collocation etymology

Etymology:

  • The word "collocation" is derived from the Latin prefix "con-," meaning "with," and the Latin verb "locare," meaning "to place."

Meaning:

A collocation is a group of words that regularly occur together and form a natural linguistic unit. They are often idiomatic and cannot be understood by simply considering the individual words in isolation.

Origin:

  • The concept of collocation originated in the field of linguistics in the early 20th century.
  • J.R. Firth, a British linguist, coined the term "collocation" in his 1957 book "Linguistic Theory and Description."
  • Firth argued that collocations are fundamental units of language and that they reflect the underlying structure of linguistic knowledge.

Characteristics:

  • Collocations are typically composed of two or more words.
  • They occur frequently in natural language and are not random combinations.
  • They have a specific meaning that cannot be fully understood from the individual words.
  • Collocations can be lexical (e.g., "heavy rain"), grammatical (e.g., "past tense"), or semantic (e.g., "strong coffee").

Examples:

  • Heavy rain
  • Strong coffee
  • Past tense
  • Tall building
  • Red herring
  • Kick the bucket
  • Break a leg

collocation relate terms

  • collocate

    Collocate Etymology From Latin collocare meaning to place together Derived from

  • locus

    Etymology The word locus comes from the Latin word locus which means place or lo

  • juxtaposition

    Etymology Origin of the Word Juxtaposition is derived from the Latin phrase iuxta

  • apposition

    Etymology From Latin appositio from apponere meaning to place near literally to pu

  • diphthong

    Etymology Diphthong comes from the Greek words diphthongos meaning having two soun

  • order

    Etymology From Middle English ordre ordre from Anglo Norman ordre from Old French or

  • position

    Etymology From Middle English posicion from Anglo Norman posicion from Old French pos

  • location

    Etymology The word location is derived from the Latin word locatio meaning a placin

  • emplacement

    Etymology and Meaning Emplacement noun comes from the French word emplacement which

  • hallucinate

    Etymology Hallucinate is derived from the Latin word hallucinari which means to b

  • moon

    Etymology The word moon originates from the Old English word mōna which in turn co

  • duty

    Etymology Middle English duete duetee from Anglo Norman French duete dutee from Lat