dark: darkness
• verb — agree: agreement
• noun — friend: friendship«

– Douglas Biber, Susan Conrad, and Geoffrey Leech, «Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English.» Longman, 2002

Derivatives are extremely useful. They’re one of the most powerful tools we can use to build our vocabulary quickly and easily. Derivatives are the product, extension, or object taken from a separate root origin. The word derivative comes from the verb “derive”, which means the action of having or taking something from an underlying source.

Here are a few examples of derivatives in daily life:

• Orange juice is a derivative of oranges.
• Wood is a derivative of a tree.
• The word herb is a derivative the Latin word, herba, meaning grass.

In language, derivatives are words formed from other “root” words. They’re often used to transform their root word into a different grammatical category. For example, making a verb into a noun.

Or an adjective into an adverb.  But there are many more things Derivatives do too. There three main types of linguistic derivatives, which we’ll discuss in this post, namely: Morphological Derivation, Inflection, and Etymological Derivation

Morphological Derivation

Morphological Derivation is when we change a root (base) word using letter structures called affixes. There are always at least two parts to a derivative word. For example: childish = child (root) + -ish (affix).

What is an Affix?

Affixes are groups of letters stuck to a word which changes its meaning. When we place them in front of the word, they’re called a prefix. When placed at the back, they’re known as a suffix.

Here are a few examples:

Dishonest

Honest = a root word meaning to speak the truth.

Dis- = a prefix used to create a negative.

Dis+ Honest = dishonest = a derivative of honest that means not to speak the truth.

Honorable

Honor = a root word meaning high respect.

-able = a suffix meaning that something is possible or can be done.

Honor + able = honorable = a derivative of honor meaning something or someone that is respected.

There are hundreds of affixes in the English language. But, here are a few of the most common Affixes and their meanings. If you’d like to learn more useful affixes, check out our BIG List of Prefixes and Suffices and their meanings.

Common Prefixes:

Pre –                 before

Inter –             between

Ir-,Im-,In-         negative/not

Uni –                one

Trans –            Across or beyond

Tri –                 three

Common Suffixes:

-dom               a place or state of being

-ity, -ty            quality of

-ment              condition of

-fy, -ify             to make or become

-ful                  notable for

-less                 without

Inflection

Inflection is when we change a root word to adhere to grammatical rules to illustrate tenses, gender, number, person, and mood. Similarly to derivatives, inflection makes uses of affixes to alter each word.

The difference between derivation and inflection is that inflection doesn’t change the word’s category, whereas derivation does.  Here are a few examples of inflection:

Jump – jumped.          Inflection for past tense.

Swim – swimming.      Inflection for progressive tense.

Pencil – pencils           Inflection for number of objects

Etymological derivation

Etymology is the study of word origins. English is a melting pot of various languages, predominately Old German, Latin, Greek, and French. (visited a café, lately?) Etymological Derivation is when a modern English word originates from a different root word. In truth, all modern English language could be considered Etymological derivation.

For example

Physics: derived from the Greek word Phusis, meaning nature.

Happy: derived from the Viking word Hap, meaning luck.

Tree: derived from the old English word Treo.

How well do you know Derivatives?

Now that you’ve learned all about Derivatives, can you tell us how many derivatives are in the first two sentences? List them in the comment section below.

 P.s. Did you know?

The word “derivative” is used in a negative way in the art world where is means to copy someone else’s work.

Asked by: Kenya Luettgen Sr.

Score: 4.5/5
(28 votes)

Derivation is fancy word for the origin or root of something. Derivation is most often used in reference to abstract concepts — such as words, names or ideas.

Is there a word derive?

verb (used with object), de·rived, de·riv·ing. to receive or obtain from a source or origin (usually followed by from).

What is the Derivating word of ACT will be?

Quick Summary. The Latin root act means “do.” This Latin root is the word origin of a large number of English vocabulary words, including actor, action, and active. The root act is easily recalled via the word act, for an act is something having been “done.”

What is the opposite boring?

Boring means; not interesting; tedious, dull, dusty, drab, oppressive. Opposites of Boring; interesting. fascinating. intriguing.

What does the word ACT mean in law?

ACT, legislation. A statute or law made by a legislative body; as an act of congress is a law by the congress of the United States; an act of assembly is a law made by a legislative assembly.

24 related questions found

Derivation is defined as the process of attaching an affix to a base. It is a regular procedure of word formation, which allows languages ​​to designate semantically related concepts with others, in a certain sense considered primitive, by adding affixes. The existence of the derivation makes it possible to have a lexicon that allows the attribution of numerous meanings, from a much smaller number of roots or lexemes. Derivation in linguistics

The derivation is a regular procedure word formation that allows languages designate semantically related concepts with other in a sense considered primitive by adding suffixes (eg knife of knife ). The existence of the derivation allows to have a lexicon that allows to designate numerous senses from a much smaller number of roots or lexemes . Also the derivation is the main source of new words in many languages.

The shunt is similar to certain flexion forms , since both would use morphemes added to the root to express differences. However, flexion does not involve changing referents but rather the added marks have a strictly grammatical purpose. On the other hand, the derivation resembles changes in meaning to the composition .

The derivation is a set of a primitive word together with a prefix or a suffix

In the field of linguistics, the concept of derivation refers to one of the processes of new word formation . This process has a general criterion.

Keep in mind that different words come from the same primitive word. Thus, all words that come from a primitive are known as derived words. In this way, with the primitive word sun, I can form a series of derived words, such as solace, sunstroke, solar, sunny, etc. For the derivation process to be possible it is necessary to apply a series of rules. Derivation in linguistics

1. Demonstrate > demonstra-tion > demonstrable; if, on the other hand, this modification does not occur, it is called a homogeneous derivation:
2. White > whitish-white. The first occurs when it is derived through suffixes, while in the second we find derivatives from prefixes, for example:
3. Paint > repaint; proper > improper, nor is it transformed when using augmentative, diminutive and derogatory suffixes:
   woman > big woman, book > little book, house > shack, etc.

Derivational patterns

Derived morphology often involves the addition of a derivative suffix or other affix . This affix is ​​usually applied to words from one lexical category (part of speech) and converts them into words from another similar category. For example, one effect of the English derivative suffix -ly is to change an adjective into an adverb ( slow → slow ).

Here are examples of English derivation patterns and their suffixes:

• adjective- to- noun : -ness ( slow → slowness )
• adjective-to- verb : -in ( weak → weaken )
• adjective-to-adjective: -ish ( red → reddish )
• adjective to adverb : -ly ( personal → personally )
• noun to adjective : -al ( recreation → recreation )
• noun-to-verb: -fy ( glory → glorify )
• verb-to-adjective: -able ( drink → drinkable )
• verb-to-noun ( abstract ): -ance ( deliver → release )
• verb-to-noun ( agent ): -er ( write → writer )

However, derived affixes do not necessarily alter the lexical category; they can simply change the meaning of the base and leave the category unchanged. A prefix ( write → rewrite ; lord → over-lord ) rarely changes the lexical category in English. The prefix does not apply to adjectives ( healthy → unhealthy ) and some verbs ( do → undo ), but rarely to nouns. Some exceptions are the derived prefixes en- and be- . En- (replaced by em- beforelabials ) is usually a transitive marker on verbs, but can also be applied to adjectives and nouns to form transitive verbs: circle (verb) → encircle (verb) but rich (adj) → enrich (verb), large (adj) → enlarge (verb), rapture (noun) → enrapture (verb), slave (noun) → enslave (verb). Derivation in linguistics

When the derivation occurs without any change in the word, as in the conversion of the noun breakfast to the verb for breakfast , it is known as zero conversion or derivation.

The derivation that results in a noun can be called a nominalization . It may involve the use of an affix (as with employ → employee ), or it may occur through conversion (as with the derivation of the noun run from the verb to run ). In contrast, a derivation that results in a verb may be called a verbalization (as from the noun butter to the verb butter ).

Derivation and inflection

Derivation can be contrasted with inflection , since derivation can produce a new word (a distinct lexeme ) but is not required to change this, while inflection produces grammatical variants of the same word.

Generally speaking, the inflection is applied in more or less regular patterns to all members of a part of speech (for example, almost all verbs in English add -s for the third person singular in the present tense), while the derivation follows less consistent patterns (for example, the nominalizing suffix -ity can be used with the adjectives modern and dense , but not with open or strong ). However, it is important to note that derivations and inflections can share homonyms, that is, morphemes .They have the same sound, but not the same meaning. For example, when the affix -er is added to an adjective, as in small-er , it acts as an inflection, but when it is added to a verb, as in cook-er , it acts as a derivation. ^{Derivation in linguistics}

As mentioned above, a derivation can produce a new word (or a new part of speech), but it doesn’t have to. For example, the derivation of the word “common” to “uncommon” is a derivational morpheme but does not change the part of speech (adjective).

An important distinction between derived and inflectional morphology lies in the content/function of a listeme. Derivative morphology changes both the meaning and content of a listeme, while inflectional morphology does not change the meaning, but changes the function.

A non-exhaustive list of English derivational morphemes: -ful, -able, im-, un-, -ing, -er

A non-exhaustive list of inflectional morphemes in English: -er, -est, -ing, -en, -ed, -s