Wordshaping

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The art or practice of shaping, forming, or creating words. uncountable

    "Another fault exists in our Hebrew books of instruction: though they greedily compare roots or what are supposed to be roots, they exclude the general principles of wordshaping, which as long as man has a mouth will be found prevailing […]"

  2. 2
    The art of using words to form representations or images. uncountable

    "Such word-shaping is useful to all wayfinders but particularly so to wayfinders with one or another form of sight-impairment. Word-shaping is particularly important in the context of wayfinding because of most sign-panels […]"

Example

More examples

"Another fault exists in our Hebrew books of instruction: though they greedily compare roots or what are supposed to be roots, they exclude the general principles of wordshaping, which as long as man has a mouth will be found prevailing […]"

Etymology

From word + shaping. Compare Dutch woordschepping, German Wortschöpfung (“word creation”), Swedish ordskapande.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.