Questions tagged [reduplication]
For questions about reduplication, the process in which a word (or part of one) is repeated in order to achieve a certain effect, generally intensification, emphasis, or plurality.
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The meaning and usage of "logo schmogo" [duplicate]
I came across the term "logo schmogo" and went researching its meaning and usage, and have a vague working-theory, but am still confused. Would be great to learn the exact meaning and ...
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how to avoid duplication when object becomes subject in second half sentence: X has an Y, and this Y does Z
(1) A software project should comprise a test suite, and this suite should be ever growing.
How to avoid the duplication of suite?
(2) A software project should comprise a test suite that should be ...
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Doubling of a verb
When a relative clause modifies a noun it often leads to a construction with two verbs in a row. I was wondering whether repeating the same verb is acceptable enough in such situation, as with the ...
user97589
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Does reduplication always place the front/close vowel before the back/open vowel?
I was looking up "seesaw" on Wiktionary
, and I noticed all their examples of ablaut reduplication "such as teeter-totter, zigzag, flip-flop, ping pong, etc." have "ee" or "i" in the first word, ...
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Was “lukewarm” a way of saying “warm warm”?
Someone used the expression “un-hot question” to describe a post that was in the HNQ (Hot Network Questions) despite not being “hot”. And my thoughts immediately turned to alternatives such as, ‘tepid’...
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Is there a word for words formed of repeating sounds? [duplicate]
Is there a word for words formed of repeating sounds?
Mama, Papa, ... Any other such words...
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What is the origin of 'fuddy-duddy'?
I was surprised to find that the EL&U spellchecker refused 'fuddy-duddy' and was disappointed not to find any further information in the EL&U archives, so I branched out on my own.
Phrases....
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“legal beagle” vs. “legal eagle”
Both legal beagle and legal eagle are informal terms for a smart, eagle-eyed attorney or lawyer. Someone who is a stickler for the rules, and who thrives on the minutiae of the law.
Oxford ...
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Meaning of repeated hyphenated words like "red-red" [duplicate]
I saw this in one book:
Her cheeks were too big and outrageously red-red to bear looking at.
What does red-red mean here? Where can I read more on this particular hyphen rule?
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What does "small small" mean in Indian English?
There is a type of 'double adjective' expression in colloquial (mainly spoken) Indian English, which is a reflection of usage in many (Indian) subcontinental languages, example: "small small"...
user20865
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"The pumps were tump-tumping" from the novel "Waterland"
What is the meaning of "tump-tumping" in the extract below. I looked in many dictionaries but the expression is listed nowhere.
From the novel, Waterland:
Fairy-tale words; fairy-tale advice. […] ...
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Is "testes" an inflectional reduplication?
I was supposed to ask this question 1 year ago and it is based on a discussion in this question that I answered:
What is a word called that consists of a repetition of one word?
I gave testes as an ...
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Term for words like "Hanky-Panky" [duplicate]
Is there a name for these kind of doubled words?
For example:
hanky-panky
flim-flam
hoity-toity
boo-hoo
zig-zag
Note that some rhyme and others do not.
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Is there a term for reduplication used to disambiguate categorization? [duplicate]
Reduplication - noun - A word formed by or containing a reduplicated element. An act or instance of reduplicating as a grammatical pattern. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/reduplication
Is there a ...
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Are there other acceptable juxtapositions of polysemes?
An advert for BBC iPlayer read [I've dropped the comma]:
Making the unmissable unmissable.
The first 'unmissable' obviously has the sense '[that which is] too good to miss', and the second 'always ...
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