Con­sid­er the word “mar­ket.” First, it suf­fered a cer­tain aggran­dize­ment and became “super­mar­ket.” Then, as com­pact super­mar­kets appeared on the scene, a new word was need­ed. The sim­plest solu­tion would have been a return to “mar­ket.” What in we end­ed up with instead was “super­ette,” a curi­ous­ly self-can­cel­ing word made of a pre­fix and a suf­fix with noth­ing in the middle.