Editing Augmentative (section)

== Germanic languages ==

=== English ===
In modern [[English language|English]], augmentatives can be created with the prefixes:
*’’over-’’: e.g., ’’overlord’’ and ’’overqualified’’.
*’’grand-’’: e.g., ’’grandmaster’’ and ’’grandparent’’.
*’’super-’’: e.g., ’’supermarket’’ and ’’superpower’’.
*’’mega-’’: e.g., ’’megastore’’ and ’’megastar’’.
*’’arch-’’: e.g., ’’archrival’’ and ’’archangel’’.

Since the early 1990s, the prefix ’’über-’’ or ’’uber-’’ has also frequently been used as a borrowing from German.<ref>{{Dictionary.com|uber}}</ref> The suffix [[-zilla]] (from ''[[Godzilla]]''), expressing a monstrous quality, can also be considered an augmentative form.

* ’’-zilla’’: e.g., ’’momzilla’’ and ’’bridezilla’’.

In some parts of the [[United Kingdom]] and the [[Republic of Ireland]], the prefix "old" is used as an augmentative, and a pejorative in some cases. An example of this is using "old’un" or "old one" to describe one's parents/grandparents.

=== Dutch ===
In modern [[Dutch language|Dutch]], as in English, augmentatives are usually created with the prefixes:
*{{Lang|nl|over-}}: e.g., {{Lang|nl|overgewicht}} and {{Lang|nl|oververhitting}} ("overweight" and "overheating")
*{{Lang|nl|groot-}}: e.g., {{Lang|nl|grootmeester}} and {{Lang|nl|groothandel}} ("grandmaster" and "wholesaler")
*{{Lang|nl|super-}}: e.g., {{Lang|nl|supermarkt}} and {{Lang|nl|supermacht}} ("supermarket" and "superpower").
*{{Lang|nl|mega-}}: e.g., {{Lang|nl|megacontract}} and {{Lang|nl|megabioscoop}} ("a very big contract" and "a very large movie theater")

There are also prefixes that can be used for some adjectives:
*{{Lang|nl|bloed-}} (blood) : e.g., {{Lang|nl|bloedmooi}} and {{Lang|nl|bloedeigen}} ("very beautiful" and "very own")<ref>Note that Dutch ''bloed-'' is unrelated to English ''bloody''. The former is formed in analogy with {{Lang|nl|bloedeigen}} ('very own'), {{Lang|nl|bloedrood}} ('very red'), etc. wherein it originally had its proper meaning 'blood' ('of your own blood', and 'blood red') whereas the latter's origin is uncertain but according to the [[Oxford English Dictionary|OED]] might refer to the habits of the aristocracy (those of the blood): ''bloody drunk''.</ref>
*{{Lang|nl|steen-}} (stone): e.g., {{Lang|nl|steenrijk}} and {{Lang|nl|steengoed}} ("very rich" and "very good"; lit. "stone rich" and "stone good")
*{{Lang|nl|kei-}} (boulder): e.g., {{Lang|nl|keihard}} and {{Lang|nl|keileuk}} ("very fast/hard/etc." and "very fun", lit. "boulder hard" and "boulder fun")

=== German ===
In [[German language|German]], there are different ways to build augmentatives. They are rarely used [[Prefix (linguistics)|prefixes]]:
*''un-'', for instance in ''Unzahl'' "huge number", ''Unsumme'' "huge sum", ''Unmenge'' "huge quantity". Mostly used for negation, however (e.g. ''Unglück'' "bad luck", ''Unsinn'' "nonsense"), and occasionally in a pejorative sense (''Unwetter'' "bad weather", ''Untier'' "monster", lit. "un-animal").
* ''ur-'', for instance, ''uralt'' "ancient"
* ''über-'', for instance, ''[[Übermensch]]'' (q.v.)
* ''aber-'', for instance, ''abertausend'' "thousands"
* ''mega-'', for example ''megageil'' "mega-cool"
* ''ultra-'', for example ''ultrageil "ultra-cool"''
* ''voll-'', for example ''Vollidiot'' "utter idiot"
* ''riesen-'' (from ''Riese'', meaning "giant"), for example ''riesengroß'' "enormous" <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dwds.de/wb/riesen- | title=Riesen- – Schreibung, Definition, Bedeutung, Beispiele | date=August 31, 2022 }}</ref>
* ''stein-'', for example ''steinalt'' "very old, ancient", ''steinreich'' "very rich, wealthy" (lit. "stone-old", "stone-rich")

=== Swedish ===
In [[Swedish language|Swedish]], the way to build an augmentative is to add one of many prefixes before the main word, typically a noun, adjective or adverb. Some common prefixes are: ''jätte''-, ''super''-, ''bauta''-, and ''mega''-. For example:

*''jätte''- (meaning "giant"), for example ''jättesnabb'' "very fast" 
*''super''-, for example ''supermycket'' "very much"
*''bauta''- (from ''bautasten'', meaning "boulder"), for example ''bautaportion'' "very large serving (of food)"
*''mega''-, for example ''megahus'' "gigantic house"

There are many synonyms to the augmentative ''jätte''-. Some of these synonyms are: ''as-'', ''gör-'', ''svin-'', ''skit-'', and ''ur-''. These do not refer to size, only intensity, e.g. ''gul'' "yellow" to ''jättegul'' or ''skitgul'' "very yellow". Like many other augmentative prefixes, ''jätte''- is also a noun that can be part of a compound word, e.g. ''jättelik'' "enormous" (literally "giantlike"), as opposed to ''jättelik'' "very similar".

The use of prefixes to build augmentatives in Swedish is colloquial and is seldom used in formal text and speech, where adjectives and adverbs are used instead.