Abstract
The rules of word formation undergo changes from day to day. Prefixes become productive or lose their productivity. The aim of this paper is to examine the various meanings of prefix over- in English. Although it has its specific distinct meaning which is 'excessive' or too much, it can also imply other meanings. The prefix over- is used to form many different words, so it is very productive in constantly forming new words. Some of the words with over- represent recent coinages and some are very old dating back to the 16th century.
Highlights
According to Plag (2002: 123),prefixes in English can be classified semantically into four groups
Linguists (Quirk 1985, Plag 2002) argue that the main meaning of prefix over- is ‘excess’, there are other meanings conveyed with this prefix:temporal,local,metaphorical etc
Over- can be freely added to different syntactic categories which makes it a very productive prefix
Summary
According to Plag (2002: 123),prefixes in English can be classified semantically into four groups. The meaning of over- from the phrase overhead kick (8) is local and means the kick from above someone's head; over- in overnight (9) has temporal meaning and means during the night,but it can denote something that happens suddenly; over- in overall profit (10) means total; over- in overlook (11) means to miss but in can mean to have a view of something usually from above; over- in overcast (12) means dark with clouds; over- in overalls (13) denotes a piece of clothing worn over other clothes to protect them; over- in overhear (14) to hear what other people are saying unintentionally, over- in overhaul (15) means to change to improve; over- in overcome (16) means to control something that prevents you from achieving something; go overground (17) has a metaphorical meaning and means become popular, over- in overlapping (18) means selective inclusion; over- is combined with a number (19) to form a noun which is always in plural and refer to people who are older than the number mentioned; over- in overture (20) denotes the introduction into a large piece of music;over- in overlord (21) is combined with a noun to denote someone who has power.
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