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An augmentative ( abbreviated ) is a morphological form of a word which expresses greater intensity, often in size but also in other attributes. It is the opposite of a
diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A ( abbreviated ) is a word-form ...
. Overaugmenting something often makes it grotesque and so in some languages, augmentatives are used primarily for comical effect or as
pejorative A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a ...
s. Many languages have augmentatives for
noun A noun () is a word that generally functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.Example nouns for: * Living creatures (including people, alive, ...
s, and some have augmentatives for
verb A verb () is a word ( part of speech) that in syntax generally conveys an action (''bring'', ''read'', ''walk'', ''run'', ''learn''), an occurrence (''happen'', ''become''), or a state of being (''be'', ''exist'', ''stand''). In the usual descr ...
s.


Germanic languages


English

In modern
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...
, augmentatives can be created with the prefixes: *''over-'': e.g., ''overlord'' and ''overqualified''. *''grand-'': e.g., ''grandmaster'' and ''grandparent''. *''super-'': e.g., ''supermarket'' and ''superpower''. *''mega-'': e.g., ''megastore'' and ''megastar''. *''arch-'': e.g., ''archrival'' and ''archangel''. Since the early 1990s, the prefix ''über-'' or ''uber-'' has also frequently been used as a borrowing from German. The suffix
-zilla ''-zilla'' is an English slang suffix, a libfix back-formation derived from the English name of the Japanese movie monster Godzilla. It is popular for the names of software and websites. It is also found often in popular culture to imply some f ...
, expressing a monstrous quality, can also be considered an augmentative form. In some parts of the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
and the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...
, the prefix "auld" is used as an augmentative, and a pejorative in some cases. An example of this is using "auld'un" or "auld one" to describe one's parents/grandparents.


Dutch

In modern Dutch, as in English, augmentatives are usually created with the prefixes: *: e.g., and ("overweight" and "overheating") *: e.g., and ("grandmaster" and "wholesaler") *: e.g., and ("supermarket" and "superpower"). *: e.g., and ("a very big contract" and "a very large movie theater") There are also prefixes that can be used for some adjectives: * (blood) : e.g., and ("very beautiful" and "very own") * (stone): e.g., and ("very rich" and "very good"; lit. "stone rich" and "stone good") * (boulder): e.g., and ("very fast/hard/etc." and "very fun", lit. "boulder hard" and "boulder fun")


German

In
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
, there are different ways to build augmentatives. They are rarely used
prefixes A prefix is an affix which is placed before the stem of a word. Adding it to the beginning of one word changes it into another word. For example, when the prefix ''un-'' is added to the word ''happy'', it creates the word ''unhappy''. Particula ...
: *''un-'', for instance in ''Unzahl'' "huge number", ''Unsumme'' "huge sum", ''Unmenge'' "huge quantity". Mostly used for negation, however (e.g. ''Unglück'' "bad luck", ''Unsinn'' "nonsense"), and occasionally in a pejorative sense (''Unwetter'' "bad weather", ''Untier'' "monster", lit. "un-creature"). * ''ur-'', for instance, ''uralt'' "ancient" * ''über-'', for instance, '' Übermensch'' (q.v.) * ''aber-'', for instance, ''abertausend'' "thousands". * ''mega-'', for example ''megageil'' "mega-cool" * ''ultra-'', for example ''ultracool'' * ''voll-'', for example ''Vollidiot'' "utter idiot"


Swedish

In Swedish the way to build augmentative is to add one of many prefixes before the word. This can be done on words in most word classes. The most common prefixes are: ''jätte-'' "giant", ''super''-, 'bauta-'', ''mega-''. For example: *''mega'' "gigantic" → ''megahus'' "gigantic house" *''snabb'' "fast" → ''jättesnabb'' "very fast" *''sten'' "rock" → ''bautasten'' "boulder" There are many synonyms to ''jätte-'', although only when ''jätte-'' means "very", not big. Some of these synonyms are: ''as-'', ''gör-'', ''svin-'', ''skit-'', and ''ur-'' although, as written above, these do not change the size of a noun, only the intensity, e.g. ''gul'' "yellow" to ''jättegul'' "very yellow". The use of prefixes to build augmentatives is quite colloquial and is seldom used in formal text and speech, where adjectives and adverbs are used instead.


Greek language

In
Modern Greek Modern Greek (, , or , ''Kiní Neoellinikí Glóssa''), generally referred to by speakers simply as Greek (, ), refers collectively to the dialects of the Greek language spoken in the modern era, including the official standardized form of the ...
the usage of augmentative is very common in everyday speech but not quite as common as diminutive forms. The usage of Augmentative is considered colloquial and it is not present at all in formal speech. There are a variety of augmentative suffixes : Fem. -α, -άρα, -άκλα : Masc. -αράς, ΄-αρος,-ακλάς, -ακλας Most nouns in their augmentative form are feminine. This means neuter and masculine nouns become feminine and then an augmentative suffix is added. In some neuter cases just changing the original gender of the noun is enough for augmentation to take place


Romance languages


Italian

Italian has several augmentatives: * ''-one'', ''-ona'', found also in several English
loanword A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because ...
s from Italian, often via French: minestrone (< ''minestra'' 'soup'); provolone cheese (< ''provola'' 'a kind of cheese'); ''cartone'' (< ''carta'' 'paper') appears in English '' carton'' and '' cartoon''; ''balloon'' (this may have been formed in Italian, though the usual form is ''pallone'', or in French)); ''milione'' 'million' (< ''mille'' 'thousand'); Suffixes ''-accio'', ''-accia'', and ''-astro'', ''-astra'', also exist, but they are used to form
pejorative A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a ...
words, with no properly augmentative meaning: ''coltellaccio'' (< ''coltello'' 'knife'; gives English ''
cutlass A cutlass is a short, broad sabre or slashing sword, with a straight or slightly curved blade sharpened on the cutting edge, and a hilt often featuring a solid cupped or basket-shaped guard. It was a common naval weapon during the early Age of ...
''); the family name ''Carpaccio''.


Portuguese

In Portuguese, the most common augmentatives are the masculine ''-ão'' (sometimes also ''-zão'' or ''-zarrão'') and the feminine ''-ona'' (or ''-zona''), although there are others, less frequently used. E.g. ''carro'' "car", ''carrão'' "big car"; ''homem'' "man", ''homenzarrão'' "big man"; ''mulher'' "woman", ''mulherona'' "big woman". Sometimes, especially in
Brazilian Portuguese Brazilian Portuguese (' ), also Portuguese of Brazil (', ) or South American Portuguese (') is the set of varieties of the Portuguese language native to Brazil and the most influential form of Portuguese worldwide. It is spoken by almost all of ...
, the masculine augmentative can be applied to a feminine noun, which then becomes grammatically masculine, but with a feminine meaning (e.g. ''"o mulherão"'' instead of ''"a mulherona"'' for "the big woman"); however, such cases usually imply subtle meaning twists, mostly with a somewhat gross or vulgar undertone (which, nonetheless, is often intentional, for the sake of wit, malice or otherwise; so, ''mulherão'' actually means not a big woman, but a particularly sexy one).


Romanian

In
Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania ** Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...
there are several augmentative suffixes: ''-oi/-oaie'', ''-an/-ană'' etc. (masculine/feminine pairs). They originate from Latin ''-ō'' (acc. sg. ''-ōnem''), the origin of the other Romance augmentative suffixes. The archaic form has survived unchanged in Banat (and in Aromanian) as ''-on, ''-oan'e''. As in other Romance languages, a feminine base word may have masculine or feminine forms in the augmentative. Examples: * casă (f.) → căsoi (n.), căsoaie (f.) * piatră (f.) → pietroi (n.) * băiat (m.) → băieţoi (m.) * băiat (m.) → băietan (m.) * fată (f.) → fetișcană (f.)


Spanish

In Spanish, -o becomes -ón and -a becomes -ona most frequently, but -ote/-ota and -azo/-aza (also meaning ''-blow'') are also commonly seen. Others include -udo/-uda, -aco/-aca, -acho/-acha, -uco/-uca, -ucho/-ucha, -astro/-astra and -ejo/-eja. ''More detail at Spanish nouns''.


Slavic languages


Bulgarian

In Bulgarian, as in Russian, mainly with ''-ище''.


Polish

In Polish there is a variety of augmentatives formed with suffixes, for example: żaba (a frog) → żabucha / żabsko / żabisko / żabula; or kamień (a stone) → kamulec / kamior / etc. * -ica, e.g. igła, f. ("needle") + ica → iglica ("spire") * -yca, e.g. wieża, f. ("tower") + yca → wieżyca * -ch, e.g. Stanisław, m. ("Stan") + ch → Stach (short form of the name, but not diminutive) * -chu e.g. Krzysztof, m ("Christopher") + chu → Krzychu ("Chris") * -cha, e.g. kiełbasa f. ("sausage") + cha → kiełbacha ("large sausage") * -ucha, e.g. dziewa, f. archaic ("girl") + ucha → dziewucha ("wench") * -oja, e.g. dziewa, f. archaic ("girl") + oja → dziewoja ("wench") * -uch, e.g. uparty, adj. m. ("stubborn") + uch → uparciuch * -ocha, e.g. śpi, v. ("sleeps") + ocha → śpiocha ("sleepyhead") * -och, e.g. tłusty, adj. m. ("fat") + och → tłuścioch ("fatso", "fatty") * -al, e.g. nos, m. ("nose") + al → nochal ("large nose") * -ula, e.g. smark, adj m. ("snot") + ula → smarkula ("snotty young person") * -ała, e.g. jąkać się ("to stutter") + ała → jąkała ("stutterer") * -isko, e.g. wąs, m. ("mustache") + isko → wąsisko ("large mustache") * -sko, e.g. baba, f. ("woman") + sko → babsko ("hag") * -ysko, e.g. biedak m. ("pauper") + ysko → biedaczysko ("poor fellow") * -or, e.g. but m. ("shoe") + or → bucior ("large or dirty shoe")


Russian

In Russian there is a variety of augmentatives formed with prefixes (including loans from Latin) and suffixes, including ''-ище'' and ''-ин'' for example: дом (the house) домище (great house) домина (huge house). To provide an impression of excessive qualities the suffix ''-га'' can be used for example: ветер (the wind), ветрюга (strong wind).


Serbo-Croatian

In
Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia an ...
there is a variety of augmentative nouns formed with suffixes: * -ina, e.g. brdo, n. ("hill") + ina → brdina * -čina, e.g. majmun, m. ("monkey") + čina → majmunčina * -etina, e.g. kuća, f. ("house") + etina → kućetina * -erina, e.g. kuća + erina → kućerina * -urina, e.g. ptica, f. ("bird") + urina → ptičurina * -ešina, e.g. glava, f. ("head") + ešina → glavešina * -uština, e.g. bara, f. ("pond") + uština → baruština * -ušina, e.g. pijetao, m. ("rooster") + ušina → pjetlušina Augmentative nouns are either
pejorative A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a ...
s, although distinct pejorative suffixes also exist. All augmentative nouns have female grammatical gender. Some nouns can have their augmentatives formed with different suffixes, for example, see 'kuća' above. In ''Hrvatska gramatika'', Barić et al. do not classify adjectives formed with suffixes which intensify an action or property as augmentatives. The augmentative prefixes for adjectives listed in ''Hrvatska gramatika'' are pre- ("excessively"; or excess of a favorable property), hiper- ("hyper-"), super- and ultra-. According to ''Hrvatska enciklopedija'', augmentative verbs surpass their base verb with their intensity. However, by defining augmentative verbs as an action done excessively, ''Hrvatska gramatika'' only lists pre- ("over-") as an augmentative verb.


Semitic languages


Arabic

Form II of the Arabic verb often has an augmentative sense, which may indicate intensity ( intensive) or repetition ( frequentative).Mark W. Cowell, ''A Reference Grammar of Syrian Arabic''. Georgetown University Press, 2005. . p. 253


Bantu languages

Bantu languages' noun class markers often double as augmentative and diminutive markers, and some have separate classes that are used only as a augmentative or a diminutive.


Chichewa

Chichewa Chewa (also known as Nyanja, ) is a Bantu language spoken in much of Southern, Southeast and East Africa, namely the countries of Malawi , where it is an official language, and Mozambique and Zambia. The noun class prefix ''chi-'' is used for l ...
noun class 7 prefix ''chi-'' doubles up as augmentative marker. For example, ''chindege'' which is a huge plane as opposed to ''ndege'' which is just a regular plane.


International auxiliary languages


Esperanto

In Esperanto, the ''-{{not a typo, eg-'' suffix is included before the final part-of-speech vowel. For example, ''domo'' (house) becomes ''domego'' (mansion). See Esperanto vocabulary.


Interlingua

Interlingua does not have an augmentative suffix, but international prefixes such as ''super-'', ''hyper-'', ''mega-'' can be used as augmentatives. See also
Interlingua grammar This article is an informal outline of the grammar of Interlingua, an international auxiliary language first publicized by IALA. It follows the usage of the original grammar text (Gode & Blair, 1951), which is accepted today but regarded as cons ...
.


Notes


See also

*
Diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A ( abbreviated ) is a word-form ...
* Affect (linguistics) * Comparison (grammar) Linguistic morphology *