Thursday, October 20, 2011

Blog # 5

1. Birthday

Etymology: "anniversary celebration of someone birth (usually a king or saint at first) ; see birth + day. Meaning "day on which one is born is from 1570's Birthnight is attested from 1620's.

Word Formation: Birth and Day

Morphemes: Birth=stem, Day=suffix

2. Airplane: Though the original references are british, the word caught on in American English where it largely supersded earlier aeroplane. Aircraft "airplane" also is from 1907. Lord Byron, speculatively used air-vessel (1822).

Word Formation: Air and Plane

Morphemes: Air=stem, Plane=suffix

3. Fireman: "tender of a fire", from fire + man. As "person hired to put out (rather thab tend) fires" it is attested from 1714.

Word Formation: Fire and Man

Morphemes: Fire=stem, Plane=suffix

4. Cupcake: 1828, American English, from cup + cake, probably from the cups they are baked in, but possibly from small measures of ingredients used to make. Meaning "attrative young woman" is recorded from 1930's, American English.

Word Formation: Cup and Cake

Morphemes: Cup=stem, Cake=Suffix

5. Boyfriend: "woman's paramour", 1909 from boy + friend

Word Formation: Boy and Friend

Morphemes: Boy=stem, Friend=suffix

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