Vocabulary Created By Suffix City

“City” words #

The English language is organic; meaning it grows naturally by people democratically coining new words all the time. At least 30,000 new words are created each year. Many die a natural death but some survive to become part of our vocabulary.

Some words emerge as a result of Nominalisations; verbs, adjectives, verbs made into nouns: *brevity, inhibition, diffidence..*or by a reverse transformation where nouns are created from verbs or adjectives.

A number of Nouns are made by adding the suffix, - city. From the clues given, find a word from the box that corresponds with each of the phrases.

Answers below:

Tenacity voracity vivacity ferocity audacity sagacity simplicity

Complicity felicity elasticity publicity duplicity veracity loquacity

Domesticity capacity multiplicity ethnicity necessity velocity

a) happiness ………………… b) speed of motion ………………………..

c) boldness …………………. d) talkative people ………………………..

e) advertising ………………. f) lively, animated ………………………..

g) truthful ………………….. h) greedy ………………………………….

i) shrewd, wise …………….. j) easy to understand …………………….

k) stretches ………………… l) short supply ……………………………..

m) family life ……………….. n) deceit - double dealing…………………

o) holds a lot ………………. p) brutal, fierce …………………………….

q) lots of them ……………… r) partner in crime ……………………….

s) determined ……………… t) racial origin ……………………………..

You can virtually quadruple your vocabulary by transforming nouns into verbs, adjectives and adverbs.

Try this exercise:

[TABLE]

Answers to “city” suffixes