Which term is defined as combining two or more words to form a new word?

Which term is defined as combining two or more words to form a new word?

• A. Derivation
• B. Compounds
• C. Word meaning
• D. Autobiography

Answer: (B)

Combining two or more words to form a new word is the idea behind compounds. A compound word is created when two free words are joined to produce a new meaning, like snowman, sunlight, or bookshelf. These can appear closed together, with a space, or with a hyphen. Derivation, by contrast, adds prefixes or suffixes to a base word to change meaning or its part of speech (unhappy, happiness). Word meaning is about semantics, not the process of forming new words. An autobiography is a specific word built from meaningful parts, but it’s not the term that names the process of combining words; it’s an example of a word formed from morphemes.

Combining two or more words to form a new word is the idea behind compounds. A compound word is created when two free words are joined to produce a new meaning, like snowman, sunlight, or bookshelf. These can appear closed together, with a space, or with a hyphen.

Derivation, by contrast, adds prefixes or suffixes to a base word to change meaning or its part of speech (unhappy, happiness). Word meaning is about semantics, not the process of forming new words. An autobiography is a specific word built from meaningful parts, but it’s not the term that names the process of combining words; it’s an example of a word formed from morphemes.