Derived words arise through a process of derivation.
Derived words are those that arise by derivation through the inclusion of an affix in the structure of a term classified as primitive . As you can see, to understand the concept it is necessary to analyze several notions.
Words are those elements of an expression that have a certain functionality and that can be recognized from stress and pauses. Combining various words allows you to create sentences .
Among the various procedures that make the formation of words possible, is derivation . This derivational process consists of adding an affix to a concept to create a new word that maintains some type of semantic link with the original term.
What is an affix? It is a grammatical sequence that can be placed before ( prefix ), in the middle ( infix ) or at the end ( suffix ) of a word to alter its meaning .
Examples of derived words
The primitive name indicates that the term in question does not come from another, but is the first in its family . If we take the word "salt" , for example, we can find the following derived words: "salar" , "salado" , "salitral" and "salazón" , which can be seen in sentences like "Don't forget to salt the meat" , "The chicken is very salty" , "My father grew up next to the salt flat" or "I like to eat salted anchovies" .
Other derived words can arise from primitive concepts such as "flower" : "vase" , "florist" , "floral" , "flora" , "flowery" and many more. These derived words are used in expressions such as "Be careful with grandma's vase!" , "The florist offered me a bouquet of roses for fifty pesos" , "At her wedding, Lucía decorated the main table with a floral arrangement" , "The flora of this place is exuberant" or "The designer anticipated that the flowery dresses would be fashionable again .
"Salero" is a word derived from "salt."
Most used prefixes
Let's see below the prefixes most used to transform certain terms into derived words, along with some examples that help understand the everyday nature of these phenomena :
- a- : lack of, negation ( " aphonic" , " atheist" ).
- anti- : contrary, opposition ( " antichrist" , " anti-aircraft" ).
- bi- : two, doubles the primitive word in quantity ( " bipartite" , " bilingual" ).
- co(n)- : company, union ( " coexist" , " coproducer" ).
- en-, em- : about, within ( " bottling" , " papering" , " fitting" , " capped" ).
- mono- : one single, unique ( " monochromatic" , " monosyllable " ).
- pluri- : various ( « plurilingual» , « multi-employment» ).
- poly- : many, abundance of something ( " polymorphic" , " polyphasic" ).
- pre- : previously ( " predict" , " premonition " ).
- sub- : below, under, inferiority, diminution, secondary action ( " underwater" , " subsoil" , " sublet" , " subdelegate" ).
- super- : above, preeminence, excellence, in the highest degree, excess ( " superstructure" , " superintendent" , " superfine" , " overproduction" ).
- tra(n)s- : through, to the other side ( " transatlantic" , " traspapelar" , " transpasar" ).
- uni- : one ( " unicellular" , " unipersonal" ).
- vice- : instead of ( " vice president" , " vice-rector" ).
Derived words give rise to lexical families.
Suffixes and derived words
In the case of suffixes , some convert primitive words into nouns and others into adjectives. Let's look at the main ones of the first group:
- -ada : blow, content ( " pedrada" , " carretada" ).
- -ancia : quality ( " arrogance" , " constancy" ).
- -ance : result of an action ( " killing" , " moving" ).
- -dad : quality of ( " goodness" , " punctuality" ).
- -hard : result of an action ( " bite" , " zest" ).
- -ero : who carries out an action ( " baker" , " sweeper" ).
- -eza : indicates a quality ( " clumsiness" , " greatness" ).
- – ism : system, doctrine ( “ machismo” , “ Christianity” ).
- -ization : action and its result ( " organization" , " realization" ).
- -or : serves to form masculine abstract nouns ( " heat" , " love" ).
- -ure : quality ( " whiteness" , " freshness" ).
Finally, let's see a list of the suffixes that give derived words belonging to the category of adjectives :
- -able, -ible : that can, that is capable of ( " pleasant" , " recognizable" ).
- -aceous : that is close to or similar to ( " grayish" , " aliaceous" ).
- -ado, -al, -ario, -dero, -iento, -ivo, -izo, -oso : with the quality of ( " winged" , " self-conscious" , " brutal" , " original" , " entrepreneur" , " original") . » , « lasting » , « perishable » , « grimy » , « hungry » , « thoughtful » , « persuasive » , « reddish » , « shifting » , « slippery » , « wooded » )
- -udo : with an exaggerated quality of ( " carelludo" , " bearded" ).
- -uzco, -usco : tending to ( " verdusco" , " blackish" ).
Other considerations
It is important to mention that derived words are part of the same semantic field as the primitive word. Thus, in each language , word families emerge.
Attention must be paid to the morphology and etymology of the terms to discover their origin. In the case of derived words, the affix is added to the root of the primitive word (which, as we already saw, can be a prefix, an infix or a suffix). Sometimes the root is combined with more than one affix .
Take the case of “reinvention” . This word derives from "invention" and includes the prefix -re (referring to a repetition) and the suffix -ción . By "reinvention" we refer to the effect of inventing again. In this way, if a singer who began his musical career with several albums framed in cumbia begins to present rock songs and even modifies his aesthetic, we can speak of the "reinvention" of this artist.
Specialists in grammar and semantics maintain that derived words facilitate communication and help save resources. Returning to the example of "reinvention" , it is simpler to use said derived word than to explain its meaning with several terms. Of course, understanding what the primitive word means is essential to be able to assimilate and use the derived words that arise from it.