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Bratislave
Filozofická fakulta
Katedra anglistiky a amerikanistiky

Word-Formation Analysis of Neologisms in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Novels

Seminar paper

Lecturer: Mgr. Michaela Hroteková Student: Veronika Nagyová, 3bpANSP

BRATISLAVA, 2021
Abstract:

The books about the young wizard Harry Potter written by J. K. Rowling have now long been
an international phenomenon. People from all around the world have read them and seen the
movies. Writing a fictional story often requires the creation of new lexicological units that
would denote the previously non-existent objects, ideas or processes, and the story about
Harry Potter is not an exception. There are various online dictionaries compiled only from
neologisms related to these books, where the definitions of the words are provided and one
can easily look up their meanings. The objective of this seminar paper is to analyse a selected
corpus of these neologisms from the point of view of their word formation. The general idea
is to succinctly define the word-formation processes in question and give examples from the
selected corpus. At the same time, the focus will be on describing the word-formation bases or
the influencing factors that led to the creation of the words or the multi-word expressions in
the corpus. The conclusion of the seminar paper provides an answer to the question of which
word-formation processes contributed most to the creation of neologisms in the books about
Harry Potter.

Key words: Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling, literature, fiction, word-formation, processes,

neologisms, lexicology, creating new words, etymology
 Books and literature are a very rich source of neologisms. Novels often require new
words to be created to denote various phenomena that exist only in the fictional world of a
specific literary work. A good example are the well-known series about Harry Potter written
by J. K. Rowling. The author in this series coined neologisms related to the wizarding world
that include names of objects, groups of people or abstract entities, as well as proper names of
people and places. Hogwarts, Quidditch, dementor or Hufflepuff are just some of the
neologisms brought into our lives by these novels. Due to their popularity, the meanings of
these words are often well-known not only by the fans of the books, but by the wider public,
too. The aim of this paper, however, is not to analyse and describe the selected neologisms
from their semantic point-of-view, but from the point of view of their word-formation, that is,
by exemplifying the word-formation processes with specific neologisms from the books,
analysing them and explaining their creation.

The principal word-formation processes include affixation and compounding.

Affixation is the creation of a new word either by putting a prefix or a suffix (or both) to
a word. In the case of the Harry Potter books, there are many neologisms created this way –
in Polyjuice Potion, the first word is made by adding a prefix of number, poly, to the word
juice. Another such prefix was used in the creation of the Triwizard Tournament, where the
prefix tri defines that the tournament takes place between three wizards from three different
schools. Similarly, a half-breed in the books is a creature of mixed race. Furthermore,
affixation was used in the creation of words connected to the game played on broomsticks –
Quidditch. Here, the players are named by putting the agent-forming suffix to the original
verbs – seeker, keeper, chaser, beater, and one of the balls used in the game also bears the -er
suffix – bludger. A howler is a letter that shrieks and howls at the reader when it is opened.
A variation of the -er agent-forming suffix is the -or suffix, by which the words Auror and
Dementor were formed. Moreover, the word Dementor contains the negative and reversative
prefix de, so the word was created by both prefixation and suffixation. The word Deluminator
was created the same way. It refers to a device used to turn off the lights – also called a Put-
Outer – which is a word that was created by combining the processes of compounding (put +
out) and suffixation (er). Another such word is, for example, Time-Turner. They can also be
called derivational compounds.

The process of compounding can be observed in many other words. As could be seen
on the example above, compounding is the process of putting together two word-formation
bases to create one new word. These bases can belong to different part of speech categories.
The word for a drink named butterbeer is also a compound made out of two nouns, butter and
beer. Other compounds that can be found in the novels are mudblood, Parseltongue,
parselmouth, watchwizard, welcomewitch, Knockturn (Alley), Cleansweep, Hippogriff,
veritaserum, Firebolt, House-elf and many more. In fact, even the wizarding school itself is
called Hogwarts, which is a combination of hog and warts. The village near the castle is
called Hogsmeade. Here, the two elements are hogs (made by central clipping from
Hogwarts) and meade, which is either a poetic word for meadow or an alternative spelling of
mead, an alcoholic beverage. The names of two the houses at the school were also made by
compounding – there is Hufflepuff, made by the combination of huff and puff. It is worth
noting here that almost all of the neologisms‘ elements from which they were created have
a meaning and were not randomly made up (although there are, of course, such words, too).
The students that belong to the house of Hufflepuff are very diligent and hard-working, and
people that work hard can often make sounds like huff and puff – hence, the word Hufflepuff
has an onomatopoeic background and it could also be considered a reduplicative rhyme
compound. The house of Ravenclaw, too, is a compound word. Interesting is the word
sneakoscope, which is made by sneak and scope, while in the middle the letter o works as an
interfix or a linking element. In the same way, the letter o works as an interfix in the word
spellotape.

Compounding is sometimes confused with blending, which is a minor word-formation

process. In blending, parts of words and not entire words are joined together to form a new
word. Such is the case of the word portkey, where the port is a part of the word teleport.
A very interesting blend is the word remembrall, where a play on words can be observed. The
letter e from the word remember is omitted and the word all is added, so the ending of the
final word (brall) resembles the word ball, which is actually the object that remembrall
denotes. And finally, the word merpeople could also be considered a blend, as the mer part
comes from the word mermaid and people is added to it. Although this word was already used
before J. K. Rowling, it is quite an uncommon form.

To continue, let’s have a look at two more minor word-formation processes that are
present in the creation of neologisms in the Harry Potter books. The first one is called back-
formation. Back-formation is the omission of a suffix or a supposed suffix from the base
word, while the newly created word belongs to a different part of speech category. This
process can be seen in the word apparate (a verb that means “to transport oneself instantly to
any destination”), created from the noun apparition (the original verb is to appear). By
prefixation, the word disapparate was created. The second minor word-formation process to
be discussed in this section is abbreviation, acronyms to be more specific. Acronyms are
abbreviated words where only the initial letters are used. As opposed to initialisms which are
created the same way, acronyms can be pronounced as words – the letters form acceptable
syllables. There are several such acronyms in the books, such as O.W.L – that stands for
Ordinary Wizarding Levels (a type of exams). The N.E.W.T.(s) – meaning Nastily Exhausting
Wizarding Tests. And finally, there is the S.P.E.W. – the Society for the Promotion of Elfish
Welfare. In all of these acronyms, we can see that not only can the initial letters be
pronounced as normal words, but they also have an actual meaning. Therefore, perhaps it
could be discussed that these examples are not acronyms but backronyms. Backronyms are
intentionally created abbreviations that make up words which already existed before the
creation of the abbreviation, while the intention can often be humorous (which is the case of
N.E.W.T, for instance).

While some of the neologisms above mentioned do have foreign origins (veritaserum,
dementor), mostly they are English words from which a new word was created. However, in
the Harry Potter novels there are countless words or phrases that have a foreign influence,
which is especially due to the fact that we are dealing with a magical world and spells sound
better and more elaborate when they are in Latin, for example. These words are called
borrowings or loanwords. In this category there are spells like Accio, Expelliarmus, Lumos,
Nox, Obliviate, Petrificus Totalus, Levicorpus, Oculus Reparo, etc. All of them have Latin
origin and the meaning is essentially linked to what the spell is supposed to do. An interesting
spell with foreign origin is Avada Kedavra – it is an ancient spell in Aramaic and at the same
time the original of abracadabra, which means “let the thing be destroyed”. Apart from these
words, there are ones like animagus, Nimbus, Patronus. While Nimbus and Patronus do both
exist in Latin, the word animagus does not and was created from the words animal and magus
by the process of blending. Therefore, only a part of the word is a borrowing from Latin and
the word itself is partially assimilated into English, as the plural form animagi is sometimes
used and it corresponds with the plural form of similarly structured Latin words in English.

To conclude and give a general overview on the topic, the majority of neologisms in
question were created by two major word-formation processes – affixation and compounding
(or the combination of the two). A significant number of lexemes, mostly magical spells, have
either a completely foreign form or have at least been influenced by a different language,
mostly Latin. And finally, some minor word-formation processes also have their
representation in the neologisms discussed in this paper, among which there is blending, back-
formation and abbreviation. All in all, it can be seen that the linguistic creativity of J. K.
Rowling in writing the series about Harry Potter was truly wide-ranging and inspirational.

Sources:

Daniel Lančarič. English Lexicology: theory and exercises, 2016

Cristina Tonog Malimban. Revisiting Neologisms in Harry Potter, 2019

available at: http://harp.lib.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/h-bunkyo/detail/1257620191224133325?l=en

Marina Martínez Carbajal. Neologisms in Harry Potter books, 2014

available at: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/211091639.pdf

Todaytranslations webpage: Ten Harry Potter Spells Translated into English

https://www.todaytranslations.com/news/ten-harry-potter-spells-translated-into-english/

selected words in corpus taken from: https://harrypotter.bloomsbury.com/uk/fun-

stuff/glossary/
Corpus:

Accio: Incantation of the Summoning Charm. For example, the incantation ‘Accio Firebolt’
would cause the required broomstick to fly into the hand of the person using the charm.

Animagus: A witch or wizard who can at will transform into a specific animal. All Animagi
must register with the Ministry of Magic, stating what animal they become and its
distinguishing features.

Apparate: To transport oneself instantly to any destination. It is accompanied by a loud crack

sound, and there is always a risk of Splinching. Because it is difficult and dangerous,
Appariation requires a licence from the Department of Magical Transportation, which can
only be issued to those of seventeen and over. It is impossible to Apparate or Disapparate
within Hogwarts.

Auror: Professional Dark-wizard catcher. To become an Auror, a witch or wizard must gain at
least five N.E.W.T.s with grades no lower than 'Exceeds Expectations' in subjects including:
Defence Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Transfiguration, and Charms; pass stringent
character and aptitude tests at the Ministry of Magic's Auror office, then do three years of
Auror training. By their fifth year at Hogwarts Harry and Ron both want to be Aurors.

Beater: Quidditch player who tries to knock the Bludgers towards the opposing team.

Bludgers: Black balls that try to knock players off their broomsticks in Quidditch.

Butterbeer: Frothy, buttery drink drunk by witches and wizards.

Chaser: Quidditch player who tries to score using the Quaffle.

Cleansweep Eleven: Broomstick with Spanish oak handle, anti-jinx varnish and in-built
vibration control. It accelerates from nought to seventy in ten seconds.

Cleansweep Seven: Type of broomstick used by Fred and George Weasley.

Dementor: Creature who feeds on the happy emotions of humans. Dementors are employed as
guards at Azkaban. The kiss of a Dementor will suck out a human's soul, leaving an
emotionless shell.

Disapparate: To disappear at will.

Expelliarmus: Incantation of the Disarming Charm, a basic spell to disarm an opponent by
making their wand fly out of their hand.

Firebolt: Fastest, most technologically advanced broomstick during Harry’s third year at
Hogwarts. Can accelerate from 0 to 150 miles per hour in ten seconds.

Half-breed: Person or creature of mixed race, such as a centaur or a merperson; or someone

taken over by another breed, such as a werewolf. Hagrid, part-giant, part-wizard, is insultingly
referred to as a half-breed by Professor Umbridge.

Hippogriff: Magical creature that has the front legs, wings and head of an eagle, and the body,
hind legs and tail of a horse. Buckbeak, the one-time subject of Hagrid’s Care of Magical
Creatures class, is a Hippogriff.

Hogsmeade: The only completely magical village in Britain. Hogsmeade is not far from
Hogwarts and has an array of wonderful shops including Honeydukes sweet shop, the Three
Broomsticks pub and Zonko's Joke Shop.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry: The best school of its kind in the world. The
greatest witches and wizards of the age founded Hogwarts more than a thousand years ago:
Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. They built a
remote castle so that witches and wizards could train in safety. Pupils attend from age eleven
for seven years of rigorous training in the art of witchcraft and wizardry. There are a hundred
and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts and everything keeps moving around, so things are not
always in the same place. Hogwarts is in a secret location somewhere in the North of the
United Kingdom.

House-elf: Small creature that works as a servant in some wizarding houses. A house-elf can
only be set free when its master or mistress gives the elf a piece of clothing.

Howler: Wizarding letter which, when opened, shrieks and howls at the reader in an
extremely loud voice. Comes in a red envelope and is usually sent by someone who is very
angry. Ron Weasley received one from his mother after crashing his father’s flying Ford
Anglia into the Whomping Willow.

Hufflepuff house: One of the four houses in Hogwarts. It was founded by Helga Hufflepuff
and their coat of arms bears a badger. The resident ghost is the Fat Friar.

Keeper: Quidditch player who guards the goalposts.

Knockturn Alley: Street of wizard shops devoted to the Dark Arts. Shops include Borgin and
Burkes.

Lumos: Incantation of the spell that causes a wand-tip to flare with magical light.

Merpeople: Underwater dwellers who build cities at the bottom of lakes. They have fishtails,
green hair and grey skin, and they fish with spears. Above water their voices are
unintelligible.
Mudblood: Term used to describe a person who has non-magical parents. This term is
considered a great insult.

N.E.W.T.s: Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests. Higher level examinations taken at the end
of the seventh year at Hogwarts.

Nimbus Two Thousand: A very fast broomstick, sleek and shiny with a mahogany handle.
Harry's first broomstick.

Nimbus Two Thousand and One: The successor to the Nimbus Two Thousand broomstick,
and much faster than its predecessor.

Nox: Spell to extinguish light coming from your wand.

Obliviate: Incantation for a spell that modifies the subject’s memories.

O.W.L.s: Ordinary Wizarding Levels. Hogwarts standard-level examinations which are taken
at the end of the fifth year.

Parselmouth: Wizard who can talk to snakes – very rare. Commonly thought to be the sign of
a Dark wizard, given that Salazar Slytherin and Lord Voldemort were both skilled
Parselmouths.

Parseltongue: Language spoken by a Parselmouth.

Patronus: A positive force that protects against Dementors. The form of each Patronus is
particular to an individual witch or wizard, each of whom produces theirs with the Patronus
Charm by saying the incantation ‘Expecto Patronum’ while thinking a strong happy thought.
Harry's Patronus is a stag.

Petrificus Totalus: Incantation for the Body-Bind Curse that causes the subject to become
completely rigid.

Polyjuice Potion: Potion that will transform the drinker into another person for a period of
time.

Portkey: Any object can be bewitched for use as a Portkey to whisk witches and wizards away
to a prearranged destination the instant they touch it. Use of a Portkey should be authorised by
the Ministry of Magic.

Put-Outer: Device resembling cigarette lighter, used to turn street lamps on and off. Used by
Albus Dumbledore. Also referred to as a Deluminator.

Quidditch: The wizarding national sport. Played on broomsticks by seven players: three
Chasers, one Keeper, two Beaters, one Seeker. Played with four balls: the Quaffle (red) is
used for scoring; two Bludgers (black) which try to knock players off their brooms; one
Golden Snitch (bright gold with silver wings). The Chasers throw the Quaffle to each other
and try to score by throwing the Quaffle through one of the six hoops. Ten points are awarded
every time a player scores. The Keeper guards the goalposts and tries to prevent the Chasers
from scoring. The Beaters try to keep the Bludgers away from their team and knock them
towards the opposing team. The Seeker tries to catch the Golden Snitch. Whichever team
catches the Golden Snitch earns 150 points. The game ends when the Snitch is caught.

Ravenclaw house: One of the four school houses in Hogwarts. Founded by Rowena
Ravenclaw. The Ravenclaw coat of arms bears an eagle. The resident ghost is the Grey Lady.

Remembrall: Magical glass ball, the size of a large marble, filled with white smoke. The
smoke turns red to tell you that there is something you have forgotten to do.

Reparo: Incantation of the Repairing Charm.

Seeker: Quidditch player who tries to catch the Golden Snitch.

Sneakoscope: This Dark detector has a glass top which lights up and spins when someone
untrustworthy is close by.

Spellotape: Wizarding repair tape. It was used by Ron Weasley to mend his broken wand.

S.P.E.W.: Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare, pressure group organised by Hermione
in her fourth year at Hogwarts. Harry and Ron frequently refer to it as ‘Spew’, much to
Hermione’s annoyance.

Time-Turner: Hourglass that allows the wearer to travel back in time.

Triwizard Tournament: Competition between the three largest European schools of witchcraft
and wizardry: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Each school selects a champion, and
the champions compete in three magical tasks. The prize money is a thousand Galleons. The
Triwizard Tournament was first established some 700 years ago.

Veritaserum: Powerful Truth Potion. Its use is restricted by the Ministry of Magic.

Watchwizard: A security guard, such as Eric Munch at the Ministry of Magic, who registers
every wand brought into the building.

Welcomewitch: A receptionist, such as at St Mungo's Hospital, who deals with visitors'

enquiries.