Encyclopedia of Ancient Greek Language and Linguistics

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Word Formation (Derivation, Compounding)
(5,438 words)

Abstract

Word formation in Ancient Greek comprises two processes, derivation and compounding. Both reach back to (Proto-)Indo-European and became very productive in Greek, bringing about a considerable expansion of the lexicon. These word formation processes (a) are governed by structural principles, (b) show interaction (between derivation and compounding, and also mutually between distinct derivational mechani…

Cite this page
Alfons Wouters, Pierre Swiggers, Toon van Hal and Lambert Isebaert, “Word Formation (Derivation, Compounding)”, in: Encyclopedia of Ancient Greek Language and Linguistics, General Editor: Georgios K. Giannakis. Consulted online on 28 March 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2214-448X_eagll_COM_00000376>
First published online: 2013



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