List of English back-formations
From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Back-formation is either the process of creating a new lexeme (less precisely, a new "word") by removing actual or supposed affixes, 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.
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 (the correct English singular is aboriginal, the Latin has no singular)[1]
- accrete from accretion (root: accrescere)[2]
- acculturate from acculturation[2]
- addict from addicted (root: addicere)[2]
- admix from admixt[3]
- adsorb from adsorption[1]
- adolesce from adolescence[1]
- adulate from adulation[3]
- advect from advection[3]
- aesthete from aesthetic[2]
- aggress from aggression[4]
- air-condition from air conditioning[2]
- anticline from anticlinal[5]
- antipode from antipodes (non-standard)
- attrit from attrition[5]
- auto-destruct from auto-destruction (cf. auto-destroy)
- automate from automation[2][4]
- aviate from aviation[2]
B
- babysit from babysitter[2][4]
- back-form from back-formation
- bartend from bartender[5]
- beg from beggar[dubious ]
- benefact from benefactor (and also the derived benefactee, cf. benefactor)
- bibliograph from bibliography
- bicep from biceps (non-standard)[2]
- biograph from biography
- blockbust from blockbuster[5]
- book-keep from book-keeping
- brainwash from brainwashing[5]
- bulldoze from bulldozer[5]
- bum possibly from bummer[5]
- burgle from burglar[5][4]
- bus ("to clear dirty dishes from table") from busboy[5]
- bushwhack from bushwhacker[5]
- buttle from butler[5]
C
- cadge from cadger[2]
- caretake from caretaker
- cavitate from cavitation[1]
- chain-smoke from chain-smoker[4]
- cherry from Old French cerise, treated as English plural[5]
- Chess (river) from Chesham
- choate from inchoate
- choreograph from choreography[5]
- chupacabra from Spanish chupacabras (both a plural and a singular in Spanish)
- claustrophobe from claustrophobia
- cohese from cohesion (cf. cohere)
- commentate from commentator[5][4]
- committal from non-committal
- complicit from complicity[3]
- computerize from computerized
- congratulation from congratulations
- contracept from contraception (cf. rare contraceive)
- contrapt from contraption
- convect from convection[2]
- conversate from conversation or conversing[6]
- cose from cosy
- couth from uncouth[2]
- co-vary from covariation
- cross multiply from cross multiplication
- cross-refer from cross-reference[7]
- curate (verb) from curator[3]
- custom-make from custom-made
D
- dapple from dappled[5]
- darkle from darkling[2]
- decadent from decadence[2]
- deconstruct from deconstruction[5]
- dedifferentiate from dedifferentiation[5]
- demarcate from demarcation[2]
- demograph from demographics
- destruct from destruction[5]
- diagnose from diagnosis[2][4]
- diffract from diffraction[2]
- dinge from dingy[2]
- diplomat from diplomatic[5]
- dishevel from disheveled[2]
- donate from donation[2][4]
- drear from dreary
- drowse from drowsy (possibly a backformation)
- dry-clean from dry cleaning[5]
E
- eave from eaves[7]
- eavesdrop from eavesdropper[2]
- edit from editor (from Latin stem edere, to bring forth)[1][2]
- electrocute from electrocution[2]
- elocute from elocution[7]
- emote from emotion[5][4]
- enthuse from enthusiasm[5][4]
- escalate from escalator[5]
- eutrophicate from eutrophication
- evaluate from evaluation[2]
- explicate (meaning "explain") from explicable
- extradite from extradition[4]
- extrapose from extraposition[5]
F
- fine-tune from fine tuning[7]
- flab from flabby[2]
- flappable from unflappable[5]
- flake ("eccentric person") from flaky
- floss ("to show off") from flossy[7]
- fluoresce from fluorescence[2]
- fragmentate from fragmentation[5]
- free-associate from free association (backformed adjective-verb compound)[4]
- funk (quality of music) from funky[3]
G
- gamble from gambler[2]
- gestate from gestation[2]
- ghostwrite from ghostwriter[2]
- gid from giddy[2]
- gladiola from gladiolus[2]
- gnarl from gnarled[5]
- goaltend from goaltender
- godsend from god-sent[2]
- greed from greedy (the noun was originally "greediness")[5][4]
- grid from gridiron[2]
- grovel from groveling[2][4]
- grunge from grungy[2]
- gruntle from disgruntle[2]
H
- handwrite from handwriting[2]
- hard-boil from hard-boiled[2]
- hawk (meaning "to sell") from hawker[5]
- haze from hazy[2]
- headhunt from headhunter[citation needed]
- headquarter from headquarters[5]
- helicopt from helicopter[citation needed]
- herp (a reptile or amphibian) from herpetology[citation needed]
- herpe (a single herpes sore) from herpes[citation needed]
- housebreak from housebroken[2]
- houseclean from housecleaning[2]
- housekeep from housekeeper[2]
- hustle from hustler[2]
I
- ideologue from ideology[2]
- incent from incentive[3]
- indice from indices (cf. index)
- injure from injury[5]
- intercept from interception (possibly a backformation)
- interfluve from interfluvial[5]
- interlineate from interlinear
- intuit from intuition[5][4]
- isolate from isolated[2]
J
K
- kempt from unkempt[2]
- kidnap from kidnapper[2]
- kudo from kudos (some commentators regard it non-standard)[2][4]
L
- lase from laser[2][4]
- laze from lazy[2][4]
- legislate from legislator[2][4]
- letch from lecher[5]
- liaise from liaison[2][4]
- loaf (meaning "to be idle") from loafer[5]
- logroll from logrolling[5]
- luminesce from luminescent[5]
M
- manipulate from manipulation[2][4]
- mase from maser
- mentee from mentor
- mix from mixt (adj. from Old French, misconstrued as past participle of verb)[2]
- mottle from motley[2]
- moonlight (the verb, work on second job) from moonlighter[2]
- multimillion from multimillionaire
N
O
- obsess (meaning "to behave obsessively") from obsessive[dubious ]
- obligate (as a verb meaning "oblige") from obligation
- one-up or one-upman from one-upmanship[2][4]
- orate from oration[2][4]
- orientate from orientation
P
- panhandle (meaning "to accost") from panhandler[5]
- paramedic from paramedical
- partake from partaker[2]
- patriation from repatriation
- pea from Middle English pease[8]
- peddle from peddler[2][4]
- peeve from peevish[2][4]
- pettifog from pettifogger[5]
- phosphoresce from phosphorescent[2]
- pleb from plebs
- ply from reply
- preempt from preemption[2]
- process from procession[8]
- prodigal from prodigality[5]
- proliferate from proliferation[2]
- proofread from proofreader[5]
- pugn from impugn[citation needed]
Q
- quadrumvir from quadrumvirate[2]
- quantitate from quantitative
R
- raunch from raunchy[2]
- reminisce from reminiscence[2][4]
- resurrect from resurrection[2]
- ruly from unruly
- rotovate from rotovator
S
- sass (impudence) from sassy[5]
- scavenge from scavenger[1][4]
- sculpt from sculptor[5]
- secrete (meaning "to produce and emit") from secretion[2]
- secretive from secretiveness[2]
- sedate (the verb) from sedative[3]
- self-destruct from self-destruction (cf. self-destroy)[3][4]
- semantic (adjective) from semantics
- sharecrop from sharecropper[2]
- shoplift from shoplifter[2]
- sightsing from sightsinging
- sightsee from sightseeing[5]
- sipid from insipid[5]
- sleaze from sleazy[2]
- sleepwalk from sleepwalking[5]
- smarm from smarmy[2]
- sorb from sorption (also a back-formation)
- soft-land from soft landing (backformed adjective-noun compound)
- sorption from adsorption and absorption[2]
- spectate from spectator[5]
- stargaze from stargazer[2]
- statistic from statistics[4]
- stave (the noun) from staves[2]
- steamroll from steamroller[5]
- stridulate from stridulation[2]
- suburb from suburban [2]
- suckle from suckling[2]
- sulk from sulky[2]
- summate from summation[2]
- sunburn (the verb) from sunburned[2]
- superannuate from superannuated[2]
- surreal from surrealism[5]
- surveil from surveillance[5]
- swashbuckle from swashbuckler[2]
- swindle from swindler[5]
- syncline from synclinal[5]
T
- tamale, as a singular of tamales (plural form of tamal)[5]
- tase from Taser
- taxon from taxonomy
- televise from television[5][4]
- tongue-lash from tongue-lashing[2]
- 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[5]
- typewrite from typewriter[2][4]
U
V
- vaccinate from vaccination[5]
- vend as in vend out (meaning to contract out to a vendor), derived from vendor
- vinify from vinification[2]
- vint (meaning to make wine) from vintage and vintner[7]
- vivisect from vivisection[2]
W
- wiretap from wiretapper[5]
References
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- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 2.26 2.27 2.28 2.29 2.30 2.31 2.32 2.33 2.34 2.35 2.36 2.37 2.38 2.39 2.40 2.41 2.42 2.43 2.44 2.45 2.46 2.47 2.48 2.49 2.50 2.51 2.52 2.53 2.54 2.55 2.56 2.57 2.58 2.59 2.60 2.61 2.62 2.63 2.64 2.65 2.66 2.67 2.68 2.69 2.70 2.71 2.72 2.73 2.74 2.75 2.76 2.77 2.78 2.79 2.80 2.81 2.82 2.83 2.84 2.85 2.86 2.87 2.88 2.89 2.90 2.91 2.92 2.93 2.94 2.95 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 4.23 4.24 4.25 4.26 4.27 4.28 4.29 4.30 4.31 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 5.19 5.20 5.21 5.22 5.23 5.24 5.25 5.26 5.27 5.28 5.29 5.30 5.31 5.32 5.33 5.34 5.35 5.36 5.37 5.38 5.39 5.40 5.41 5.42 5.43 5.44 5.45 5.46 5.47 5.48 5.49 5.50 5.51 5.52 5.53 5.54 5.55 5.56 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
