reduplication etymology

Etymology:

  • From Latin "reduplicare" ("to fold back"), from "re-" ("back") + "duplicare*" ("to double").

Meaning and Origin:

Reduplication is a linguistic phenomenon in which a word or part of a word is repeated, often for emphasis or to convey a specific meaning. It is found in many languages around the world and has been documented as far back as Proto-Indo-European.

The repetition can take various forms, including:

  • Initial reduplication: The beginning of a word is repeated (e.g., "tick-tock," "zigzag")
  • Medial reduplication: A syllable or group of syllables within a word is repeated (e.g., "hummingbird," "ziggurat")
  • Final reduplication: The end of a word is repeated (e.g., "mama," "baba")

In some languages, reduplication has become a productive morphological process, where it is used to create new words or to modify existing ones. For example, in Malay, the reduplication of a verb stem indicates repetition or intensivity (e.g., "lari" = "to run," "larilari" = "to run around").

In other languages, reduplication is more limited and may serve specific grammatical or semantic functions. For example, in English, reduplication is often used to convey emphasis (e.g., "very very good") or to form onomatopoeic words (e.g., "buzz-buzz").

reduplication relate terms

  • duplicate

    Etymology The word duplicate originates from the Latin word duplicatus which is the

  • redact

    Etymology Late Latin redactus past participle of redigere to bring back restore re

  • redeem

    Etymology The word redeem comes from the Latin word redimere which means to buy bac

  • redolent

    Etymology Latin redolēns fragrant Present participle of the verb redolēre to g

  • redundant

    Etymology Redundant comes from the Latin word redundare which means to overflow or

  • redintegrate

    Etymology Latin redintegrare Prefix re again anew Root integrare to make

  • render

    Etymology Old French rendre Late Latin reddere Proto Indo European red Meaning

  • rally

    Etymology The word rally comes from the Old French word rallier which means to gath

  • receive

    Etymology The word receive comes from the Middle English word receiven which itself

  • recommend

    Recommend Etymology From the Old French recommander to commend recommend itself f

  • reduce

    Etymology Latin reducere from re back ducere to lead Middle French reduir

  • recreate

    Etymology Etymology is derived from the Greek words etymon ἔτυμον true sen

  • refer

    Etymology is the study of the origin of words and the way their form and meaning have chan

  • religion

    Etymology The word religion is derived from the Latin word religio which means rev

  • remain

    Etymology The word remain is derived from the Old French word remeindre modern Frenc

  • request

    Etymology The word request comes from the Middle English word requeste which in tu

  • require

    Etymology is the study of the origin of words and the ways in which their meanings have ch

  • recovery

    Etymology of Recovery The word recovery originates from the Old French term recover

  • rebel

    Etymology The word rebel derives from the Latin verb rebellāre meaning to rise ag

  • relic

    Etymology Middle English relike Old French relique Latin reliquia a thing left beh

  • remnant

    Etymology The word remnant is derived from the late Middle English word remenant wh

  • restive

    Etymology The word restive comes from the Latin word restare meaning to stand still

  • rest

    Etymology The word rest originates from the Old English word restan which means to

  • rally

    Etymology The word rally comes from the Old French word rallier which means to gath

  • ransom

    Etymology Middle English raunson from Anglo Norman French raençon from Late Latin r

  • redemption

    Etymology Redemption derives from the Latin word redemptio which means a buying back

  • rampart

    Etymology and Meaning The word rampart comes from the Middle English term rampart w

  • rebuild

    Etymology The word rebuild is derived from the Old English words re meaning again

  • refill

    Etymology The word refill is derived from the French word refiller meaning to fill

  • reset

    Etymology The word reset has its roots in the Middle English word resetten which mea

  • rewrite

    Etymology Etymology is the study of the origin and history of words It traces the develo

  • regret

    Etymology Old French regretter Late Latin regretari meaning to murmur complain Po

  • regard

    Etymology The word regard comes from the Middle French word regarder which means t

  • reward

    Etymology Middle English rewarde from Anglo French rewarde reward from Old French r

  • anadiplosis

    Etymology Greek ἀναδίπλωσις anadiplosis literally a doubling back Fro

  • scrabble

    Etymology English Scrabble Origin Late 1930s coined by Alfred Mosher Butts based on

  • zig zag

    Etymology The term zig zag is first attested in the 15th century It is a reduplicatio

  • Humpty dumpty

    Etymology The term Humpty Dumpty is thought to be onomatopoeic derived from the sound

  • hurly burly

    Etymology Hurlyburly is an alteration of hurluberlu a French term that originally r

  • susurration

    Etymology From Late Latin susurratiō n from Latin susurrāre to whisper Meaning

  • word

    Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their development through history It in

  • repetition

    Etymology Latin repĕtitio noun Verb stem repět meaning to repeat go back o

  • syllable

    Etymology The word syllable comes from the Late Latin word syllaba which in turn com