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List of derivation methods
The purpose of this page is to collect a fairly comprehensive list of derivational morphology methods (e.g., affixes) which can be used to derive more vocabulary from existing roots. Several existing conlangs have extensive derivational morphology methods (e.g., Volapük, Esperanto, Ithkuil, Ladekwa, and many others), but as far as we can tell there is no comprehensive list comparing all their affix inventories, those of natural languages, and other possible ways to derive more words from roots.
Gary Shannon has made a start at a list of derivation functions.
Good sources would include the Ithkuil site, the Ladekwa site, the gjâ-zym-byn site, a list of Esperanto affixes, & ditto for Volapük and Ido. Rick Harrison's article on "Verb Aspect" covers several possibilities for using aspect-marking to derive one verb/action word from another.
Other resources include these CONLANG mailing list threads:
And this konyalanguage mailing list thread, on semantic conversions between nouns, verbs, modifiers and adpositions:
And this list of types of noun-noun compounds by Ivan Derzhanski and John Cowan.
This list can't be exhaustive of the possibilities. For instance, in Hixkaryana several of the verb > noun patterns can involve tense distinctions; in addition to some of the affixes mentioned below there are others with the same basic meaning but a different tense. Esperanto does a limited amount of this with its tense/aspect distinctions in participles.
List of affixation semantic patterns 
Edit
| Derivation pattern | Example derivations | Conlang and Natlang parallels | |
| Opposite (quality) | happy > sad clear > vague | English "un-" French "des-" Swedish "o-" Volapük "ne-" Esperanto "mal-" | |
| Opposite (reverse action) - agent and patient remain the same, action of the verb changes | earn <==> spend stretch <==> squeeze borrow <==> repay | Esperanto "mal-" Azjherben 
| |
| Opposite/passivization - agent and patient or experiencer and focus swap places | to hit > to be hit by to like > to be pleasing to to see > be seen by | Ceqli "be-" | |
| Opposite (complementary action) - swap agent of ditransitive verb with source/recpient, leaving patient the same | throw <==> catch lend <==> borrowgive <==> receive | gjâ-zym-byn "-θaj" | |
| Causative (derive VERB "causing PATIENT to become ADJ") | know > to teach healthy > to heal | English "-ify" Volapük "-ük" Esperanto "-ig" | |
| Causative from other verb (increase transitivity, turn impersonal verb into agent-intransitive, intransitive verb into transitive, transitive into ditransitive) | to rain > to water (plants, etc.) to die > to kill to have > to give | Navaho "-ł" Maori "whaka-" Kele "te-" | |
| Motion purpose: go somewhere in order to do VERB | to buy > to go shopping | Mandarin "lái-" | |
| Relationship > person which is in that relationship to someone else | fatherhood > father marriage > spouse | Volapük "mat" > "matan" | |
| Person who is doing VERB at the moment (nominal participle) | run > runner | English "-er" Esperanto "-anto" (also future "-onto" and past "-into") | |
| Person who does VERB in company with someone else | to travel > travel companion to have sex > lover to conspire > co-conspirator | Hixkaryana "-hɨyemɨ" Greek "syn-" English "co-~-er/-or" Esperanto "kun-~-anto" | |
| Person who does VERB habitually / as an amateur... | conlang > conlanger | English "-er" Esperanto "-em-ul-" gjâ-zym-byn "-pja" | |
| Person who does VERB professionally / is concerned with NOUN professionally | play music > musician teeth > dentist | English "-ist", "-er", "-or" Esperanto "-ist-" gjâ-zym-byn "-tla" | |
| Place where VERB is typically done | to cook > kitchen to sleep > bedroom | Hixkaryana "-toho" Esperanto "-ej-" gjâ-zym-byn "-kô" Japanese "-sho", "-ba" | |
| Place with lots of NOUN | book > library tree > forest house > city | Esperanto "-ej-" gjâ-zym-byn "-ĵwa" | |
| Time when VERB is typically done | to sleep > night to snow > winter to work > workday to rest > weekend, vacation? | Hixkaryana "-toho" | |
| Payment received for something | professional work > salary menial work > wages murder > blood money | Hixkaryana "-txhetɨ" | |
| Tool used for doing VERB | to write > writing-implement to dig > shovel | Esperanto "-il" | |
| Substance used for doing VERB | to wash > soap to write > ink, graphite, etc. | Esperanto "-ajx" gjâ-zym-byn "-ha" | |
| Body part/faculty used for doing VERB | walk > legs and feet think > mind or brain? | gjâ-zym-byn "-ŋĭw" | |
| Thing or substance to which VERB is typically done | to read > text to eat > food to think > ideas | gjâ-zym-byn "-kar" | |
| Thing or substance resulting from VERB | to cry > tears to sweat (v.) > sweat (n.) to lactate > milk | Hixkaryana "-nɨ-...-nɨ" gjâ-zym-byn "-Φa" | |
| ADJ pertaining to NOUN | mind > mental forest > arboreal world > global, universal | Ido "-ala" gjâ-zym-byn "-za" Japanese "-teki" | |
| ADJ = made of NOUN | gold > golden wood > wooden | gjâ-zym-byn "-na" | |
| ADJ = resembling, savoring of NOUN | cat > catlike mint > minty | English "-like", "-ish", "-y" Esperanto "-eca", "-eska" gjâ-zym-byn "-tan" Japanese "-ppoi" | |
| ADJ = supplied with, having some/much NOUN | money > solvent or rich word > expressive or verbose trash > messy liquid > wet | Volapük "-er" Esperanto -hava, -plena gjâ-zym-byn "-ža" having some amount of, "-da" having lots of | |
| ADJ = lacking or sparsely supplied with NOUN | teeth > toothless money > poor water > dry or thirsty? food > hungry thing > empty light > dark | Greek "a-" English "-less" Esperanto "sen-~-a" gjâ-zym-byn "-ta" Japanese "mu-" | |
| Scattering, chaosizing | break > shatter fall > fall apart | Volapük "dä-" | |
| Augmentation | big > huge house > mansion cat > lion | Hixkaryana "ymo" English "mega-", "super-", "-zilla" Volapük "da-" and "le-" (different degrees) Esperanto "-eg" Japanese "dai-" | |
| Pejoration | man > scoundrel child > brat to talk > to chatter, babble conlang > lame relex of English | Hixkaryana "tho" Volapük "lu-" Esperanto "-aĉ" | |
| ADJ = tending to often do VERB / be ADJ | think > thoughtful forget > forgetful, absentminded sad > depressed | English "-ful" Esperanto "-em" Japanese "-nbō" | |
| To VERB more than / to a greater degree than does NOUN | be sold > outsell perform > outperform | English "out-" | |
| Relationships by marriage or remarriage derived from basic blood kinship terms | sister > sister-in-law son > stepson | English step-~, ~-in-law Volapük "lü-" Esperanto "bo-" gjâ-zym-byn "-mla" (spouse of one's relative) and "-tôl" (relative of one's spouse) | |
| ADVERB = for the purpose of VERB | Hixkaryana "-so" | ||
| ADVERB = while doing VERB | Hixkaryana "-toko", "-wawo" (see Derbyshire 1979 for distinction) Esperanto "-ante" Japanese "-nagara" | ||
| ADVERB = after doing VERB | Hixkaryana "-txhe" Esperanto "post-~-e" | ||
| VERB = to use NOUN in a typical way | tongue > to lick lips > to kiss hammer (n.) > to hammer (v.) | English: zero-derivation with many tool words, a few body part words (e.g. finger) Esperanto: simple "-o" > "-i" verb derivation in many cases, "-umi" in others | |
| VERB = to have a NOUN | Hixkaryana (need to look up exact suffixes used for this) | ||
| NOUN is made from (not of) NOUN | sucrose > caramel coal > diamond flour > bread | Finnish: -nen | |
| NOUN = style or method of doing VERB | fight > martial art write > script, orthography speak > language | Japanese "-kata" | |
| Name of bacterium, viruse, parasite etc > name of disease caused by same | amoeba > diarrhoea Yersinia pestis > black plague | No known examples |
List of compounding semantic patterns Edit
| Compounding pattern | Example derivations | Conlang and Natlang parallels |
| HEAD which has quality MODIFIER | young + person => child | bluebird |
| a HEAD originating from MODIFIER | society + language => natlang individual + language => conlang | seawater |
| HEAD for the purpose/benefit of MODIFIER | walk + organ => legs and feet fly + organ => wings | baby food refugee camp |
| to do verb HEAD to object MODIFIER | babysit wordcount | |
| an equal or roughly equal mixture of HEAD and MODIFIER materials | sodium + chlorine => salt fear + sadness => despair | |
| a hybrid or combination of HEAD and MODIFIER | horse + donkey => mule human + horse => centaur | |
| mostly HEAD with a little MODIFIER mixed in | carbon + iron => steel salt + water => saline | |
| a HEAD made of MODIFIER material | meat + cow => beef | gjâ-zym-byn "ķârn-byj" |
References Edit
- Hixkaryana, Desmond C. Derbyshire. Lingua Descriptive Studies. North-Holland Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1979.
