Some Non-Productive Affixes

Some Productive Affixes

Noun-forming suffixes	-er, -ing, -ness, -ism (materi­alism), -ist (impressionist), -ance
Adjective-forming suf­fixes	-y, -ish, -ed (learned), -able, -less
Adverb-forming suffixes	-ly
Verb-forming suffixes	-ize/-ise (realize), -ate
Prefixes	un- (unhappy), re- (recon­struct), dis- (disappoint)

Noun-forming suffixes	-th, -hood
Adjective-forming suffixes	-ly, -some, -en, -ous
Verb-forming suffix	-en

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The morpheme, and therefore affix, which is a type of morpheme, is generally defined as the smallest indi­visible component of the word possessing a meaning of its own. Meanings of affixes are specific and consider­ably differ from those of root morphemes. Affixes have widely generalized meanings and refer the concept con­veyed by the whole word to a certain category, which is vast and all-embracing. So, the noun-forming suffix -er could be roughly defined as designating persons from the object of their occupation or labour (painter — the one who paints) or from their place of origin or abode (southerner — the one living in the South). The adjec­tive-forming suffix -ful has the meaning of "full of", "characterized by" (beautiful, careful) whereas -ish may often imply insufficiency of quality (greenish — green, but not quite; youngish — not quite young but looking it).

Such examples might lead one to the somewhat superficial conclusion that the meaning of a derived word is always a sum of the meanings of its morphemes: un/eat/able = "not fit to eat" where not stands for un- and fit for -able.

There are numerous derived words whose meanings can really be easily deduced from the meanings of their constituent parts. Yet, such cases represent only the first and simplest stage of semantic readjustment with­in derived words. The constituent morphemes within derivatives do not always preserve their current mean­ings and are open to subtle and complicated semantic shifts.

Let us take at random some of the adjectives formed with the same productive suffix -y, and try to deduce the meaning of the suffix from their dictionary defini­tions:

brainy (inform.) — intelligent, intellectual, i. e. characterized by brains

catty — quietly or slyly malicious, spiteful, i. e. characterized by features ascribed to a cat

chatty — given to chat, inclined to chat

dressy (inform.) — showy in dress, i. e. inclined to dress well or to be overdressed

fishy (e. g. in a fishy story, inform.) — improbable, hard to believe (like stories told by fishermen)

foxy— foxlike, cunning or crafty, i. e. character­ized by features ascribed to a fox

stagy — theatrical, unnatural, i. e. inclined to affec­tation, to unnatural theatrical manners

touchy — apt to take offence on slight provocation, i. e. resenting a touch or contact (not at all inclined to be touched).

The Random-House Dictionary defines the meaning of the -y suffix as "characterized by or inclined to the substance or action of the root to which the affix is attached". Yet, even the few given examples show that, on the one hand, there are cases, like touchy or fishy that are not covered by the definition. On the other hand, even those cases that are roughly covered, show a wide variety of subtle shades of meaning. It is not only the suffix that adds its own meaning to the meaning of the root, but the suffix is, in its turn, af­fected by the root and undergoes certain semantic changes, so that the mutual influence of root and affix creates a wide range of subtle nuances.

The semantic distinctions of words produced from the same root by means of different affixes are also of considerable interest, both for language studies and re­search work. Compare: womanly — womanish, flowe­ry — flowered — flowering, starry — starred, red­dened — reddish, shortened — shortish.

The semantic difference between the members of these groups is very obvious: the meanings of the suf­fixes are so distinct that they colour the whole words.

Womanly is used in a complimentary manner about girls and women, whereas womanish is used to indicate an effeminate man and certainly implies criticism.

Flowery is applied to speech or a style, flowered means "decorated with a pattern of flowers" (e. g. flowered silk or chintz, flowering is the same as blossoming (e. g. flowering bushes or shrubs).

Starry means "resembling stars" (e. g. starry eyes) and starred — "covered or decorated with stars" (e. g. starred shies).

Reddened and shortened both imply the result of an action or process, as in the eyes reddened with weeping or a shortened version of a story (i. e. a story that has been abridged) whereas shortish and reddish point to insufficiency of quality: reddish is not exactly red, but tinged with red, and a shortish man is probably a little taller than a man described as short.

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