neologizing
Inventing new terms
Neologizing is the act of coining or using new words.
Writers neologize when existing vocabulary fails them: Shakespeare was constantly neologizing.
The practice ranges from deliberate invention to unconscious linguistic creativity.
Someone who neologizes freely may be called a neologizer.
Invented term or currency
- word-formationCreating new vocabulary items
- portmanteauWord combining two others
- blendCombine into mixture
- acronymWord made from initials
backformation · compound · derivation · affixation · clipping · conversion · morpheme · root
New device or method
- originalityNovel creative quality
- imaginationFaculty for forming ideas
- ingenuityClever, original thinking
- noveltyQuality of being original
innovation · brainstorming · ideation · conceptualization · wordplay · wit · cleverness · expressiveness
Study of structural forms
- semanticsStudy of linguistic meaning
- etymologyWord origin study
- lexiconVocabulary of a language
- lexicographyCompiling word reference books
phonology · syntax · productivity · analogy · borrowing · calque · corpus · attestation
Informal in-group vocabulary
- buzzwordTrendy jargon, often hollow
- jargonSpecialized professional vocabulary
- colloquialismCasual conversational expression
- catchphraseSignature line of words
meme · viral · trending · hashtag · lingo · argot · subculture · streetwear
coinage
Invented term or currency
- word-formationCreating new vocabulary items
- portmanteauWord combining two others
- blendCombine into mixture
acronym · backformation · compound · derivation · affixation · clipping · conversion · morpheme · root · prefix
invention
New device or method
- originalityNovel creative quality
- imaginationFaculty for forming ideas
- ingenuityClever, original thinking
novelty · innovation · brainstorming · ideation · conceptualization · wordplay · wit · cleverness · expressiveness · resourcefulness
morphology
Study of structural forms
lexicography · phonology · syntax · productivity · analogy · borrowing · calque · corpus · attestation · dictionary
slang
Informal in-group vocabulary
- buzzwordTrendy jargon, often hollow
- jargonSpecialized professional vocabulary
- colloquialismCasual conversational expression
catchphrase · meme · viral · trending · hashtag · lingo · argot · subculture · streetwear · stan
neologism, neologisms, neology, neologist, neologize, neologized