Aspects of Word Formation in Spanish

Processes of word formation in Spanish are in some respects far terms of flavour’, generacionalmente hablando ‘speaking in
richer and more complex than those of English, and users of the terms of generations’, solicitar improrrogablemente ‘apply with
dictionary may find the following notes of interest as guides no possible extension of the deadline’, una republiquilla
which both draw together and extend information conveyed in organizada mafiosamente ‘a potty republic organized on Mafia
the main alphabetic list. lines’, and even as an imaginative nonce-word huyó gacelamente
‘she fled with the grace of a gazelle’ (there being no base adjective
1 Prefixes and prefixed elements *gacelo).
These very largely correspond to those of English when drawn, (f) The usage discussed below is that of Spain. Latin-American
as so many are, from the common Graeco-Latin stock: contra-, Spanish offers notable differences from this: some suffixes of
des-, dis-, ex-, hiper-, hipo-, para-, re-, ultra- and so on, with Spain are hardly used in Latin America, while -ito is used far more
auto- representing both English auto- and self-. There is normally and often without any perceptible diminutive or emotive function
total correspondence also in the immense range of scientific (eg Con permiso ‘May I come in?’ in Spain may be Con permisito
elements, allowance being made for phonetic and orthographic in Venezuela). See eg ahorita, lueguito.
adjustments such as lympho-/linfo-. Elements may build up in (g) While some of the suffixes listed below present no semantic
blinding-with-science advertisements such as that for problem, being wholly objective or neutral (when designating
electrofisiohidroterapias. There are a few traditional Spanish largeness or smallness), some of these and many others may carry
intensifying prefixes which have no corresponding English forms: an emotive charge (intensifying, belittling, self-deprecatory,
see re-, requete-, recontra-, also archi- which is much more used ironical, admiring …) for the speaker or writer and this is often a
than arch- in English. These may be combined for exceptional subtle one. It follows that to give an English translation or even an
emphasis: archirrequetedicho ‘oft-repeated’. impression in a few words is difficult: the reader should try to
form his own sense by inspecting a wide range of examples of the
2 Formation by suffix same suffix, including some which are cross-referenced to the
(a) In both languages many suffixes of Latin origin correspond main dictionary. The expressive wealth of formation by suffix can
perfectly and will not be discussed here: -al/-al, -ific(al)/-ífico, be illustrated by the following collection of forms all based on rojo
-ity/-idad, -ous/-oso, -tion/-ción, and others. It is probable but in its political sense and gathered from the press in recent years:
not wholly predictable that in both languages on any one base the rojamen, rojazo, rojeras, rojería, rojerío, rojete, rojillo, rojismo,
full range of forms can be built: for example -izar, -izado, -izante, rojista, rojoide.
-izaje, -ización, -izacionar, -izacionismo, though Spanish with
its greater degree of latinity may much exceed English in this -able, -abilidad (also -ible, -ibilidad)
regard (tecnocratizarse ‘to become technocratic’; ‘to become This suffix often expresses more than the corresponding English
dominated by technocrats’; desgubernamentalización, -able, -ability (or English does not tolerate the corresponding
destrascendentalización). See further remarks below on -able, forms). Examples are idolatrable ‘that can be idolatrized’,
-abilidad. improrrogable ‘that cannot be extended’, jubilable ‘of
(b) For other suffixes, hundreds of items have been listed in the pensionable age’. The latinate nature of Spanish permits such
main body of the dictionary because they are sufficiently common formations as inasequibilidad, inconsultabilidad, la
to warrant this. They are of two types. In the first group are those indescarrilabilidad del nuevo tren.
words which have become fully ‘lexicalized’ and need separate -acho, -acha
treatment, such as lentillas, mesilla, mujerzuela, palabrota,
plazoleta. In the second group, an occasional series has been Pejorative noun suffix: vulgacho ‘the common herd’. Compare in
included in the main dictionary as an illustration of the process the dictionary hombracho, populacho, ricacho.
here under discussion: see for example amigacho-amigazo- -aco, -aca
amiguete-amigote-amiguito. In any case, the notion of what
may be considered ‘lexicalized’ is very unsure. Pejorative noun suffix: hombraco ‘contemptible fellow, horrible
chap’, tiparraco ‘odious individual, creep’. Compare in the
(c) Identification of the base word is easy in most cases. dictionary libraco, pajarraco.
Normally, but far from always, the suffixed form retains the
gender of the original noun. Certain changes of what is or -ada
becomes with suffix a medial consonant need to be borne in (i) A noun suffix expressing ‘an act by or typical of ’: carlistada
mind: lazo-lacito, voz-vocecita, barco-barquito, loco-loquillo. ‘Carlist uprising’, payasada ‘clownish trick’; compare in the
Sometimes two or even more suffixes are built on a base: dictionary bobada, perrada, puñalada.
facilonería consists of fácil + -ón + -ería, hombrachón consists
of hombre + -acho + -ón, tristoncete consists of triste + -ón (ii) A noun suffix implying some notion of collectivity, as in
+ ete, gentucilla consists of gente + -uza + -illa, while real extranjerada ‘group of foreigners’, parrafada ‘good long chat’,
complexities are offered by es una marisabidilla and hay peces and compare in the dictionary camada, hornada, indiada,
pero son chiquititecillos. The need for a compounding muslada. Beyond these one finds also an intensifying function,
consonant is seen in some formations: hombre will not make as in gozada, liada, riada, with which perhaps belong panzada,
*hombrito or *hombrillo, but hombrecito, hombrecillo. tripada ‘bellyful’.
(d) Nearly all the suffixes to be listed below are nouns and -ado, -aje
adjectives. There is little one can say about the formation of verbs
These noun suffixes of similar function are enjoying some popularity
except to note that it is less free than in English (in which one can
at the moment in new formations which express a process (often
all too readily say ‘the troops will be helicoptered in’, ‘the match
rendered by English -ing): blanqueado and lavado (del dinero)
was weathered off ’, ‘please have this text word-processed and
‘laundering (of money)’, lastrado ‘ballasting’, clonaje ‘cloning’,
the data accessed’). New verbs almost always belong to the first
reciclaje ‘recycling’. A particular function of -ado is to express a
-ar conjugation (including -ear, -ificar, -izar) and may themselves
collectivity, in English ‘the body of…’: see in the dictionary
be built on noun or adjectival suffixes or related to them
alumnado, campesinado, estudiantado, profesorado.
(eg mariconear supposing noun suffix -eo).
(e) Few adverbs are listed below; they are readily formed in the -ajo, -aja
standard way from the feminine form of the adjective + -mente. Strongly pejorative noun suffix: muñecajo ‘rotten old doll’, papelajo
Speakers and writers of Spanish in ordinary colloquial registers ‘dirty old bit of paper’; see further in the dictionary pintarrajo.
tend to avoid these forms (this does not refer to such ordinary Among adjectives one finds pequeñajo ‘wretchedly small’.
forms as eg rápidamente), preferring less pretentious
circumlocutions (‘de una manera …’, etc), but the -mente forms -amen
appear powerfully in literary and journalistic writing and are often A humorous augmentative: barrigamen ‘grossly fat belly’,
much more expressive than the English adverbial form in -ly. Thus labiamen ‘great red gash of a made-up mouth’, papelamen
we find obrar maquiavélicamente ‘to act in a Machiavellian ‘lots of paper’. Compare in the dictionary caderamen, culamen,
fashion’, pintar goyescamente ‘to paint in the manner of Goya’, tetamen, whose tone is warmly appreciative.
una fruta gustativamente superior ‘a fruit which is superior in
 -ante -ete, -eta
A neutral adjectival suffix which generally corresponds to English Mildly diminutive noun and adjectival suffix: alegrete ‘a bit
-ing. Self-explanatory are eg destripante, gimoteante, merry’, guapete ‘quite handsome’; unos duretes ‘a few measly
lastrante, masificante, mistificante, mitificante: less pesetas’, tartaleta ‘small cake’. Compare in the dictionary
transparent are the crónicas masacrantes ‘vicious reports’ which galancete, palacete, pobrete.
a journalist wrote about an event. Compare in the dictionary
golfante, hilarante, pimpante, preocupante, and see also -ez
-izante. A noun suffix which can often be translated by the English
abstract -ness: grisez, majez, menudez, modernez, muchachez,
-ata and in the dictionary eg gelidez, morenez, testarudez.
See in the dictionary the group bocata, drogata, fumata, tocata,
colloquial variations created by young people. -iano
A common adjectival suffix which English -ian might but usually
-azo, -aza cannot represent when attached to personal names: not only, in
(i) Augmentative of more or less neutral tone: animalazo ‘huge the dictionary, native calderoniano, galdosiano, lorquiano, but
creature, whacking great brute’, generalazo ‘important general’, also galbraithiano, goethiano, grouchiano, joyciano (and
golpazo ‘heavy blow’. joyceano), una novela lampedusiana. Some forms may puzzle
(ii) Augmentative of favourable tone: golazo ‘great goal’, foreign learners: eg la poesía juanramoniana refers to the work
morenazo ‘man with dark good looks’; ‘man with a lovely tan’, of the Spanish poet Juan Ramón Jiménez.
talentazo ‘immense talent’. -ico, -ica
(iii) Augmentative of unfavourable tone: cochinaza ‘dirty sow of As an adjective, this is a regional (Aragon and Navarre, Granada,
a woman’, locaza ‘outrageous old queen’, melenaza ‘great mop of Murcia) variant of -ito: me duele un tantico, ¿te han dejado
long hair’. solico? As a noun it is a contemptuous diminutive: cobardica,
(iv) The suffix may signify ‘a blow with …’: ladrillazo ‘blow with llorica, miedica, mierdica, sólo me pidió medio milloncico.
a brick’, misilazo ‘missile strike’; compare in the dictionary Compare in the dictionary acusica, roñica.
aldabonazo, codazo, etc.
-il
(v) The suffix may signify ‘a sound made with …’: cornetazo
‘bugle-call, blast on the bugle’; compare in the dictionary An adjectival suffix which is not specially pejorative but conveys a
telefonazo and (with probable sounds) frenazo. mildly ironical tone. Senses are transparent: caciquil, curanderil,
una dieta garbancil, machil ‘a bit too macho’, ministeril, ratonil.
(vi) The (attempted) blow may be a military one, a coup or attack: Very expressive are urraquil, which depends on the word urraca,
in the past a gibraltarazo may have been contemplated, and ‘magpie’, with its thievish propensities, and sus encantos
there was certainly a malvinazo. See in the dictionary cleopatriles ‘her femme fatale (-like) charms’.
cuartelazo, decretazo, tejerazo.
-illo, -illa
-e
A noun and adjectival suffix, gently diminutive and often implying
This is increasingly used as a noun suffix to refer to a process: a degree of good-humoured condescension. For adjectives,
manduque ‘eating’, tueste ‘roasting’ (of coffee). Compare in the consider un vino ligerillo ‘a pleasantly light wine’, es dificilillo
dictionary cuelgue, derrame, desfase, desmadre. ‘it’s a wee bit tricky’. For nouns, un lugarcillo ‘a nice little place’,
-ejo, -eja jefecillo ‘local boss, petty boss’, jequecillo ‘petty sheik’, un olorcillo
a corrupción ‘a slight smell of corruption’. More plainly pejorative
Mostly a pejorative suffix: discursejo ‘rotten speech’, grupejo are empleadillo, ministrillo, personajillo.
‘insignificant little group’, nos costó un milloncejo ‘it cost us all of
a million’, todo por unas cuantas pesetejas ‘all for a few measly -ín, -ina
pesetas’. See in the dictionary animalejo, caballejo, palabreja. A mildly approving suffix for nouns and adjectives, quite widely
Sometimes the sense is simply diminutive, eg gracejo, used but specially attached to Asturias and Granada: guapín,
rinconcejo. guapina, jovencina, monín, pequeñín; cafetín is in part
-eo demeaning but also affectionate, and tontín to a child will not
cause alarm.
This like -e refers to a process or continuing act, and is much
commoner: guitarreo ‘strumming on the guitar’, ligoteo -ísimo
‘chatting-up’, mariposeo ‘flirting’, marisqueo ‘gathering shellfish’. This suffix is not one of the degrees of comparison but implies
See in the dictionary cachondeo, gimoteo, musiqueo, papeleo. ‘very’ with various nuances:
-eras (i) ‘Very’, neutral in tone: un asunto importantísimo ‘a very
A strongly intensifying masculine singular suffix: guarreras ‘filthy important matter, a most important matter’; una cuestión
person’, macheras ‘over-the-top macho man’. Compare boceras, discutidísima ‘a highly controversial question’; un
golferas, guaperas. desarrolladísimo sentido de orgullo ‘a very highly developed
sense of pride’; es dificilísimo ‘it is extremely difficult’.
-ería (ii) More emotionally: es simpatiquísimo ‘he’s terribly nice,
Among a very wide variety of applications of this common suffix he’s awfully kind’; es guapísima ‘she really is pretty’.
one may distinguish a general notion of quality inherent in the (iii) Exaggerating somewhat in order to impress: un libro
base noun or adjective: marchosería, matonería, mitinería, grandísimo ‘an enormous great book, a megatome’; una comida
milagrería, pelmacería (compare in the dictionary chiquillería, costosísima. There may be humour or irony, depending on
nadería, patriotería, tontería). The suffix may also indicate ‘place context: la superfinísima actriz, esta cursilísima costumbre.
where’, as in floristería, frutería; a recent invention is bocatería
‘sandwich bar’. (iv) Passionately patriotic: aquel españolísimo plato ‘that most
Spanish of all dishes’; la madrileñísima plaza de Santa Ana
-ero ‘St Anne’s Square which is so (endearingly) typical of Madrid’.
The wide application of this mainly adjectival suffix may be (v) Exceptionally, one finds this suffix attached to a noun: aquí
gauged from eg cafetero, carero, faldero, futbolero, patriotero, ella es la jefísima ‘she’s the only real boss round here’.
pesetero in the dictionary. A barco atunero/bacaladero/ (vi) Adverbs may be formed in the usual way on some of these
camaronero/marisquero will fish for tunny, cod, shrimps, and forms, eg brillantísimamente, riquísimamente.
shellfish respectively.
-ismo
-esco
In hundreds of simple cases, Spanish words in -ismo naturally
English -esque is only a pale equivalent of this adjectival suffix. correspond to English -ism. But Spanish uses the suffix much
Self-explanatory are chaplinesco, tarzanesco, and in the more and in creations which English has to express in a
dictionary goyesco, mitinesco, oficinesco. circumlocutory way: while japonesismo might just be ‘Japanese-
ness’, and ilegalismo is hardly more than ilegalidad ‘illegality’,
el guitarrismo moderno has to be ‘modern guitar-playing’ and (ii) augmentative with a strongly approving tone: mimosón,
gorilismo ‘rule by bully-boys’. El felipismo sums up criticism of the simpaticón, guapetón.
former Spanish Prime Minister Felipe González. (iii) augmentative with unpleasant or strongly ironic nuances:
Real complications start with such examples as gaudinismo facilón ‘trite’, pegarse un madrugón ‘to get up at the crack of
‘style and practices of the architect Gaudí’, gubernamentalismo dawn’, hombrón ‘hulking great brute’, milagrón ‘great miracle’,
‘government interventionism, tendency for the government to movidón (see movida in the dictionary).
intervene in everything’, el paragüismo de los gallegos ‘devotion
of the Galicians to their umbrellas’ and in America -osis
quemimportismo ‘couldn't-care-less attitude’. Like -itis, this is for jocular formations which echo the common
-ista suffix of medical terms: ligosis ‘obsessive womanizing’.
This forms nouns of common gender and adjectives also. -ote, -ota
Simple cases such as comunista again correspond precisely An adjectival and noun augmentative, with varying nuances.
to English, but many do not: an independentista supports an Among adjectives, gordote, guapote, liberalote, mansote
independence movement, that is un movimiento (of a bull) carry little extra charge, as is the case also with nouns
independentista; a madridista is a supporter of Real Madrid drogota, muchachote, pasota. Stronger feelings emerge with
football club, and many Spanish teams acquire similarly- presumidote ‘impossibly vain’, militarote ‘overblown braggart
designated supporters; a plusmarquista is a record-holder and soldier’. One man who stole a glance at an attractive girl took a
a mariposista specializes in the butterfly stroke. Compare in the longer look, explaining that his miradita became a miradota.
dictionary congresista, juerguista, ordenancista.
-ucho, -ucha
-itis
Much like -uco, -uca, and commoner: debilucho ‘weakish’,
A few formations on this adopt the suffix of eg bronquitis and delicaducho ‘rather delicate’, delgaducho ‘terribly thin, scrawny’,
humorously imply a medical condition: barriguitis ‘tendency to morenucho ‘extremely swarthy’; a hotelucho would be classed
get a paunch, paunchiness’, concursitis ‘obsessive wish to enter as minus two stars. See in the dictionary cuartucho, novelucha.
competitions’, empatitis ‘tendency to draw games’, mudancitis
‘disease which leads one to move house perpetually’. See in the -uco, -uca
dictionary gandulitis, holgazanitis.
This is a diminutive suffix, not common except perhaps in
-ito, -ita Santander province (niñuco ‘very small boy’), and more especially
a pejorative one: frailuco ‘contemptible little priest’, mujeruca
This suffix is the commonest of all. One can discern at least three ‘very odd little woman’.
categories:
(i) The purely diminutive: Juanito ‘Johnny’, su hijito ‘her small son, -udo, -uda
her baby’, es más bien bajita ‘she’s rather on the short side’. This adjectival suffix expresses the notion of ‘possessing (the base
Among adverbs one finds salimos tempranito, pues hazlo quality) in abundance’: mostachudo, patilludo, talentudo; una
prontito. caligrafía garrapatuda ‘nasty scrawled writing’. Compare in the
(ii) Diminutive with added affective (usually kindly) nuance: dictionary concienzudo, huesudo, linajudo, melenudo,
jugosito ‘nice and juicy’, limpito ‘clean as a new pin’, un golito suertudo.
‘a nice little goal’, iban cogiditos de la mano, ¡pobrecito! ‘poor
-uelo, -uela
old chap!’, ‘poor little fellow!’, etc. One may be self-deprecating:
te traigo un regalito, ofrecemos una fiestecita en casa, or one A diminutive and sometimes affectionate suffix: gordezuelo,
may need to apologize for troubling others: ¿me echas una pequeñuelo, muchachuelo, tontuela.
firmita aquí? ‘could you please sign here?’ To small children it is
-ujo, -uja
natural to say hay que ser educaditos ‘we must be on our best
behaviour’. A strongly pejorative suffix for adjective and noun: papelujo
‘wretched bit of paper’; estrechujo, pequeñujo.
(iii) Other uses express a kind of superlative: ahora mismito ‘this
very instant’, estaba solito ‘he was all on his own’, están -uzo, -uza
calentitos ‘they’re piping hot’, lo mejorcito que haya ‘the very
best there is’. A very strongly pejorative suffix for adjective and noun:
marranuzo ‘filthy, stinking’; carnuza ‘rotten awful meat’.
-izante
This adjectival and noun suffix may correspond to English 3 Designations of women in the professions etc.
-izing, as in medida liberalizante, tendencia modernizante, (a) In recent decades the entry of women into many professions
but sometimes goes beyond this: idiotizante ‘stupefying’, colores previously more or less closed to them has caused developments
mimetizantes, hormona masculinizante. Compare teorizante and problems for Spanish with its consistent gender-marking of
and others in the dictionary. nouns (in contrast to English with its very restricted perception
of gender in such usages as ‘she will dock tomorrow’ and ‘she’s
-izo been a very good car’, together, naturally, with the full range of
This adjectival suffix expresses the ‘quality’ of the base word: see biological pairs ‘fox/vixen’, ‘bull/cow’ and so on). What follows is
in the dictionary eg acomodadizo, huidizo, quebradizo, rollizo. an attempt to outline aspects of usage and problems in Spanish,
without recommendations which it would be perilous to offer in
-ocracia a time of rapid change. Alternative possibilities have been offered
Spanish meritocracia = English ‘meritocracy’, but Spanish seems in many entries in the main text of the dictionary. The remarks
to have a greater capacity for rather bitterly humorous relate to Peninsular Spanish; usage in Latin America, especially in
formations with this suffix: dedocracia, falocracia, yernocracia. countries with strongly conservative social structures, is very
varied and often different from that of Spain.
-oide
(b) There is generally no problem about the morphology (forms)
This adjectival and noun suffix implies ‘somewhat, rather’, and is of the feminine. A noun whose masculine ends in -o has a
always pejorative: extranjeroide ‘somewhat foreign’, liberaloide feminine in -a: la médica, la ministra, la bióloga, la bioquímica.
‘pseudo-liberal’, estas tramas fascistoides ‘these quasi-fascist The same is true of -or and -ora: la instructora, la lectora,
schemes’. la embajadora, la conductora, and of other pairs such as
alcalde/alcaldesa, coronel/coronela, capitán/capitana,
-ón, -ona presidente/presidenta, jefe/jefa, while all nouns in -ista are of
This very frequent noun and adjectival suffix has several differing common gender anyway: el/la periodista etc. (note however the
connotations: special case of el modisto). There is doubt as between la juez and
(i) purely augmentative: muchachón, generalón ‘really la jueza.
important general’, pistolón, liberalón, lingotón ‘big shot of (c) Usage, however, often invalidates any automatic application
whisky’ (etc); among adjectives, grandón ‘tall and solidly built’, of forms mentioned above. On the one hand, some women in the
gastón ‘free-spending’, docilón ‘extremely placid’. professions may feel that they have attained full status and
equality with men colleagues only when the established standard has been an explosion of the attributive use of nouns (defined as
word is applied to them: one may expect la abogada and this will the use of a noun in a qualifying or adjectival function but without
often be correct, but sometimes a woman prefers to be la médico concord of number or gender). Much of this is owed to the influence
and equally la arquitecto, la dramaturgo. of English, but some formations now go well beyond any possible
As the presence of women increases in posts originally held only pattern existing in English. Buque fantasma translates English
by men, the feminine form seems to take over the masculine when ‘ghost ship’ and gobierno fantasma was once formed as a calque
applied to women, becoming more acceptable and widely used. on English ‘shadow cabinet’, but the usage then develops a
(d) There is a special problem when a feminine form already momentum of its own in Spanish and we find empresa
exists in a pejorative sense which may for a time preclude, for fantasma, gol fantasma and other expressive formations.
some speakers and writers, its use about a woman with a newly- (b) Well-established usages are covered in many cases by entries
attained professional or other status: such words as jefa and in the dictionary. Such are acuerdo marco, cuestión clave,
socia are concerned here. It was noticed that the woman cárcel modelo, emisión pirata, fecha límite, niño prodigio, país
circulation manager of a Spanish newspaper sent out satélite, peso pluma, piso piloto, programa coloquio, reunión
subscription forms for some years signing her name over the cumbre. There is a range of attributives which may go with eg
words Jefe de Márketing and then changing the first to Jefa. efecto: efecto boomerang/dominó/embudo/escoba/
The women members of a society will more likely be las invernadero. Formations such as faros antiniebla,
miembros but one notes a tendency for them to be las socias, manifestaciones antihuelga, medidas antipolución are now
showing that the old pejorative sense is no longer a bar to this. standard, as are many others in the domains of fashion (falda
There is also a group of words for sciences whose existence may pantalón, falda tubo) and cuisine, etc. These correspond closely
in some contexts cause doubt: because la física is ‘physics’ there to English models. Statements about colour in attributive form
may be uncertainty about whether a woman physicist should be are also standard usage, eg un vestido color lila, uniformes
una física or una físico. A few special cases cause difficulties of verde oliva, cortinas verde oscuro (but naturally cortinas
other kinds: since la policía is established as ‘the police force’, it is verdes with concord). The same is true of phrases with modelo,
not readily applicable to a policewoman in case confusion should tipo, and similar words: un coche modelo Tiburón 1500, aviones
arise, and informants specify that while they will refer to una tipo Concorde, un sombrero estilo Bogart, and also of biological
policía ‘a policewoman’ and unas policías ‘several policewomen’, definitions such as el pájaro hembra, las musarañas macho.
they would avoid such usage with the definite article and say la (c) Creativity in this aspect in journalistic Spanish has now gone
mujer policía ‘the policewoman’ or possibly take refuge in the well beyond any possible English model, however: examples are
safely bi-gender la agente. If there is doubt a woman should un jugador promesa, horas punta, tecnología punta, el grupo
naturally be asked which designation she herself prefers. revelación del año, una teoría puente. Abbreviations may figure
(e) In the category of military and similar ranks older senses have too in a kind of journalistic shorthand: tres aviones USA, dos
been relegated as archaisms: la coronela was ‘the colonel’s lady’ agentes CIA.
but is now ‘(woman) colonel’, la embajadora is not ‘the (d) While the principle of non-concord is the soundest one,
ambassador’s wife’ but ‘(woman) ambassador’, and la alcaldesa as above, speakers may occasionally treat the attributive
is ‘(woman) mayor’. A woman minister in a nonconformist church element as an adjective and assign it concord for number (but
may safely be called la pastora, but it is wholly unsure by what never for gender): hay dos palabras claves, pedimos pagos
term women priests in the Anglican Church are or will be known. extras. One finds both hombres rana and hombres ranas.
4 Attributive use of nouns
(a) Examples of such formations as el patrón oro go back to the
17th century, but remained rare until recent times when there Note: *preceding a word denotes an invented form.