Which term means adding prefixes or suffixes to change the meaning?

Which term means adding prefixes or suffixes to change the meaning?

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

Answer: (A)

Adding prefixes or suffixes to a word to form a new word and often to shift its meaning or part of speech is called derivation. This process uses affixes to create new forms from a base word, like turning happy (an adjective) into happiness (a noun) with the suffix -ness, or turning un- + happy into unhappy by adding a prefix to change meaning. This differs from compounding, which forms new words by sticking two independent words together, such as bookcase or sunflower, where the meaning comes from the combination of the whole words rather than from affixation. Word meaning focuses on semantics, and syntax deals with sentence structure, not the word-formation process. So, the term that means adding prefixes or suffixes to change the meaning is derivation.

Adding prefixes or suffixes to a word to form a new word and often to shift its meaning or part of speech is called derivation. This process uses affixes to create new forms from a base word, like turning happy (an adjective) into happiness (a noun) with the suffix -ness, or turning un- + happy into unhappy by adding a prefix to change meaning. This differs from compounding, which forms new words by sticking two independent words together, such as bookcase or sunflower, where the meaning comes from the combination of the whole words rather than from affixation. Word meaning focuses on semantics, and syntax deals with sentence structure, not the word-formation process. So, the term that means adding prefixes or suffixes to change the meaning is derivation.