Back-formation

Back-formation

In etymology, back-formation is the process of creating a new lexeme, usually by removing actual or supposed affixes. The resulting neologism is called a back-formation, a term coined by James Murray in 1889...

 is either the process of creating a new lexeme

Lexeme

A lexeme is an abstract unit of morphological analysis in linguistics, that roughly corresponds to a set of forms taken by a single word. For example, in the English language, run, runs, ran and running are forms of the same lexeme, conventionally written as RUN...

 (less precisely, a new "word") by removing actual or supposed affix

Affix

An affix is a morpheme that is attached to a word stem to form a new word. Affixes may be derivational, like English -ness and pre-, or inflectional, like English plural -s and past tense -ed. They are bound morphemes by definition; prefixes and suffixes may be separable affixes...

es, or to the neologism formed by such a process. Back-formations are shortened words created from longer words, thus back-formations may be viewed as a sub-type of clipping

Clipping (morphology)

In linguistics, clipping is the word formation process which consists in the reduction of a word to one of its parts . Clipping is also known as "truncation" or "shortening."...

.

Each back-formation in this list is followed by the original word from which it was back-formed.

A

• aborigine as a mistaken singular for aborigines (correct Latin singular is aboriginal)
• accrete from accretion (root: accrescere)
• acculturate from acculturation
• admix from admixt
• admixture from admix
• adsorb from adsorption
• adolesce from adolescence
• adulate from adulation
• advect from advection
  Advection
  Advection, in chemistry, engineering and earth sciences, is a transport mechanism of a substance, or a conserved property, by a fluid, due to the fluid's bulk motion in a particular direction. An example of advection is the transport of pollutants or silt in a river. The motion of the water carries...
  
  
• aesthete from aesthetic
  Aesthetics
  Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
  
  
• air-condition from air conditioning
  Air conditioning
  An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
  
  
• anticline
  Anticline
  In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is convex up and has its oldest beds at its core. The term is not to be confused with antiform, which is a purely descriptive term for any fold that is convex up. Therefore if age relationships In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is...
  
  from anticlinal
• attrit from attrition
• auto-destruct from auto-destruction (cf. auto-destroy)
• automate from automation
  Automation
  Automation is the use of control systems and information technologies to reduce the need for human work in the production of goods and services. In the scope of industrialization, automation is a step beyond mechanization...
  
  
• aviate from aviation

B

• babysit from babysitter
• back-form from back-formation
• bartend from bartender
• beg from beggar
• benefact from benefactor (and also the derived benefactee, cf. benefactor)
• bibliograph from bibliography
• bicep from biceps
  Biceps
  Biceps may refer to:*Biceps brachii muscle, a muscle located on the inside of the upper arm*Biceps femoris muscle, one of the hamstring muscles of the back of each thigh*Biceps , a point in a metrical pattern...
  
  (non-standard)
• biograph from biography
  Biography
  A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
  
  
• blockbust from blockbuster
• book-keep from book-keeping
• brainwash from brainwashing
• bulldoze from bulldozer
  Bulldozer
  A bulldozer is a crawler equipped with a substantial metal plate used to push large quantities of soil, sand, rubble, etc., during construction work and typically equipped at the rear with a claw-like device to loosen densely-compacted materials.Bulldozers can be found on a wide range of sites,...
  
  
• bum possibly from bummer
• burgle from burglar
• bus ("to clear dirty dishes from table") from busboy
• bushwhack from bushwhacker
• buttle from butler

C

• cadge from cadger
• caretake from caretaker
• cavitate from cavitation
• cherry from Old French cerise, treated as English plural
• Chess (river) from Chesham
  Chesham
  Chesham is a market town in the Chiltern Hills, Buckinghamshire, England. It is located 11 miles south-east of the county town of Aylesbury. Chesham is also a civil parish designated a town council within Chiltern district. It is situated in the Chess Valley and surrounded by farmland, as well as...
  
  
• choate from inchoate
• choreograph from choreography
• claustrophobe from claustrophobia
• cohese from cohesion (cf. cohere)
• commentate from commentator
• committal from non-committal
• complicit
  Complicit
  An individual is complicit in a crime if he/she is aware of its occurrence and has the ability to report the crime, but fails to do so. As such, the individual effectively allows criminals to carry out a crime despite possibly being able to stop them, either directly or by contacting the...
  
  from complicity
• computerize from computerized
• congratulation from congratulations
• contracept from contraception (cf. rare contraceive)
• contrapt from contraption
• convect from convection
  Convection
  Convection is the movement of molecules within fluids and rheids. It cannot take place in solids, since neither bulk current flows nor significant diffusion can take place in solids....
  
  
• conversate from conversation or conversing
• cose from cosy
• couth from uncouth
• co-vary from covariation
• cross multiply from cross multiplication
• cross-refer from cross-reference
• curate from curator
• custom-make from custom-made

D

• dapple from dappled
• darkle from darkling
• decadent from decadence
  Decadence
  Decadence can refer to a personal trait, or to the state of a society . Used to describe a person's lifestyle. Concise Oxford Dictionary: "a luxurious self-indulgence"...
  
  
• deconstruct from deconstruction
  Deconstruction
  Deconstruction is a term introduced by French philosopher Jacques Derrida in his 1967 book Of Grammatology. Although he carefully avoided defining the term directly, he sought to apply Martin Heidegger's concept of Destruktion or Abbau, to textual reading...
  
  
• dedifferentiate from dedifferentiation
• demarcate from demarcation
  Demarcation
  Demarcation is the act of creating a boundary around a place or thing.Demarcation may also refer to:*Demarcation line, a temporary border between the countries...
  
  
• demograph from demographics
• destruct from destruction
• diagnose from diagnosis
  Diagnosis
  Diagnosis is the identification of the nature and cause of anything. Diagnosis is used in many different disciplines with variations in the use of logics, analytics, and experience to determine the cause and effect relationships...
  
  
• diffract from diffraction
  Diffraction
  Diffraction refers to various phenomena which occur when a wave encounters an obstacle. Italian scientist Francesco Maria Grimaldi coined the word "diffraction" and was the first to record accurate observations of the phenomenon in 1665...
  
  
• dinge from dingy
• diplomat
  Diplomat
  A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
  
  from diplomatic
• dishevel from disheveled
• donate from donation
  Donation
  A donation is a gift given by physical or legal persons, typically for charitable purposes and/or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including cash, services, new or used goods including clothing, toys, food, and vehicles...
  
  
• drear from dreary
• drowse from drowsy (possibly a backformation)
• dry-clean from dry cleaning
  Dry cleaning
  Dry cleaning is any cleaning process for clothing and textiles using a chemical solvent other than water. The solvent used is typically tetrachloroethylene , abbreviated "perc" in the industry and "dry-cleaning fluid" by the public...
  
  

E

• eave from eaves
• eavesdrop from eavesdropper
• edit from editor (from Latin stem edere, to bring forth)
• electrocute from electrocution
• elocute from elocution
  Elocution
  Elocution is the study of formal speaking in pronunciation, grammar, style, and tone.-History:In Western classical rhetoric, elocution was one of the five core disciplines of pronunciation, which was the art of delivering speeches. Orators were trained not only on proper diction, but on the proper...
  
  
• emote from emotion
  Emotion
  Emotion is a complex psychophysiological experience of an individual's state of mind as interacting with biochemical and environmental influences. In humans, emotion fundamentally involves "physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience." Emotion is associated with mood,...
  
  
• employee from employer
• enthuse from enthusiasm
• escalate from escalator
  Escalator
  An escalator is a moving staircase – a conveyor transport device for carrying people between floors of a building. The device consists of a motor-driven chain of individual, linked steps that move up or down on tracks, allowing the step treads to remain horizontal.Escalators are used around the...
  
  
• eutrophicate from eutrophication
  Eutrophication
  Eutrophication or more precisely hypertrophication, is the movement of a body of water′s trophic status in the direction of increasing plant biomass, by the addition of artificial or natural substances, such as nitrates and phosphates, through fertilizers or sewage, to an aquatic system...
  
  
• evaluate from evaluation
  Evaluation
  Evaluation is systematic determination of merit, worth, and significance of something or someone using criteria against a set of standards.Evaluation often is used to characterize and appraise subjects of interest in a wide range of human enterprises, including the arts, criminal justice,...
  
  
• explicate (meaning "explain") from explicable
• extrapose from extraposition

F

• fine-tune from fine tuning
• flab from flabby
• flappable from unflappable
• flake ("eccentric person") from flaky
• floss ("to show off") from flossy
• fluoresce from fluorescence
  Fluorescence
  Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation of a different wavelength. It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore lower energy, than the absorbed radiation...
  
  
• fragmentate from fragmentation
  Fragmentation
  -In biology:* Fragmentation , a form of asexual reproduction* Fragmentation * Habitat fragmentation* Population fragmentation-Music:* Fragmented , the debut album from the Filipino independent band Up Dharma Down-Other:...
  
  
• free-associate from free association
  Free association
  Free association may refer to:*Free association , a clinical technique of psychoanalysis devised by Sigmund Freud*Free Association, a musical group formed by David Holmes for the Code 46 soundtrack...
  
  (backformed adjective-verb compound)
• funk (quality of music) from funky

G

• gamble from gambler
• gestate from gestation
  Gestation
  Gestation is the carrying of an embryo or fetus inside a female viviparous animal. Mammals during pregnancy can have one or more gestations at the same time ....
  
  
• ghostwrite from ghostwriter
  Ghostwriter
  A ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written...
  
  
• gid from giddy
• gnarl from gnarled
• godsend from god-sent
• greed from greedy (the noun was originally "greediness")
• grid from gridiron
  Gridiron
  Gridiron may refer to:*Gridiron Secret Society, a secret society at the University of Georgia.* Gridiron , type of grill that can be used to cook meat or other food over a fire; most of the other usages derive from this term due to their fancied resemblance* Gridiron plan, in urban planning, a...
  
  
• grovel from groveling
• grunge from grungy
• gruntle from disgruntle

H

• handwrite from handwriting
• hard-boil from hard-boiled
• hawk (meaning "to sell") from hawker
• haze from hazy
• headhunt from headhunter
• headquarter from headquarters
• helicopt from helicopter
  Helicopter
  A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
  
  
• housebreak from housebroken
• houseclean from housecleaning
• housekeep from housekeeper

I

• ideologue from ideology
  Ideology
  An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
  
  
• incent from incentive
• indice from indices (cf. index)
• injure from injury
• intercept from interception (possibly a backformation)
• interfluve from interfluvial
• interlineate from interlinear
• intuit from intuition
• isolate from isolated

K

• kempt from unkempt
• kidnap from kidnapper
• kudo from kudos (non-standard)

L

• lase from laser
  Laser
  A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation...
  
  
• laze from lazy
• legislate from legislator
  Legislator
  A legislator is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are usually politicians and are often elected by the people...
  
  
• letch from lecher
• liaise from liaison
• loaf (meaning "to be idle") from loafer
• logroll from logrolling
• luminesce from luminescent

M

• manipulate from manipulation
• mase from maser
  Maser
  A maser is a device that produces coherent electromagnetic waves through amplification by stimulated emission. Historically, “maser” derives from the original, upper-case acronym MASER, which stands for "Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation"...
  
  
• mentee from mentor
• mix from mixt (adj. from Old French
  Old French
  Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories that span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from the 9th century to the 14th century...
  
  , misconstrued as past participle of verb)
• mottle from motley
• moonlight (the verb, work on second job) from moonlighter
• multimillion from multimillionaire

N

• nake from naked
• nitpick from nit-picking
• notate from notation
  Notation
  -Written communication:* Phonographic writing systems, by definition, use symbols to represent components of auditory language, i.e. speech, which in turn refers to things or ideas. The two main kinds of phonographic notational system are the alphabet and syllabary...
  
  

O

• obsess (meaning "to behave obsessively") from obsessive

• obligate (as a verb meaning "oblige") from obligation
• one-up or one-upman from one-upmanship
• opine from opinion
  Opinion
  In general, an opinion is a subjective belief, and is the result of emotion or interpretation of facts. An opinion may be supported by an argument, although people may draw opposing opinions from the same set of facts. Opinions rarely change without new arguments being presented...
  
  
• orate from oration
• orientate from orientation

P

• panhandle (meaning "to accost") from panhandler
• paramedic from paramedical
• partake from partaker
• pea
  Pea
  A pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the pod fruit Pisum sativum. Each pod contains several peas. Peapods are botanically a fruit, since they contain seeds developed from the ovary of a flower. However, peas are considered to be a vegetable in cooking...
  
  from Middle English
  Middle English
  Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
  
   pease
• peddle from peddler
• peeve from peevish
• pettifog from pettifogger
• phosphoresce from phosphorescent
• pleb from plebs
• ply
  Ply (game theory)
  In two-player sequential games, a ply refers to one turn taken by one of the players. The word is used to clarify what is meant when one might otherwise say "turn"....
  
  from reply
• preempt from preemption
• process from procession
• prodigal from prodigality
• proliferate from proliferation
• proofread from proofreader

R

• raunch from raunchy
• reminisce from reminiscence
• resurrect from resurrection
• rotovate from rotovator

S

• sass (impudence) from sassy
• sculpt from sculptor
• secrete (meaning "to produce and emit") from secretion
  Secretion
  Secretion is the process of elaborating, releasing, and oozing chemicals, or a secreted chemical substance from a cell or gland. In contrast to excretion, the substance may have a certain function, rather than being a waste product...
  
  
• secretive from secretiveness
• sedate (the verb) from sedative
  Sedative
  A sedative or tranquilizer is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement....
  
  
• self-destruct from self-destruction (cf. self-destroy)
• semantic (adjective) from semantics
• sharecrop from sharecropper
• shoplift from shoplifter
• sightsee from sightseeing
• sipid from insipid
• sleaze from sleazy
• sleepwalk from sleepwalking
• smarm from smarmy
• sorb from sorption (also a back-formation)
• soft-land from soft landing (backformed adjective-noun compound)
• sorption from adsorption and absorption
• spectate from spectator
• star
  Star
  A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...
  
  gaze from stargazer
• stave (the noun) from staves
• steamroll from steamroller
  Steamroller
  A steamroller is a form of road roller – a type of heavy construction machinery used for levelling surfaces, such as roads or airfields – that is powered by a steam engine...
  
  
• stridulate from stridulation
• suckle from suckling
• sulk from sulky
• summate from summation
• sunburn (the verb) from sunburned
• superannuate from superannuated
• surreal from surrealism
  Surrealism
  Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
  
  
• surveil from surveillance
  Surveillance
  Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
  
  
• swashbuckle from swashbuckler
• swindle
  Swindle
  The term swindle may refer to:* Swindle, a confidence trick* Swindle, a kind of fraud* Swindle , a ruse by which a chess player in a losing position tricks his opponentIn media and popular culture, Swindle can refer to:...
  
  from swindler
• syncline
  Syncline
  In structural geology, a syncline is a fold, with younger layers closer to the center of the structure. A synclinorium is a large syncline with superimposed smaller folds. Synclines are typically a downward fold, termed a synformal syncline In structural geology, a syncline is a fold, with younger...
  
  from synclinal

T

• tase from Taser
  Taser
  A Taser is an electroshock weapon that uses electrical current to disrupt voluntary control of muscles. Its manufacturer, Taser International, calls the effects "neuromuscular incapacitation" and the devices' mechanism "Electro-Muscular Disruption technology"...
  
  
• televise from television
• tongue-lash from tongue-lashing
• transcript (verb) from transcription (cf. verb transcribe)
• tricep from triceps (non-standard)
• trickle-irrigate from trickle-irrigation (possibly backformed from verb-noun compound but may also be verb-verb compound)
• tweeze from tweezers
• typewrite from typewriter
  Typewriter
  A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical device with keys that, when pressed, cause characters to be printed on a medium, usually paper. Typically one character is printed per keypress, and the machine prints the characters by making ink impressions of type elements similar to the pieces...
  
  

V

• vaccinate from vaccination
  Vaccination
  Vaccination is the administration of antigenic material to stimulate the immune system of an individual to develop adaptive immunity to a disease. Vaccines can prevent or ameliorate the effects of infection by many pathogens...
  
  
• vend as in vend out (meaning to contract out to a vendor), derived from vendor
• vinify from vinification
• vivisect from vivisection