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Usenet Posted 20 years ago
Usage
New word?
A furnace service technician recently taught me a new word, saying, "The chamber will overheat if the blower can't decipitate the heat".
Well, it was new to me, anyway. I see now that Google finds a few hundred hits on it. But it's not in a couple of very large dictionaries, British and American.
He had obviously heard "precipitate" and "dissipate", and the two got together in his mind and formed "decipitate".
Well, it was new to me, anyway. I see now that Google finds a few hundred hits on it. But it's not in a couple of very large dictionaries, British and American.
He had obviously heard "precipitate" and "dissipate", and the two got together in his mind and formed "decipitate".
Top answer
[nq:1]A furnace service technician recently taught me a new word, saying, "The chamber will overheat if the blower can't decipitate ... and American. [/nq] Is there a linguistic term for this kind of word synthesis?
- [nq:1]A furnace service technician recently taught me a new word, saying, "The chamber will overheat if the blower can't decipitate ...
- and American.
- [/nq] Is there a linguistic term for this kind of word synthesis?
- There are similar words known as 'Bushisms', but it would be wrong to misunderestimate their catchiness irregardless of their origin.
- Lyall Morrison
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5 Answers
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[nq:1]A furnace service technician recently taught me a new word, saying, "The chamber will overheat if the blower can't decipitate ... and American. He had obviously heard "precipitate" and "dissipate", and the two got together in his mind and formed "decipitate".[/nq]
Is there a linguistic term for this kind of word synthesis? There are similar words known as 'Bushisms', but it would be wron
Is there a linguistic term for this kind of word synthesis? There are similar words known as 'Bushisms', but it would be wron
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[nq:1]Is there a linguistic term for this kind of word synthesis? There are similar words known as 'Bushisms', but it would be wrong to misunderestimate their catchiness irregardless of their origin.[/nq]
Word formation through blends?
http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/blend.htm
Word formation through blends?
http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/blend.htm
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[nq:2]Is there a linguistic term for this kind of word ... be wrong to misunderestimate their catchiness irregardless of their origin.[/nq]
[nq:1]Word formation through blends? http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/blend.htm[/nq]
Thank you, that's exactly the kind of article I was looking for.
[nq:1]Word formation through blends? http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/blend.htm[/nq]
Thank you, that's exactly the kind of article I was looking for.
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[nq:2]A furnace service technician recently taught me a new word, ... the two got together in his mind and formed "decipitate".[/nq]
[nq:1]Is there a linguistic term for this kind of word synthesis? There are similar words known as 'Bushisms', but it would be wrong to misunderestimate their catchiness irregardless of their origin.[/nq]
A word that's made up of a piece, say the beginning, o
[nq:1]Is there a linguistic term for this kind of word synthesis? There are similar words known as 'Bushisms', but it would be wrong to misunderestimate their catchiness irregardless of their origin.[/nq]
A word that's made up of a piece, say the beginning, o
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[nq:2]He had obviously heard "precipitate" and "dissipate", and the two got together in his mind and formed "decipitate".[/nq]
[nq:1]Is there a linguistic term for this kind of word synthesis?[/nq]
They are usually called malapropisms, after the
character in the Sheridan play. Pedants may disagree whether a malapropism may or must be a valid word
merely used with a mistaken meaning
[nq:1]Is there a linguistic term for this kind of word synthesis?[/nq]
They are usually called malapropisms, after the
character in the Sheridan play. Pedants may disagree whether a malapropism may or must be a valid word
merely used with a mistaken meaning
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