Definition of word family

word familynoun

họ từ

/ˈwɜːd fæməli//ˈwɜːrd fæməli/

The concept of "word families" refers to groups of words that have a common origin and similar meanings. The idea of word families originated from linguists who, in the early 20th century, began studying the relationships between words in different languages. They noticed that certain words had shared etymological roots, which made learning new words easier for speakers of related languages. In English, word families often share a prefix, suffix, or root word. For example, the prefix "pre-" in words like "prepare," "preserve," and "prevent" indicates that the action takes place beforehand. The suffix "ness" in words like "happiness," "hollowness," and "whiteness" denotes quality or state. The root word "writ" in words like "write," "writer," and "writing" defines the origin and primary function of the words. The study of word families also helps English language learners understand the nuances in meaning between words with shared etymological roots. For example, a learner can understand the difference between "red" and "reddish" by analyzing their shared root word "red" and the prefix "redd-," meaning approaching, reducing, or lessening in intensity. In summary, the concept of word families emerged from the observation of similarities in word origins among related languages and plays a crucial role in English language learning and language acquisition.

namespace

a group of related words that are formed from the same word

một nhóm các từ liên quan được hình thành từ cùng một từ

Example:
  • a word family consisting of ‘help’, ‘helper’ and ‘helpful’

    một nhóm từ bao gồm ‘giúp đỡ’, ‘người trợ giúp’ và ‘hữu ích’

a group of words with particular features in common

một nhóm từ có những đặc điểm chung cụ thể

Example:
  • ‘Cat’ and ‘hat’ are in the same word family.

    “Mèo” và “mũ” thuộc cùng một họ từ.

Related words and phrases