Wikipedia

Augmentative

Anaugmentative(abbreviatedAUG) is amorphologicalform of a word which expresses greater intensity, often in size but also in other attributes. It is the opposite of adiminutive.

Overaugmenting something often makes it grotesque and so in some languages, augmentatives are used primarily for comical effect or aspejoratives.

Many languages have augmentatives fornouns,and some have augmentatives forverbs.

Germanic languages

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English

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In modernEnglish,augmentatives can be created with the prefixes:

  • ’’over-’’: e.g., ’’overlord’’ and ’’overqualified’’.
  • ’’grand-’’: e.g., ’’grandmaster’’ and ’’grandparent’’.
  • ’’super-’’: e.g., ’’supermarket’’ and ’’superpower’’.
  • ’’mega-’’: e.g., ’’megastore’’ and ’’megastar’’.
  • ’’arch-’’: e.g., ’’archrival’’ and ’’archangel’’.

Since the early 1990s, the prefix ’’über-’’ or ’’uber-’’ has also frequently been used as a borrowing from German.[1]The suffix-zilla,expressing a monstrous quality, can also be considered an augmentative form.

  • ’’-zilla’’: e.g., ’’momzilla’’ and ’’bridezilla’’.

In some parts of theUnited Kingdomand theRepublic of Ireland,the prefix "old" is used as an augmentative, and a pejorative in some cases. An example of this is using "old’un" or "old one" to describe one's parents/grandparents.

Dutch

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In modernDutch,as in English, augmentatives are usually created with the prefixes:

  • over-:e.g.,overgewichtandoververhitting( "overweight" and "overheating" )
  • groot-:e.g.,grootmeesterandgroothandel( "grandmaster" and "wholesaler" )
  • super-:e.g.,supermarktandsupermacht( "supermarket" and "superpower" ).
  • mega-:e.g.,megacontractandmegabioscoop( "a very big contract" and "a very large movie theater" )

There are also prefixes that can be used for some adjectives:

  • bloed-(blood): e.g.,bloedmooiandbloedeigen( "very beautiful" and "very own" )[2]
  • steen-(stone): e.g.,steenrijkandsteengoed( "very rich" and "very good"; lit. "stone rich" and "stone good" )
  • kei-(boulder): e.g.,keihardandkeileuk( "very fast/hard/etc." and "very fun", lit. "boulder hard" and "boulder fun" )

German

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InGerman,there are different ways to build augmentatives. They are rarely usedprefixes:

  • un-,for instance inUnzahl"huge number",Unsumme"huge sum",Unmenge"huge quantity". Mostly used for negation, however (e.g.Unglück"bad luck",Unsinn"nonsense" ), and occasionally in a pejorative sense (Unwetter"bad weather",Untier"monster", lit. "un-creature" ).
  • ur-,for instance,uralt"ancient"
  • über-,for instance,Übermensch(q.v.)
  • aber-,for instance,abertausend"thousands".
  • mega-,for examplemegageil"mega-cool"
  • ultra-,for exampleultracool
  • voll-,for exampleVollidiot"utter idiot"
  • riesen-(fromRiese,meaning "giant" ), for exampleriesengroß"enormous"[3]
  • stein-,for examplesteinalt"very old, ancient",steinreich"very rich, wealthy" (lit. "stone-old", "stone-rich" )

Swedish

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InSwedish,the way to build augmentative is to add one of many prefixes before the main word, typically a noun, adjective or adverb. Some common prefixes are:jätte-,super-,bauta-, andmega-. For example:

  • jätte- (meaning "giant" ), for examplejättesnabb"very fast"
  • super-, for examplesupermycket"very much"
  • bauta- (frombautasten,meaning "boulder" ), for examplebautaportion"very large serving (of food)"
  • mega-, for examplemegahus"gigantic house"

There are many synonyms to the augmentativejätte-. Some of these synonyms are:as-,gör-,svin-,skit-,andur-.These do not refer to size, only intensity, e.g.gul"yellow" tojättegulorskitgul"very yellow". Like many other augmentative prefixes,jätte- is also a noun that can be part of a compound word, e.g.jättelik"enormous" (literally "giantlike" ), as opposed tojättelik"very similar".

The use of prefixes to build augmentatives in Swedish is colloquial and is seldom used in formal text and speech, where adjectives and adverbs are used instead.

Greek language

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InModern Greekthe usage of augmentative is very common in everyday speech but not quite as common as diminutive forms. The usage of augmentative is considered colloquial and it is not present at all in formal speech. There are a variety of augmentative suffixes

Fem. -α, -άρα, -άκλα
Masc. -αράς, ΄-αρος,-ακλάς, -ακλας

Most nouns in their augmentative form are feminine. This means neuter and masculine nouns become feminine and then an augmentative suffix is added.

eg.

Ο παίχτης

The player (MASC)

→

Ο παιχταράς

The great player (MASC)

(Could also be η παιχτάρα (FEM))

{Ο παίχτης} → {Ο παιχταράς}

{The player (MASC)} {} {The great player (MASC)}

eg.

(Η) κούκλα

beautiful woman

→

(Η) κουκλάρα

very beautiful woman

{(Η) κούκλα} → {(Η) κουκλάρα}

{beautiful woman} {} {very beautiful woman}

In some neuter cases just changing the original gender of the noun is enough for augmentation to take place

eg.

Το σπαθί

The sword

→

Η σπάθα

The great sword

{Το σπαθί} → {Η σπάθα}

{The sword} {} {The great sword}

Iranian languages

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New Persian

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InPersian,the suffix -ū (ـو) is used for augmentative;[4]for instance:

  • ریش(rīš "beard" ) →ریشو(rīšū "bearded, having a long beard" )
  • شپش(šepeš "louse" ) →شپشو(šepešū "unhygine, having a lot of lice in hair/body hair" )
  • ریغ(rīğ "puke" ) →ریغو(rīğū "unstable, puker, having a huge amount of vomiting / puking" )
  • شاش(šāš "piss" ) →شاشو(šāšū "bedwetter, having a big piss" )
  • دماغ(damāğ "nose" ) →دماغو(damāğū "having a long nose" )
  • نفرین(nefrīn "curse" ) →نفرینو(nefrīnū "curser, who is always cursing a lot" )
  • شکم(šekam "stomach" ) →شکمو(šekamū "gluttonous; having a big stomach to eat more" )
  • پت(pot "body hair" (inKermani'sdialect) ) →پتو(potū "hairy" )
  • اخم(axm "frown" ) →اخمو(axmū "frowny, who is always frowning a lot" )

Romance languages

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Italian

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Italianhas several augmentatives:

  • -one,-ona,found also in several Englishloanwordsfrom Italian, often via French:[5]minestrone(<minestra'soup');provolone cheese(<provola'a kind of cheese');cartone(<carta'paper') appears in Englishcartonandcartoon;balloon(this may have been formed in Italian, though the usual form ispallone,or in French)[6]);milione'million' (<mille'thousand');

Suffixes-accio,-accia,and-astro,-astra,also exist, but they are used to formpejorativewords, with no properly augmentative meaning:coltellaccio(<coltello'knife'; gives Englishcutlass); the family nameCarpaccio.

Portuguese

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InPortuguese,the most common augmentatives are the masculine-ão(sometimes also-zãoor-zarrão) and the feminine-ona(or-zona), although there are others, less frequently used. E.g.carro"car",carrão"big car";homem"man",homenzarrão"big man";mulher"woman",mulherona"big woman".

Sometimes, especially inBrazilian Portuguese,the masculine augmentative can be applied to a feminine noun, which then becomes grammatically masculine, but with a feminine meaning (e.g."o mulherão"instead of"a mulherona"for "the big woman" ); however, such cases usually imply subtle meaning twists, mostly with a somewhat gross or vulgar undertone (which, nonetheless, is often intentional, for the sake of wit, malice or otherwise; so,mulherãoactually means not a big woman, but a particularly sexy one).

Romanian

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InRomanianthere are several augmentative suffixes:-oi/-oaie,-an/-anăetc. (masculine/feminine pairs). They originate from Latin-ō(acc. sg.-ōnem), the origin of the other Romance augmentative suffixes. The archaic form has survived unchanged in Banat (and in Aromanian) as-on',-oan'e.As in other Romance languages, a feminine base word may have masculine or feminine forms in the augmentative. Examples:

  • casă (f.) → căsoi (n.), căsoaie (f.)
  • piatră (f.) → pietroi (n.)
  • băiat (m.) → băiețoi (m.)
  • băiat (m.) → băietan (m.)
  • fată (f.) → fetișcană (f.)

Spanish

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InSpanish,-o becomes -ón and -a becomes -ona most frequently, but -ote/-ota and -azo/-aza (also meaning-blow) are also commonly seen. Others include -udo/-uda, -aco/-aca, -acho/-acha, -uco/-uca, -ucho/-ucha, -astro/-astra and -ejo/-eja.More detail atSpanish nouns.

Slavic languages

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Bulgarian

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InBulgarian,as in Russian, mainly with-ище.

Polish

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InPolishthere is a variety of augmentatives formed with suffixes, for example: żaba (a frog) → żabucha / żabsko / żabisko / żabula; or kamień (a stone) → kamulec / kamior / etc.

  • -ica, e.g. igła, f. ( "needle" ) + ica → iglica ( "spire" )
  • -yca, e.g. wieża, f. ( "tower" ) + yca → wieżyca
  • -ch, e.g. Stanisław, m. ( "Stan" ) + ch → Stach (short form of the name, but not diminutive)
  • -chu e.g. Krzysztof, m ( "Christopher" ) + chu → Krzychu ( "Chris" )
  • -cha, e.g. kiełbasa f. ( "sausage" ) + cha → kiełbacha ( "large sausage" )
  • -ucha, e.g. dziewa, f. archaic ( "girl" ) + ucha → dziewucha ( "wench" )
  • -oja, e.g. dziewa, f. archaic ( "girl" ) + oja → dziewoja ( "wench" )
  • -uch, e.g. uparty, adj. m. ( "stubborn" ) + uch → uparciuch
  • -ocha, e.g. śpi, v. ( "sleeps" ) + och → śpioch ( "sleepyhead" )
  • -och, e.g. tłusty, adj. m. ( "fat" ) + och → tłuścioch ( "fatso", "fatty" )
  • -al, e.g. nos, m. ( "nose" ) + al → nochal ( "large nose" )
  • -ula, e.g. smark, adj m. ( "snot" ) + ula → smarkula ( "snotty young person" )
  • -ała, e.g. jąkać się ( "to stutter" ) + ała → jąkała ( "stutterer" )
  • -isko, e.g. wąs, m. ( "mustache" ) + isko → wąsisko ( "large mustache" )
  • -sko, e.g. baba, f. ( "woman" ) + sko → babsko ( "hag" )
  • -ysko, e.g. biedak m. ( "pauper" ) + ysko → biedaczysko ( "poor fellow" )
  • -or, e.g. but m. ( "shoe" ) + or → bucior ( "large or dirty shoe" )
  • -er, e.g. bóbr m. ( "beaver" ) + er → bober ( "large beaver" )

Russian

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InRussianthere is a variety of augmentatives formed with prefixes (including loans from Latin) and suffixes, including -ище and -ина for example: дом ('house') домище('great house') домина('huge house'). To provide an impression of excessive qualities the suffix -га can be used for example: ветер ('wind'), ветрюга('strong wind').

Serbo-Croatian

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InSerbo-Croatianthere is a variety of augmentative nouns formed with suffixes:[7][8][9][10]

  • -ina, e.g. brdo, n. ( "hill" ) + ina → brdina
  • -čina, e.g. majmun, m. ( "monkey" ) + čina → majmunčina
  • -etina, e.g. kuća, f. ( "house" ) + etina → kućetina
  • -erina, e.g. kuća + erina → kućerina
  • -urina, e.g. ptica, f. ( "bird" ) + urina → ptičurina
  • -ešina, e.g. glava, f. ( "head" ) + ešina → glavešina
  • -uština, e.g. bara, f. ( "pond" ) + uština → baruština
  • -ušina, e.g. pijetao, m. ( "rooster" ) + ušina → pjetlušina

Augmentative nouns are eitherpejoratives,although distinct pejorative suffixes also exist. All augmentative nouns have female grammatical gender. Some nouns can have their augmentatives formed with different suffixes, for example, see 'kuća' above.

InHrvatska gramatika,Barić et al. do not classify adjectives formed with suffixes which intensify an action or property as augmentatives. The augmentative prefixes for adjectives listed inHrvatska gramatikaare pre- ( "excessively"; or excess of a favorable property),[11]hiper- ( "hyper-" ), super- and ultra-.[10]According toHrvatska enciklopedija,augmentative verbs surpass their base verb with their intensity.[9]However, by defining augmentative verbs as an action done excessively,[12]Hrvatska gramatikaonly lists pre- ( "over-" ) as an augmentative verb.[10]

Semitic languages

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Arabic

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Form IIof the Arabic verb often has an augmentative sense, which may indicate intensity (intensive) or repetition (frequentative).[13]

Bantu languages

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Bantu languages'noun classmarkers often double as augmentative and diminutive markers, and some have separate classes that are used only as an augmentative or a diminutive.

Chichewa

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Chichewanoun class 7 prefixchi-doubles up as augmentative marker. For example,chindegewhich is a huge plane as opposed tondegewhich is just a regular plane.

International auxiliary languages

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Esperanto

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InEsperanto,the-eg-infixis included before the final part-of-speech vowel. For example,domo(house) becomesdomego(mansion). SeeEsperanto vocabulary.

Interlingua

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Interlinguadoes not have an augmentative suffix, butinternational prefixessuch assuper-,hyper-,mega-can be used as augmentatives. See alsoInterlingua grammar.

See also

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References

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  1. ^"uber".Dictionary.com Unabridged(Online). n.d.
  2. ^Note that Dutchbloed-is unrelated to Englishbloody.The former is formed in analogy withbloedeigen('very own'),bloedrood('very red'), etc. wherein it originally had its proper meaning 'blood' ('of your own blood', and 'blood red') whereas the latter's origin is uncertain but according to theOEDmight refer to the habits of the aristocracy (those of the blood):bloody drunk.
  3. ^"Riesen- – Schreibung, Definition, Bedeutung, Beispiele".August 31, 2022.
  4. ^Dehkhoda, Ali Akbar."Loğatnāme Dehxodā (Dehkhoda's Dictionary)".Parsi Wiki.
  5. ^Oxford English Dictionary,3rd edition,s.v.-oon
  6. ^Oxford English Dictionary,s.v.balloon
  7. ^"Augmentativ i deminutiv – Opšte obrazovanje".www.opsteobrazovanje.in.rs(in Serbian).RetrievedJanuary 13,2018.
  8. ^Karakaš, Jure.Gramatika u stihu.
  9. ^ab"augmentativ | Hrvatska enciklopedija".www.enciklopedija.hr.RetrievedJanuary 13,2018.
  10. ^abcBarić, Eugenija; Lončarić, Mijo; Malić, Dragica; Pavešić, Slavko; Peti, Mirko; Zečević, Vesna; Znika, Marija (1997).Hrvatska gramatika.Školska knjiga.ISBN953-0-40010-1.
  11. ^"pre-".Hrvatski jezični portal(in Croatian).RetrievedFebruary 2,2018.
  12. ^"Glagolski vid § 234.6".Masaryk University.
  13. ^Mark W. Cowell,A Reference Grammar of Syrian Arabic.Georgetown University Press, 2005.ISBN1-58901-051-5.p. 253
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