Newsgroups: sci.lang
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!rochester!udel!gatech!swrinde!pipex!uknet!festival!edcogsci!iad
From: iad@cogsci.ed.ac.uk (Ivan A Derzhanski)
Subject: Re: English Augmentatives (Was: Re: Opposite of Diminutive)
Message-ID: <D5MoM2.CHG@cogsci.ed.ac.uk>
Organization: Centre for Cognitive Science, Edinburgh, UK
References: <3j5t4i$2tb@overload.lbl.gov> <3j7k8e$knr@news.halcyon.com> <3jliss$j8g@overload.lbl.gov>
Date: Sat, 18 Mar 1995 08:51:36 GMT
Lines: 15

In article <3jliss$j8g@overload.lbl.gov> hughett@numbat.lbl.gov (Paul Hughett) writes:
>In the words "megabucks" and "megabytes" the prefix "mega-" carries
>the meaning "a large number of" or even more specifically "a million
>(1,000,000) of," which I am uncomfortable calling an augmentative.

The ironic thing is that the word _million_ `1E6' is itself an Italian
augmentative of _mille_ `1E3', built by means of the productive suffix
_-one_, so the whole means `big thousand' (1000 times bigger than most
of them are).  Yes, augmentatives can be used in strange ways.

-- 
`"Na, na ... ah mean, *no wey*, wi aw due respect, ma lady," stammers Joe.'
Ivan A Derzhanski (iad@cogsci.ed.ac.uk)    (J Stuart, _Auld Testament Tales_)
* Centre for Cognitive Science,  2 Buccleuch Place,   Edinburgh EH8 9LW,  UK
* Cowan House E113, Pollock Halls, 18 Holyrood Pk Rd, Edinburgh EH16 5BD, UK
