Making a new word from an existing one — often changing its word class.
In precise terms
Morphology creating a new lexeme, frequently altering word class and always altering lexical meaning. Derived forms take their own dictionary entry.
An example
nation → national → nationalise → nationalisation
What is going on here
Each step creates a new word with its own entry and its own word class — noun, adjective, verb, noun again. Contrast inflection, which would only have given us 'nations'.
Why this matters when you are learning a language
Derivational patterns are the highest-leverage vocabulary tool there is: learning one suffix can unlock hundreds of words at once, far faster than learning them individually.
Across languages
Germanic languages derive heavily by compounding; Romance languages by affixation, much of it from Latin. Semitic languages derive through root-and-pattern morphology, where a consonantal root is fitted into vowel templates.
Related terms
- InflectionAdvanced — Changing a word's form to fit its grammar, without making it a new word.
- MorphemeAdvanced — The smallest unit of a language that carries meaning or grammatical function.
- GrammaticalizationAdvanced — The process by which ordinary words gradually become grammatical markers.
- ReduplicationAdvanced — A word-building pattern that copies all or part of a form to express a grammatical or lexical contrast.
Where to go next
- Language guides — See grammatical and lexical categories used in context.
- Terminology quiz — Test the terms on this page.