Unpaired word
Encyclopedia
An unpaired word is one that, according to the usual rules of the language, would appear to have a related word but does not. Such words usually have a prefix or suffix
that would imply that there is an antonym
, with the prefix or suffix being absent or opposite.
Unpaired words can be the result of one of the words falling out of popular usage, or can be created when only one word of a pair is borrowed
from another language. Other unpaired words were never part of a pair; their starting or ending phonemes
, by accident, happen to match those of an existing morpheme
, leading to a reinterpretation.
The classification of a word as "unpaired" can be problematic, as a word thought to be unattested might reappear in real-world usage or be created, for example, through humorous back-formation
. In some cases a paired word does exist, but is quite rare or archaic (no longer in general use).
Such words – and particularly the back-formations, used as nonce word
s – find occasional use in wordplay
, particularly light verse. There are a handful of notable examples in modern English – three poems and one short story.
* Words not attested or very rare in English usage.
** Jocular or facetious coinages as conscious
back-formation
.
Suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs...
that would imply that there is an antonym
Antonym
In lexical semantics, opposites are words that lie in an inherently incompatible binary relationship as in the opposite pairs male : female, long : short, up : down, and precede : follow. The notion of incompatibility here refers to the fact that one word in an opposite pair entails that it is not...
, with the prefix or suffix being absent or opposite.
Unpaired words can be the result of one of the words falling out of popular usage, or can be created when only one word of a pair is borrowed
Loanword
A loanword is a word borrowed from a donor language and incorporated into a recipient language. By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept where the meaning or idiom is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself. The word loanword is itself a calque of the German Lehnwort,...
from another language. Other unpaired words were never part of a pair; their starting or ending phonemes
Phoneme
In a language or dialect, a phoneme is the smallest segmental unit of sound employed to form meaningful contrasts between utterances....
, by accident, happen to match those of an existing morpheme
Morpheme
In linguistics, a morpheme is the smallest semantically meaningful unit in a language. The field of study dedicated to morphemes is called morphology. A morpheme is not identical to a word, and the principal difference between the two is that a morpheme may or may not stand alone, whereas a word,...
, leading to a reinterpretation.
The classification of a word as "unpaired" can be problematic, as a word thought to be unattested might reappear in real-world usage or be created, for example, through humorous back-formation
Back-formation
In etymology, back-formation is the process of creating a new lexeme, usually by removing actual or supposed affixes. The resulting neologism is called a back-formation, a term coined by James Murray in 1889...
. In some cases a paired word does exist, but is quite rare or archaic (no longer in general use).
Such words – and particularly the back-formations, used as nonce word
Nonce word
A nonce word is a word used only "for the nonce"—to meet a need that is not expected to recur. Quark, for example, was formerly a nonce word in English, appearing only in James Joyce's Finnegans Wake. Murray Gell-Mann then adopted it to name a new class of subatomic particle...
s – find occasional use in wordplay
Wordplay
Wordplay is a musician/actor, of mixed British and Black African descent. Gaining worldwide exposure as an actor in 1998 through the Austrian Obscuro Gothic science fiction film "Dandy dust" directed by Hans Schierl...
, particularly light verse. There are a handful of notable examples in modern English – three poems and one short story.
Unpaired words in English
| Word | Paired word(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Disambiguate | *Ambiguate | Not attested; derived from dis- + ambigu(ous) + -ate in the mid-20th century |
| Disconsolate | Consolate | Derived from the Latin consolatus; rarely used |
| Disgruntled | **Gruntled | Conscious jocular back-formation, circa 1938 |
| Disheveled, Dishevelled | *Sheveled, *Shevelled | Not attested; from the Old French Old French Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories that span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from the 9th century to the 14th century... deschevelé |
| Feckless | Feckful | Rarely used antonym |
| Gormless | Gormful | Not an antonym |
| Indomitable | Domitable | Rarely used antonym |
| Ineffable | Effable | Rarely used antonym |
| Inept | **Ept | Conscious jocular back-formation, from 1938 |
| Intrepid | Trepid | Rarely used antonym |
| Innocent | Nocent | Not an exact antonym; rarely used |
| Innocuous | Nocuous | Rarely used antonym |
| Uncouth | **Couth | From Old English cunnan meaning "well-known" or "familiar"; rarely used |
| Ungainly | Gainly | Rarely used antonym |
| Unkempt | Kempt | Rarely used antonym |
| Unruly | Ruly | Rarely used antonym |
| Unstinting | Stinting | Rarely used antonym |
| Untoward | Toward | Not an antonym |
| Unwieldy | Wieldy | Rarely used antonym |
Consciousness
Consciousness is a term that refers to the relationship between the mind and the world with which it interacts. It has been defined as: subjectivity, awareness, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind...
back-formation
Back-formation
In etymology, back-formation is the process of creating a new lexeme, usually by removing actual or supposed affixes. The resulting neologism is called a back-formation, a term coined by James Murray in 1889...
.
See also
- Back-formationBack-formationIn etymology, back-formation is the process of creating a new lexeme, usually by removing actual or supposed affixes. The resulting neologism is called a back-formation, a term coined by James Murray in 1889...
- Defective verbDefective verbIn linguistics, a defective verb is a verb which is missing e.g. a past tense, or cannot be used in some other way that normal verbs come. Formally, it is a verb with an incomplete conjugation. Defective verbs cannot be conjugated in certain tenses, aspects, or moods.-Arabic:In Arabic, defective...
– other form of lexical gap - Fossilization (linguistics)Fossilization (linguistics)In linguistic morphology, fossilization refers to two close notions. One is preserving of ancient linguistic features which have lost their grammatical functions in language. Another is loss of productivity of a grammatical paradigm , which still remains in use in some words. Examples of...
- Cranberry morphemeCranberry morphemeIn linguistic morphology, a cranberry morpheme is a type of bound morpheme that cannot be assigned a meaning or a grammatical function but nonetheless serves to distinguish one word from the other.-Etymology:...
External links
- Words with no opposite equivalent, posted by James Briggs on April 02, 2003 at The Phrase Finder
- Brev Is the Soul of Wit, Ben SchottBen SchottBen Schott is a British writer, photographer, and author of the "Schott's Miscellanies" and "Schott's Almanac" series.- Early life & university :...
, April 19, 2010, 6:08 am
Examples
- Parker, J. H. "The Mystery of The Vanished Positive" in Daily Mail, Annual for Boys and Girls, 1953, Ed. French, S. Daily Mail: London pp. 42–43 – article on the topic, ending in a short poem "A Very Descript Man" using humorous opposites of unpaired words
- Jack Winter, Shouts & Murmurs, “How I Met My Wife,” The New Yorker , July 25, 1994, p. 82 uses many unpaired words for humorous effect
- Semantic Enigmas: "I once read a nonsense poem that removed the apparently negative prefixes of words like 'inept', 'inert' and 'uncouth' to make new words: 'ept', 'ert' and 'couth'. I've searched for the poem since, but no luck. Can anyone help?", The Guardian – cites "Gloss" by David McCordDavid McCordDavid Thompson Watson McCord was an American poet, and college fundraiser.-Life:He grew up in Portland, Oregon.He graduated from Harvard University.His work appeared in Harper's,...
and "A Dream of Couth" in The Game of Words by Willard R. EspyWillard R. EspyWillard Richardson Espy was a U.S. editor, philologist, writer, and poet. He is particularly remembered for his anthology of light verse and word play, An Almanac of Words at Play, and its two sequels...