CompoundingCompounding is the word formation process in which two or more lexemes combine into a single new word. Compound words may be written as one word or as two words joined with a hyphen. For example:

noun-noun compound: note + book → notebook adjective-noun compound: blue + berry → blueberry verb-noun compound: work + room → workroom noun-verb compound: breast + feed → breastfeed verb-verb compound: stir + fry → stir-fry adjective-verb compound: high + light → highlight verb-preposition compound: break + up → breakup preposition-verb compound: out + run → outrun adjective-adjective compound: bitter + sweet → bittersweet preposition-preposition compound: in + to → into

Compounds may be compositional, meaning that the meaning of the new word is determined by combining the meanings of the parts, or noncompositional, meaning that the meaning of the new word cannot be determined by combining the meanings of the parts. For example, ablueberry is a berry that is blue. However, a breakup is not a relationship that was severed into pieces in an upward direction.

Compound nouns should not be confused with nouns modified by adjectives, verbs, and other nouns. For example, the adjective black of the noun phrase black birdis different from the adjective black of the compound nounblackbird in that black of black bird functions as a noun phrase modifier while the black of blackbird is an inseparable part of the noun: a black bird also refers to any bird that is black in color while a blackbird is a specific type of bird.

ClippingClipping is the word formation process in which a word is reduced or shortened without changing the meaning of the word. Clipping differs from back-formation in that the new word retains the meaning of the original word. For example:

advertisement – ad alligator – gator examination – exam gasoline – gas gymnasium – gym influenza – flu laboratory – lab mathematics – math memorandum – memo photograph – photo public house – pub raccoon – coon reputation – rep situation comedy – sitcom telephone – phone

The four types of clipping are back clipping, fore-clipping, middle clipping, and complex clipping. Back clipping is removing the end of a word as in gas from gasoline. Fore-clipping is removing the beginning of a word as in gator fromalligator. Middle clipping is retaining only the middle of a

word as in flu from influenza. Complex clipping is removing multiple parts from multiple words as in sitcom from situation comedy.

BlendingBlending is the word formation process in which parts of two or more words combine to create a new word whose meaning is often a combination of the original words. For example:

advertisement + entertainment → advertainment biographical + picture → biopic breakfast + lunch → brunch chuckle + snort → chortle cybernetic + organism → cyborg guess + estimate → guesstimate hazardous + material → hazmat motor + hotel → motel prim + sissy → prissy simultaneous + broadcast → simulcast smoke + fog → smog Spanish + English → Spanglish spoon + fork → spork telephone + marathon → telethon web + seminar → webinar

Blended words are also referred to as portmanteaus.