In any developed language, including Russian, there are both simple words consisting of one root, and such tokens that combine two or more roots. Many of these words denote terms and scientific concepts and contain a borrowed component. An example of such words are compound words with the root -met-. Let's take a closer look at them.
What does the root -met- mean
The field of linguistics that studies the semantic meanings of words is called lexicology. The 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 a garment, part of a spruce or pine tree, as well as a protective “element” on the body of a hedgehog. But for the formation of complex words, most often choose words that have one basic meaning.
The word throw in Russian means:
1. Throw something with force: throw spears.
2. Folding (hay).
Also, the throwing verb can be found in the stable expression “tear and throw” - get very angry, and in relation to fish - “throw eggs”, which means “to produce”.
The first meaning of the word - "throw, throw," - is the main. It was this meaning that was originally laid down in the root -met- and it was from him that many complex words in Russian were formed.
How complex words are formed
Compound words in the Russian language are formed by merging several roots. At the same time, a hyphen or dividing vowel "o" or "e" is put between the two parts of the future compound word. As a rule, a hyphen is used in those tokens that consist of two words belonging to an adjacent group of concepts. For example, both “red” and “yellow” are the names of the colors. The combination of these words will give a complex red-yellow token, between which parts should be put a hyphen.
If it is necessary to form a completely new concept by comparing the lexical meanings of words of different nature, a dividing vowel will be used between the parts of such a complex term. For example, the word “milk” - “the liquid with which some animals and humans feed infants”, and the word “factory” - “the place where they produce food” are separately not connected in meaning. However, as a result of the combination of these words, a new lexeme appeared, which designates a dairy factory.
Where to find compound words with the right root
If you know that a certain word is the second part of a complex token, picking up cognate words without resorting to a special dictionary will not be so easy. You can, of course, try to find an article with the right root in the usual explanatory dictionary and read examples of the use of this token. But it is best to use the so-called inverse, or inversion, dictionary.
Reverse Russian dictionaries 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 included in their task. But you can easily find the root of the desired word.
Is it possible to independently determine the meaning of complex words
Sometimes, if a complex token is composed of words that exist and are widespread in the Russian language, you can try to independently determine its meaning. The first thing to do for this 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 “move”. So, the ship is a machine that moves (“walks”) due to the steam engine.
The word "fabulist" also has two roots - "fable" and "pis". The last root of the word comes from the verb "write." The suffix -ets- means a person (cf. merchant, sly, sage). So the 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, without resorting to dictionaries, try to understand what the following words mean: quasi-scientific, bone-carving, carnivorous, waterworks, ovule. Isn't it true that without using a dictionary it’s not at all easy to understand the meaning of these words, unless, of course, you have an education in the field of agronomy, mechanics, and technology.
Examples of compound words with the root -met-
What are they like? Compound words with a root -met- designate objects that can produce a throwing, throwing action. Below are some examples of such tokens:
- A cash machine is one who deals cards during a game.
- Water cannon - 1) an apparatus designed to discharge a stream of water; 2) a ship that moves thanks to a special mechanism based on the release of water under high pressure; 3) in the past it was called the fountain, but now this value is outdated.
- Gas thrower - a device designed to measure gas consumption. In other words, a gas meter.
- Grenade launcher - a weapon that is used to fire grenades.
- Ikrome - the process and time when a fish throws caviar. Synonym: spawning.
- The stone-thrower is an ancient military weapon that shot with stone cores.
- Mortar - a type of modern artillery weapon firing mines.
- Flamethrower - an old military weapon, designed to defeat manpower at close range using a hot jet of tar or other liquid mixture.
- Peskomet is a technical term for a mechanism designed to compact sand.
- A machine gun is an automatic weapon that fires a large number of bullets at the same time.
As can be seen from the above examples, compound words with the root -met- are most often used to name weapons and machines used in technology.
Other words with the -met- part
The root -met- occurs not only in words formed from the verb "throw". But also in those tokens that are derived from the verb "tag." Therefore, it is not always possible to understand the meaning of the token, knowing only the root of the word. Examples: “marking”, “marking” (evaluation) and “taking” (the process of plowing the land for subsequent sowing). However, the word “take off” is derived from the verb “throw”. Because it means a process of quick lifting up. But this token is not complicated, because it consists of the root -met- and the prefix vz-.
But in the words “subject”, “beshmet” (an item of clothing among Turkic peoples), “ume” (a parking place in the steppe), “nimet” (that which cannot be grabbed, received), the component -met- is only a part root.
Thus, we see that complex words with the root -met- most often denote mechanisms that have the property of quickly throwing something away, "throwing".