SUFFIXES: -gate, -dom, -holic

 New Words 

New words have been highlighted in yellow. Vocabulary words in black.
Las palabras nuevas se resaltaron en amarillo y el vocabulario en negro.

A common way of forming new words is by adding
a suffix to a noun to express a new idea.

The best known of the modern suffixes is -GATE. This comes from Watergate, the name that was given to the scandal surrounding the break-in at the American Democratic Party's head-quarters in 1972, which took place at the Watergate building. 

Now you can add -GATE to form a meaning of "something bad or embarrassing happening to someone who is, or who becomes, famous". We've had Nannygate, the story of a young British girl in America who was said to have killed the baby she was looking after; Camillagate, scandalous stories about Prince Charles and his mistress; Bastardgate, which referred to a story about John Major when he was Prime Minister of Britain; White Watergate, the long story of the Clintons and land property deals; and, of course, Zippergate, which refers to President Clinton and his inability to say "no" to pretty women.

A less emotive suffix is -DOM, meaning something like "the land of", although there's always a negative feel to the word. There's Big Brotherdom, which you use when you think that individual freedom is being lost and that the state is dictating everything you do. There's Computerdom, used to say that computers are taking over the world (or at least a part of it). And there's Coupledom, that state in which everyone has a partner and seems to live together happily ever after - everyone except you, that is.

There's also -HOLIC, which comes from alcoholic, someone who drinks too much alcohol. Perhaps the best known of the newer words is Workaholic, a person who spends all his/her time working. You can be a Shopaholic, unable to stop yourself going into shops and buying things; a Chocoholic, eating lots and lots of chocolate; a Tellyholic - another word for a Couch Potato - spending all your free time watching television. The most recent example I've seen is in an advertisement for a mobile phone: "It's so cheap you can afford to be a Talkaholic; chat all evening for only a few pence". It didn't seem so cheap when I got my telephone bill !!

-HOLIC is a fun suffix, because you can make up examples for yourself; if you drink lots of coffee, you could call yourself a Coffeeholic; if you see too many films, then Movieholic; if you read books all the time, you're a Bookaholic; if you go to night clubs every night, you're a Clubaholic; and so on. See if you can think of some more to describe yourself and your friends.

... AND WHAT ABOUT YOU?
HAVE YOU BECOME OMPERSONALHOLIC?

GLOSSARY:
scandal: behaviour or events which many people consider shocking or immoral
break-in: trespassing for an unlawful purpose
head-quarters: main offices
took place: happened
embarrasing: uneasy situation
scandalous: something which causes shock or outrage in people
taking over: taking control of
mobile phone: cellular phone
cheap: not expensive 

Source: New English Digest - Author: Gwyneth Fox