Thursday 4 December 2014

4th Lexember Word

ba|zip /bad͡zip/, noun: “(table) salt, sea salt, sodium chloride”

That’s the expression “table salt” taken to a brand new level!

Another word related to cooking, ba|zip refers strictly to salt used as a condiment and for preservation, i.e. sodium chloride (or at least to something containing mostly sodium chloride, like sea salt). It’s not used for other combinations of acids and bases, like the English word “salt” is used in chemistry.

In terms of etymology, ba|zip seems to be a head-first compound of bale: “brine”, the 1st Lexember word, and |zipuz, the participle of i|zipi: “to boil”, the 3rd Lexember word. In other words, it originates from the erosion of the expression bale |zipuz: “boiled brine”, which could be an indication of when Moten speakers discovered salt for the first time :). Such compounds are common in Moten, and the amount of erosion this one suffered seems to indicate that it’s relatively old.

And I guess you’ve noticed that of the 4 words I’ve created so far, only two are truly new roots, with the other two being derived from them. It’s a good illustration of the way I work: I never create words in isolation, preferring instead to create roots and derivations together. And since the rules of Lexember allow it, why shouldn’t I create related words if I want to?

Questions?


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