R

The semantic kernel from which a set of words is derived by phonetic, morphemic, and/or semantic change. For example, the semantic kernel of the words ‘black’, ‘blue’, ‘blond’, and ‘blush’ is the Indo-European root *bhel-, which originally referred (several thousand years ago) to the colors seen in a fire. Compare Semantics.

A mnemonic device in which two or more words correspond in sound.

The concrete object or concept symbolized by a brand name. The shared referent of Coca-Cola, Coke, and ‘The Real Thing’ is the Coca-Colabrand soft drink.

Any category name coined in response to the development of a new category name, in order to avoid confusion as the result of a cultural or technological change. In other words, a noun that has been forced to take on an modifier in order to remain meaningful. For example, the terms ‘acoustic guitar’, ‘analog watch’, ‘live performance’, ‘real cream’, ‘snail-mail’ and ‘whole milk’ have been coined in response to the terms ‘electric guitar’, ‘digital watch’, ‘pre-recorded performance’, ‘non-dairy creamer’, and ‘skim milk’, respectively, as retronyms for the nouns ‘guitar’, ‘watch’, ‘performance’, ‘cream’, ‘mail’, and ‘milk’.

Any repetition of syllables within a brand name, such as the initial two syllables of Boboli Italian bread crust. Reduplication is relatively rare within English, but it is a common word formation technique within many other language families, including Malayo-Polynesian.

Any brand which extends across several usually related categories. Gilette’s Oral-B range brand, for example, includes power toothbrushes, manual toothbrushes, whitening products, interdental products, floss, toothpaste, and mouth rinses. A corporate range brand extends across several industries or sectors, either vertically or horizontally. General Electric and Mitsubishi are examples of corporate range brands. Compare Megabrand.