| reduplication |
| Definition - The process of creating a new word by repeating a part of an existing word. |
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Example - boogie-woogie, chit-chat, and baby-shmaby. |
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Etymology - The word derives from the Latin reduplicare, to redouble (from re, again + duplicare, to double). Note: The language term reduplication is a misnomer because the phenomenon usually involves doubling not redoubling. |
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Oxford English Dictionary - Its first citation in this sense is from 1862: "They are traceable in many reduplications, and influence the choice of vowel-sounds in a large class of words." (D. Wilson Preh. Man iv. (1865) 65) |
