Word formation Word formation In linguistics, word formation is the creation of a new word. Word formation is sometimes contrasted with semantic change, which is a change in a single word's meaning. The boundary between word formation and semantic change can be difficult to define: a new use of an old word can be seen as a new word derived from an old one and identical to it in form. See 'conversion'. There are a number of methods of word formation. A blend is a word formed by joining parts of two words after clipping. An example is "smog", which comes from
Jew (word) following the Greek version, is "Iudaeus", and from these sources the term passed to other European languages. The Old French "giu", earlier "juieu", had elided (dropped) the letter "d" from the Latin "Iudaeus". The Middle English word "Jew" derives from Old English where the word is attested as early as 1000 in various forms, such as "Iudeas", "Gyu", "Giu", "Iuu", "Iuw", "Iew". The Old English name is derived from Old French. The modern French term is "juif". Most European languages have retained the letter "d" in the word for Jew. Etymological equivalents are in use in other languages, e.g., "Jude"