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Words that require a prefix or suffix

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I've been fascinated with the strange occurrence in our language where we have words that could only exist along with a prefix or suffix.  I've often though about how humorous they are in the moment, but I've never made a list and often forget that I ran into them.  I should get around to making a list, and I could use your help.  Here are a couple that spring to mind immediately:

nonchalant - would "chalant" be acting in an overbearingly obvious manner?

overwhelmed/underwhelmed - you can never be just "whelmed", except maybe in Europe 

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Its usually some fun etymology behind it.A DISaster can happen, but never just an aster.

Aster-astro-stars.

DisASTER means bad stars, or basically that fate aligned to cause a catastrophe.

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TheBoost said:

Its usually some fun etymology behind it.A DISaster can happen, but never just an aster.

Aster-astro-stars.

DisASTER means bad stars, or basically that fate aligned to cause a catastrophe.

Hey, that's an interesting one and never occurred to me.  I'm sure a bunch of words we take for granted because of their commonality fall into a similar categories...words like destroy.  Now just by looking at it I can't see it, but its relative destruct is the process of breaking something: de- meaning undoing, -struct having to do with something's structure.  You can also construct something, but once it's complete, it never is simply struct.  Never even thought of that till just now.  Wonder how many there are like that! :)

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Randolph Barnhouse?

That's a made up name if I ever heard one.

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His bowels aren't going to disem themselves...

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How do you get to be renowned? I mean, like, do you have to be 'nowned' first?

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There is no quel but prequels, paraquels, interquels, metaquels etc exist (sequel has an independent etymology).

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darth_ender said:

TheBoost said:

Its usually some fun etymology behind it.A DISaster can happen, but never just an aster.

Aster-astro-stars.

DisASTER means bad stars, or basically that fate aligned to cause a catastrophe.

Hey, that's an interesting one and never occurred to me.  I'm sure a bunch of words we take for granted because of their commonality fall into a similar categories...words like destroy.  Now just by looking at it I can't see it, but its relative destruct is the process of breaking something: de- meaning undoing, -struct having to do with something's structure.  You can also construct something, but once it's complete, it never is simply struct.  Never even thought of that till just now.  Wonder how many there are like that! :)

Malaria is another.

It literally means bad air (which in error was believed to be the cause of the disease).

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Hmm...I thought I'd commented on malaria, which indeed is another interesting one that had never occurred to me, but makes perfect sense.

And DoubleKO, what are you talking about?  The parrot's just pining for the fjords!

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- You're just being superstitious.

- I am not! Just extra-stitious.

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- I'm getting really good at dacting.

- You mean "unredacting"?

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Antidisestablishmentarianism could stand to have a few more prefixes and suffixes, couldn't it? Like 'Unantidisestablishmentarianismdom'?

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Consider me whelmed.

Forum Moderator
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 (Edited)

Bingowings said:

There is no quel but prequels, paraquels, interquels, metaquels etc exist (sequel has an independent etymology).

 French has quel--not to mention quelle, quels, quelles, lequel, laquelle, lesquels, lesquelles, dequel, dequelle desquels, desquelles, duquel, auquel, and auxquels.

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Is the root of a word an interfix, or just a fix?

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If your mother thinks she's getting half my binoculars she's crazy. If I showed up to my bird club with one nocular, they'd laugh me out of the forest.

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 (Edited)

darth_ender said:

overwhelmed/underwhelmed - you can never be just "whelmed", except maybe in Europe 

 I came across "whelm" for perhaps the first time in my life just now. Obviously, it doesn't actually quire again a fix before or after.

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Require, you even had to use it to make the thread title.  =-)