Term | Definition | Example |
acronym | noun - A word formed from the initial letters of a name or by combining initial letters or parts of a series of words | WAC - Women's Army Corps. |
affix | noun - A word element, such as a prefix, attached to a base, stem, or root. | The word "reappearance" has two affixes: re- and -ance. |
coinage | noun - The invention of new words. | The word "hobbit" was a coinage of J.R.R.Tolkien. |
colloquial | adjective - Referring to informal speech or writing. | a close call = a narrow escape |
malapropism | noun - A humorous misuse of a word. | polo bear/ polar bear |
onomatopoeia | noun - Word that imitates what it stands for. | buzz, hiss, crash, ring, zip |
palindrome | noun - Word reading the same backward or forward. | RACECAR = RACECAR |
portmanteau word | noun - A word blend. | splash + spatter = splatter |
simile | noun - Comparison of two unlike things, containing "like" or "as". | " hungry as a bear"
" sly like a fox" |
spoonerism | noun - Accidental, humorous distortion of words. | tons of soil / sons of toil |