Paragoge

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌpæɹəˈɡəʊd͡ʒi/

Definitions

1. The addition of a sound or letter at the end of a sound or letter at the end of a sound or letter at the end of a word that changes its form but not its basic meaning
2. The act of adding a sound or letter to the end of a word to modify its form while maintaining its fundamental meaning
3. A linguistic phenomenon involving the attachment of a sound or letter at the end of a word, which alters its structure without shifting its basic semantics

Etymology: Paragoge is a term from ancient grammar for adding a sound or letter to the end of a word, as in the English "amongst" with its extra "-st" or the "-n" that some speakers add to "drawin'"-type forms in older texts. The Greek word "paragōgē" meant "derivation" or "addition," built from "para-" ("alongside, beside") and "agein" ("to lead" or "to bring"), so the word literally means something like "leading alongside." Ancient Greek grammarians used it to describe how a word could be extended with an extra element beside its original form. The term passed into Late Latin as "paragoge," and from there into English as a technical grammatical label. Its meaning stayed narrow and specialised, reserved for linguists and grammarians describing sound changes rather than passing into everyday speech. Its partner terms in the same tradition, such as "prothesis" (adding a sound at the start) and "epenthesis" (adding a sound in the middle), follow the same Greek pattern and are used alongside it in historical linguistics.