[Lexicog] rules when it comes to latin word roots

[Mike Maxwell]

arun wrote:
> For example, here is a word I've created, which is supposed to
> mean 'a sad or 'heavy'(?) feeling'- (it might sound stupid!):-
>  "Gravipathy". ...Can you say why it does not exist?

One question to ask yourself is what it means for a word to exist.  The
fact that you've coined it, used it, and other people have understood
you (more or less) means that, in some sense, it does exist.  If you're
lucky, other people may start to use it, and some day it will get into a
dictionary, as have many other recently coined words.  But it certainly
doesn't have to make it to a dictionary in order to exist.

The other way to interpret your question is to ask why the word didn't
exist before you coined it.  (Of course, it might be that someone else
used it before you, but their usage didn't catch on enough for other
people--or dictionary makers--to notice it.  That happened to me: I once
jokingly coined the word "deprovement", meaning the opposite of an
improvement, only to find that it was already in use, albeit rare.)  As
for this question, it's difficult to say.  Maybe there are other words
that mean what you intend your word to mean, such as "malaise" or "the
blues", so no one ever saw the need to coin another word meaning the
same thing.

Or maybe, as another respondent mentioned, some people are averse to
coinages which combine Latin and Greek roots.  I'm not so sure about
that, though, as I doubt most people know or care.  As an example of a
mixed blood word, "aromatherapy" comes to mind.  "Aroma" can be traced
back to Latin, and "therapy" to Greek (although I'm told the latter may
have first been "Latinized").
--
	Mike Maxwell
	Linguistic Data Consortium
	maxwell at ldc.upenn.edu


------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
Has someone you know been affected by illness or disease?
Network for Good is THE place to support health awareness efforts!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/RzSHvD/UOnJAA/79vVAA/HKE4lB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->


Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lexicographylist/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    lexicographylist-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/