Cooperate . . . or else!

As a  place marker, I've considered that the century now passed was a century of 'tele' words (telegraph, television, etc), while the present century is one of co- words (community, co-operation, conspiracy, etc).

Now, of course as that Save the Hyphen! essay pointed out, I think, a key co-word is co-option . . . and, then, pejoration.

Capitalism, for example,works hard to chasnge the meaning of co-operation into, first cooperation and then to use that term in a coercive sense:

- (As in 'Your cooperation is appreciated' = comply . . . or else!)

Thus a co-op becomes a coop - a place for dreams to fly being co-opted and pejorated into a prison of complince (as all prisons are . . .).

As I said, it's co-operation or co-option!

You decide!

So, buy old paper editions of dictionaries !

The two images are from:

http://www.slideshare.net/amna-shahid/semantics-22978244

http://www.slideshare.net/Robertagillum/a2-english-language-word-formation-processes

Also see http://grammar.about.com/od/pq/g/pejorterm.htm