Word family
A word family is a set of words that share some semantic feature common to the same word, on which the whole family of words that receives the name ” primitive word ” is based. In this article we will elaborate some examples of word family.
The primitive word is the original word that does not come from any other word and that serves as a starting point, since all the other words that make up the lexical family share at least one of their significant features with the primitive word, which is the one that contains the greatest number of significant features, common to the rest. As a general rule, primitive words are usually, at a morphological level, nouns or verbs. The primitive word of the word family that concerns us in this article, “sun”, is therefore a noun.
On the other hand, all the other words that make up the word family are called derived words , since they all originate from the primitive word. These words are generally nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. that sometimes become compound words.
Another important aspect when studying word families are the two elements that make up a word. A word, is formed from two parts: the first is the lexeme (also known as a root), which is the fixed part of the word (except for some allomorphy in the root), since it does not change in its form and Normally, it is common to most of the words that make up the word family since through this element the semantic feature common to all of them is preserved.
The second part that makes up a word is the grammatical morpheme ; that is, the part of it that does vary according to the meaning of the word. The morpheme can be inflectional (that is, gender, masculine or feminine, and number, singular or plural) or derivative (through word creation processes such as suffixation or prefixation, among others) and, finally, it can is also a verbal ending. Each and every one of the morphemes that exist, as such, have minimal significance since this is an essential quality to consider something as a morpheme.
1-Root of a word
What do the words have in common? The common part of words is called the root, also known as the lexeme.
The root of a word is the part of the word that does not change. From a root we can form words that are related by their meaning.
For example: salt , salt ero, salt ado, salt ar
2-Primitive word
The primitive word is the one that gives rise to other words, thus being able to form the family of words related by their meaning. The primitive word is a word that does not come from another.
3-Derived Word
It is a word formed from a primitive. They have the same root as the primitive word and their meaning is related to it.
Primitive Word: bread
Derived Words: bread basket, baker, bread roll etc.
4-Word Families
Word families are related by their meaning. The word family is also known as a lexical family.
Examples of word families:
Primitive word: mouth
- sandwich – bite – mouthful – boquera
Primitive word: heat
- hot – hot – fever
Primitive word: path
- hiker – hike – hiker – walk
Primitive word: house
- home – farmhouse – little house
Primitive word: color
- coloring – colorful – tricolor – coloring
Primitive word: flower
- flowery – florist – floral – flourish – flora – floriculture – bloom – flower shop
Primitive word: fruit
- fruit bowl – fruit tree – fruit shop – fruit growing
Primitive word: garden
- gardener – gardener – gardening – landscaping
Primitive word: firewood
- lumberjack – log – woody – woodshed
Primitive word: sea
- marine – sailor – seafood – tide – tidal wave
Primitive word: bread
- baker – bakery – bread roll – breaded – bread basket
Primitive word: grass
- pasture – pasture – shepherdess – shepherd
Primitive word: fish
- fish – fisherman – fisherman – fishmonger
Primitive word: salt
- salt shaker – saline – salar – salty – saltpeter
We hope that you have understood the examples of word family.
