Unwisely is derived from the root wise . Compounding Compounding or composition is the use of two or more roots to form a word. Egomania is the composition of ego and mania . One particular type of compounding is the phrasal verb . It is a type of composition where several words combine to form a verb, but instead of combining into a single word they combine into a phrase.
Examples are get up , turn about , and take down .
Over time, the spaces between the words in the phrase are often lost, forming a single word. Blending A blend or portmanteau word is the result from a specific type of compounding, one where several words are fused into one. Thus breakfast and lunch blend to become brunch. This isn't the formation of new words per se , but is the formation of new senses for existing words. Specialization Specialization occurs when a word originally referred to a broad category, but over time narrows in scope to refer only to a once was what a subcategory.