Which process involves blending parts of two or more words into a new word?

• A. Affixation
• B. Borrowing
• C. Blending
• D. Compounding

Answer: (C)

Blending is forming a new word by merging parts of two or more existing words. It usually clips or overlaps sound segments from the originals to create something new. For example, brunch comes from breakfast and lunch, and motel combines motor and hotel. This differs from affixation, where you add prefixes or suffixes to a word, like unhappy (un- + happy) or reappear. It also differs from borrowing, which is taking a word from another language without creating a new one from parts of two English words. And it’s distinct from compounding, where two full words are joined to make a new one, like greenhouse or toothpaste, with both elements intact. So the process described is blending.