In any developed language, including Russian, there are both simple words consisting of one root, and such lexemes that combine two or more roots. Many of these words denote terms and scientific concepts and contain a borrowed component in their composition. An example of such words are compound words with the root -met-. Let's take a closer look at them.
What does the root -meth-
mean
The area of linguistics that studies the semantic meanings of words is called lexicology. Lexical meaning can be found in the explanatory dictionary. It often happens that a word has not one, but several meanings. For example, a needle can be an item for tailoring, a piece of spruce or pine, or a protective "element" on the hedgehog's body. But for the formation of complex words, words that have one main meaning are most often chosen.
The word to throw in Russian means:
1. Throw something with force: Throw spears.
2. Fold (hay).
Alsothe verb to throw can be found in the set expression "tear and throw" - to get very angry, and in relation to fish - "spawn", which means "to produce".
The first meaning of this word - "throw, throw" - is the main one. It was this meaning that was originally laid down in the root -met-, and it is from it that many complex words in the Russian language are formed.
How compound words are formed
Compound words in Russian are formed by fusion of several roots. At the same time, a hyphen or a dividing vowel "o" or "e" is placed between the two parts of the future compound word. As a rule, a hyphen is used in those lexemes that consist of two words belonging to an adjacent group of concepts. For example, both "red" and "yellow" are color names. Combining these words will give a complex lexeme "red-yellow", between parts of which a hyphen should be placed.
If it is necessary to form a completely new concept by comparing the lexical meanings of words of different nature, a separating vowel will be used between parts of such a complex term. For example, the word "milk" - "the liquid with which some animals and humans feed their babies", and the word "factory" - "a place where consumer products are produced" are not separately related in meaning. However, as a result of combining these words, a new lexeme appeared, denoting a factory for the manufacture of food products from milk -"dairy".
Where to find difficult words with the right root
If you know that a certain word is the second part of a complex lexeme, it will not be so easy to find words with the same root without referring to a special dictionary. You can, of course, try to find an article with the desired root in the usual explanatory dictionary and read examples of the use of this lexeme. But it is best to use the so-called reverse, or inversion, dictionary.
Reverse dictionaries of the Russian language are available online, and they can also be downloaded for free in PDF format. The principle of these lexicographic works is that all the words in them are arranged in alphabetical order by the last letters. As a rule, in reverse dictionaries there is no interpretation of words, but this is not part of their task. But you can easily find the root of the desired word.
Is it possible to independently determine the meaning of compound words
Sometimes, if a complex lexeme is made up of words that exist and are widely used in the Russian language, you can try to determine its meaning yourself. The first thing to do is to find the root of the word, and then try to interpret its meaning.
For example, it is easy to understand that the word "steamboat" consists of two parts - "steam" and "stroke". So, a steamship is a machine that moves (“walks”) due to a steam engine.
The word "fabulist" also has two roots - "fable" and "pis". The last root of the word comes from the verb "to write". The suffix -ets- means a person (cf. merchant, sly,sage). So, a fabulist is a person who writes fables.
It seems that everything is very simple - you just need to find the root of the word. And now try to understand, without resorting to dictionaries, what the following words mean: quasi-scientific, bone-carving, carnivorous, hydroelectric, ovule. Isn't it really not easy to understand the meaning of these words without consulting a dictionary, unless, of course, you have an education in the field of agronomy, mechanics and technology.
Examples of compound words with root -met-
What are they? Compound words with the root -met- denote objects that can produce the action of throwing, throwing. Below are some examples of such tokens:
- Banker - the one who distributes cards during the game.
- Water cannon - 1) a device designed to throw a jet of water; 2) a vessel that moves thanks to a special mechanism based on the release of water under high pressure; 3) in the past, this was the name of the fountain, but now this meaning is outdated.
- Gas meter - a device designed to measure the flow of gas consumption. In other words, a gas meter.
- Grenade launcher is a weapon used to fire grenades.
- Spawning - the process and time when the fish spawns. Synonym: spawning.
- The stone thrower is an ancient military weapon that fired stone cannonballs.
- Mortar is a type of modern artillery weapon that fires mines.
- A flamethrower is an old military weapon designed to defeat manpower at close range using a hot jetresin or other liquid mixture.
- Sand thrower is a technical term for a mechanism designed to compact sand.
- Machine gun is an automatic weapon that shoots a large number of bullets at the same time.
As you can see from the above examples, compound words with the root -met- are most often used to name weapons and vehicles used in technology.
Other words with -met-part
The root -met- is found not only in words formed from the verb "to throw". But also in those lexemes that are derived from the verb "mark". Therefore, it is not always possible to understand the meaning of a lexeme, knowing only the root of the word. Examples: "marking", "mark" (evaluation) and "sweep" (the process of plowing the land for subsequent sowing). However, the word "toss up" is derived from the verb "to throw". Because it means the process of quickly rising up. But this lexeme is not complex, because it consists of the root -met- and the prefix vz-.
- is just part of the root.
Thus, we see that compound words with the root -met- most often denote mechanisms that have the ability to quickly throw something out, "throw".
