Rebracketing

A. New words also emerge when speakers redraw the boundaries between two words or combine two words into a single one.

B. Redrawing the boundaries.

1. The reason some nicknames begin with a seemingly random n traces to when the word for my was mīn, which would be pronounced mine today. One would often affectionately say “Mine Ellen” or “Mine Ed.” As mine became my, people started hearing the n in these cases as part of the name; thus, we have such nicknames as Nelly and Ned.

2. Hamburger began as Hamburger steak, referring to the origin of the delicacy in Hamburg, Germany. Over time, people began hearing the -burger part as a “word,” supposing that the “burger” was made of “ham.” Now, burger is a word of its own and is used with other words—fishburger and so on.

C. Combining two words into one. Alone began as the two words all and one. Pronounced together so often, they combined into today’s word. To us, it sounds as if the word combines lone with a stray a-, along the lines, perhaps, of abubble. But the word lone only arose after all and one had combined to become alone.