32. Derivation

 

 Derivation is the process of creating a new word , usually by adding a prefix or a suffix.

 

Prefix is a group of letters placed before word to change their meaning.

For example:

happy – unhappy, possible – impossible, agree-disagree,

 

A short list of prefixes:

Prefix	Meaning	Examples
de-	from, down, away, reverse, opposite	decode, decrease
dis-	not, opposite, reverse, away	disagree, disappear
ex-	out of, away from, lacking, former	exhale, explosion
il-	not	illegal, illogical
im-	not, without	impossible, improper
in-	not, without	inaction, invisible
mis-	bad, wrong	mislead, misplace
non-	not	nonfiction, nonsense
pre-	before	prefix, prehistory
pro-	for, forward, before	proactive, profess, program
re-	again, back	react, reappear
un-	against, not, opposite	undo, unequal, unusual

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Suffix is a group of letters placed after word to change their meaning.

For example: Flavor – Flavorless, Friend – Friendless, Kind-Kindness

They are four kinds

1. Noun Suffix, for example: move – movement

2. Adjective Suffix, for example: Comfort – Comfortable

3. Verb Suffix, for example: fast- fasten

4. Adverb Suffix, for example: honest- honestly

A short list of suffixes:

Suffix	Meaning	Examples
-able	able to, having the quality of	comfortable, portable
-al	relating to	annual comical
-er	comparative	bigger, stronger
-est	superlative	strongest, tiniest
-ful	full of	beautiful, grateful
-ible	forming an adjective	reversible, terrible
-ily	forming an adverb	eerily, happily, lazily
-ing	denoting an action, a material, or a gerund	acting, showing
-less	without, not affected by	friendless, tireless
-ly	forming an adjective	clearly, hourly
-ness	denoting a state or condition	kindness, wilderness
-y	full of, denoting a condition, or a diminutive	glory, messy, victory

 

 

Examples of Suffixes

Some of the most common suffixes and their meanings are as follows:

Noun Suffixes

1. -eer
   Meaning: engaged in something, associated with something
   Examples: auctioneer, volunteer, engineer, profiteer
2. -er
   Meaning: someone who performs an action
   Examples: helper, teacher, preacher, dancer
3. -ion
   Meaning: the action or process of
   Examples: celebration, opinion, decision, revision
4. -ity
   Meaning: the state or condition of
   Examples: probability, equality, abnormality, civility
5. -ment
   Meaning: the action or result of
   Examples: movement, retirement, abandonment, establishment
6. -ness
   Meaning: a state or quality
   Examples: fondness, awareness, kindness, darkness
7. -or
   Meaning: a person who is something
   Examples: distributor, investigator, translator, conductor
8. -sion
   Meaning: state or being
   Examples: depression, confusion, tension, compulsion
9. -ship
   Meaning: position held
   Examples: worship, ownership, courtship, internship
10. -th
    Meaning: state or quality
    Examples: strength, labyrinth, depth, warmth

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Adjective Suffixes

1. -able, -ible
   Meaning: capable of being
   Examples: preventable, adaptable, predictable, credible
2. -al
   Meaning: pertaining to
   Examples: theatrical, natural, criminal, seasonal
3. -ant
   Meaning: inclined to or tending to
   Examples: vigilant, defiant, brilliant, reliant
4. -ary
   Meaning: of or relating to
   Examples: budgetary, planetary, military, honorary
5. -ful
   Meaning: full of or notable of
   Examples: grateful, beautiful, wonderful, fanciful
6. -ic
   Meaning: relating to
   Examples: iconic, organic, heroic, poetic
7. -ious, -ous
   Meaning: having qualities of
   Examples: gracious, cautious, humorous, fabulous
8. -ive
   Meaning: quality or nature of
   Examples: creative, expensive, expressive, pensive
9. -less
   Meaning: without something
   Examples: hopeless, faultless, fearless, restless
10. -y
    Meaning: made up of or characterized by
    Examples: brainy, fruity, tasty, grouchy

Verb Suffixes

1. -ed
   Meaning: past-tense version of a verb
   Examples: laughed, climbed, called, missed
2. -en
   Meaning: become
   Examples: soften, fasten, lengthen, strengthen
3. -er
   Meaning: action or process, making an adjective comparative
   Examples: faster, bigger, fuller, longer
4. -ing
   Meaning: verb form/present participle of an action
   Examples: laughing, swimming, driving, writing
5. -ize, -ise
   Meaning: to cause or to become
   Examples: memorialize, authorize, commercialize, advertise

Adverb Suffixes

1. -ly
   Meaning: in what manner something is being done
   Examples: bravely, simply, honestly, gladly
2. -ward
   Meaning: in a certain direction
   Examples: backward, wayward, awkward, afterward
3. -wise
   Meaning: in relation to
   Examples: clockwise, edgewise, lengthwise, otherwise

 

List of Common Suffixes

A suffix can make a word/stem of a word a noun, verb, adverb, or adjective. A suffix can also make a transition in the degree of an adjective or in the tense of a verb.

Noun Suffixes
Suffix	Meaning	Example
-age	a condition	leakage, bondage, marriage
-al	an action	denial, removal, approval
-ar	one who performs the action	beggar, liar, scholar
-cy	state quality	urgency, emergency, fallacy accuracy, decency, lunacy
-dom	place state of being	kingdom, dukedom, earldom boredom, freedom, stardom
-ee	one who performs an action	interviewee, internee, employee, nominee
-er	one who performs the action	reader, driver, maker, painter
-hood	state of being	boyhood, childhood, manhood
-ion	condition	union, opinion
-ism	doctrine or belief	marxism, Sufism, egotism
-ist	one who is something	dentist, chemist, Marxist, atheist
-ice	the result of an action	service, cowardice
-logy	theory	biology, geology, ecology
-ment	the condition of an action	acknowledgement, punishment, agreement
-on/en/an	doer	artisan, citizen, surgeon
-ness	state of being	sadness, happiness, rudeness, business
-nce	state quality	abundance, absence, presence brilliance, endurance, obidience
-or	one who performs the action	creator, supervisor, sailor
-ship	position held	internship, partnership, kinship
-sion	state of being	illusion, inclusion, extension
-tion	state of being	creation, information, confirmation
-tude	result of an action	fortitude, magnitude, servitude
-ty	quality state	flexibility, sensibility, frailty serenity, safety, reality
Verb Suffixes
-ate	do	captivate, annihilate, exterminate
-en	do	broaden, awaken, strengthen
-er	do	chatter, glitter, glimmer
-ish	do	publish, nourish, punish, banish
-fy	make	rectify, simplify, amplify
-ize	become	humanize, organize, socialize, legalize
Adjective Suffixes
-able	capable of being	presentable, readable, believable
-al	belonging to	legal, local, mental, mortal, fatal, musical
-ar	quality	familiar, regular, circular
-ed	quality	gifted, talented, learned, cultured
-en	made of	golden, wooden, woolen, leaden
-ful	notable for	beautiful, wonderful, doubtful
-ible	capable of	admissible, divisible, sensible
-ic	pertaining to	allergic, mythic, domestic, historic
-ish	belonging to	selfish, Turkish, Irish, Polish, childish
-istic	characterized by an attribute	fantastic, pessimistic, optimistic, sarcastic
-ile	having the nature of	fragile, juvenile, servile
-ian/an	belonging to	Indian, American, Russian, Victorian
-ive	having the nature of	creative, punitive, divisive, decisive
-less	without	fearless, helpless, endless, tireless
-ous	characterized by an attribute	studious, pious, religious, joyous
-y	characterized by	smelly, healthy, greedy, wealthy