Adverbiation

/ˌadvərbi'eɪʃən/ noun

Definition

The process of converting a word into an adverb or adding adverbial characteristics to a word.

Etymology

From adverb (from Latin 'ad-' meaning 'to' plus 'verbum' meaning 'word') combined with the suffix -iation indicating a process or action. This is a modern linguistic term created to describe grammatical transformation.

Kelly Says

Adverbiation is what happens when English speakers take an adjective like 'quick' and add -ly to make it 'quickly'—it's such a common process that linguists needed a fancy word for it, and most people have never heard of it!

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