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What is the difference between nouns naming states of being or positions ending in -hood and those ending in -ship? In practice, if one were neologizing such a word how would one decide which suffix to use? Examples: Apprenticeship; proprietorship; friendship; childhood; falsehood; statehood |
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If you're creating a neologism, I'd say go with the one that sounds the best. The -hood suffix, to me, sounds more general and impersonal (or universal) while -ship sounds more personal. But that is entirely my own feeling. Dictionary.com lists -hood as being "formerly used in the formation of nouns," so if you believe that means it isn't used anymore on new terms then that's an answer of a sort. But I think you're free to do what you wish. Hey, it's your word. By the way, what's the word you want to create? |
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-hood denotes a state of being. -ship denotes an occupation or capability. They're related, yes, but I don't see them as synonymous. For example, while it's not a standard word, I can readily assign a meaning to apprenticehood: it's the state of being an apprentice. You serve an apprenticeship during your apprenticehood. |
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Using your examples it is seen that ship carries the connotation of status. One's status is that of an apprentice, proprietor, friend, and so on. As a mnemonic we could say that ship (as in cartaging or transporting) has commonality of derivation with the suffix, -ship, in that one is carried by (and, conversely, carries) one's status. Childhood, falsehood, statehood, on the the other hand, harks back to hood as a kind of covering, cloak, or insignia. A pre-adult is "covered" by the state, the cloak, of being a child. A falsehood could be said to be the cover adopted in lieu of openness or honesty. Using those general guidelines for coining a "hoodship" (neologism) word that is not already taken should stand you in good stead, but with no guarantee that no overlap in ultimate meaning cannot be found. |
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