A. definition of back-formation

A. Definition of 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. Back-formation is different from clipping — back-formation may change the part of speech or the word’s meaning, whereas clipping creates shortened words from longer words, but does not change the part of speech or the meaning of the word. For example, the noun resurrection was borrowed from Latin, and the verb resurrect was then backformed hundreds of years later from it by removing the ion suffix. This segmentation of resurrection into resurrect + ion was possible because English had examples of Latinate words in the form of verb and verb+-ion pairs, such as opine/opinion. These became the pattern for many more such pairs, where a verb derived from a Latin supine stem and a noun ending in ion entered the language together, such as insert/insertion, project/projection, etc. B. Examples of Back-Formation Words These are some examples of back-formation words based on the alphabet: A * ablute from ablution * accrete from accretion (root: accrescere) * acculturate from acculturation * admix from admixture * adsorb from adsorption * adolesce from adolescence * adulate from adulation * advect from advection * aesthete from aesthetic * air-condition from air conditioning * alm from alms * anticline from anticlinal * arch (” to practice archery”) from archery * arm (weapon) from arms (from Latin arma) * attrit from attrition * auto-destruct from auto-destruction (cf. auto-destroy) * automate from automation * aviate from aviation B * babysit from babysitter * back-form from back-formation * bartend from bartender * benefact from benefactor (and also the derived benefactee, cf. benefactor) * bibliograph from bibliography * bicep from biceps (non-standard) * biograph from biography * blockbust from blockbuster * book-keep from book-keeping * bonafy from bonafied (which itself is a corruption of ” bona fide”) * brainwash from brainwashing * bulldoze from bulldozer * 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 * chemist from alchemist * cavitate from cavitation * cherry from Old French cerise * choate from inchoate * choreograph from choreography * claustrophobe from claustrophobia * cohese from cohesion (cf. cohere) * commentate from commentator * committal from non-committal * complicit from complicity * computerize from computerized * congratulation from congratulations * contrapt from contraption * convect from convection * conversate from conversation or conversing * cose from cosy * couth from uncouthco-vary from covariation * crank (noun) from cranky * creep (as a noun for a person) from creepy * 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 * deconstruct from deconstruction * dedifferentiate from dedifferentiation * demarcate from demarcation * destruct from destruction * diagnose from diagnosis * diffract from diffraction * dinge from dingy * diplomat from diplomatic * dishevel from disheveled * donate from donation * drear from dreary * drowse from drowsy (possibly a backformation) * dry-clean from dry cleaning E * eave from eaves * eavesdrop from eavesdropper * edit from editor (from Latin stem edere, to bring forth) * electrocute from electrocution * elocute from elocution * emote from emotion * enthuse from enthusiasm * escalate from escalator * eutrophicate from eutrophication * evaluate from evaluation * 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 * forward-form from forward-formation (a back-formation) * fragmentate from fragmentation * free-associate from free association (backformed adjective-verb compound) * funk (quality of music) from funky G * gamble from gambler * gestate from gestation * ghostwrite from ghostwriter * gid from giddy * gnarl from gnarled * godsend from god-sent * greed from greedy (the noun was originally ” greediness”) * grid from gridiron * 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 * housebreak from housebroken * houseclean from housecleaning * housekeep from housekeeper I * ideologue from ideology * 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 J * jell from jelly * jerry-build from jerry-built K * kempt from unkempt * kidnap from kidnapper * kudo from kudos (non-standard) L * lase from laser * laze from lazy * lech from lecher * legislate from legislator * liaise from liaison * loaf (meaning ” to be idle”) from loafer * logroll from logrolling * luminesce from luminescent M * manipulate from manipulation * mase from maser * mottle from motley * moonlight (the verb, work on second job) from moonlighter * multimillion from multimillionaire N * nitpick from nit-picking * notate from notation O * obsess (meaning ” to behave obsessively”) from obsessive * one-up or one-upman from one-upmanship * opine from opinion * orate from oration * orientate from orientation P * panhandle (meaning ” to accost”) from panhandler * paramedic from paramedical * partake from partaker * pea from Middle Englishpease * peddle from peddler * peeve from peevish * pettifog from pettifogger * phosphoresce from phosphorescent * preempt from preemption * presentate from presentation * procéss from procession * prodigal from prodigality * proliferate from proliferation * proofread from proofreader Q * quadrumvir from quadrumvirate * quantitate from quantitative 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 * secretive from secretiveness * sedate (the verb) from sedative * 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 * stargaze from stargazer * stave (the noun) from staves * steamroll from steamroller * stridulate from stridulation * suckle from suckling * sulk from sulky * summate from summation * sunburn (the verb) from sunburned * superannuate from superannuated * surreal from surrealism * surveil from surveillance * swashbuckle from swashbuckler * swindle from swindler * syncline from synclinal T * tase from Taser * televise from television * tongue-lash from tongue-lashing * transcript (verb) from transcription (cf. verb transcribe) * tricep from triceps * trickle-irrigate from trickle-irrigation (possibly backformed from verb-noun compound but may also be verb-verb compound) * tweeze from tweezers * typewrite from typewriter V * vaccinate from vaccination * vend as in vend out (meaning to contract out to a vendor), derived from vendor * vinify from vinification * vivisect from vivisection W * wiretap from wiretapper . C. Back-formation in the English language Many words came into English by this route: Pease was once a mass noun but was reinterpreted as a plural, leading to the back-formation pea. The noun statistic was likewise a back-formation from the field of study statistics. In Britain, the verb burgle came into use in the 19th century as a back-formation from burglar (which can be compared to the North American verb burglarize formed by suffixation). Other examples are: * Adjective ” couth” from ” uncouth” * Verb ” edit” from ” editor” * Singular ” syrinx”, plural ” syringes” (from Greek): new singular ” syringe” formed * Singular ” sastruga”, plural ” sastrugi” (from Russian): new Latin-type singular ” sastrugus” has been used sometimes * Verbs ” euthanase” or ” euthanize” from the noun ” euthanasia”. Even though many English words are formed this way, new coinages may sound strange, and are often used for humorous effect. For example, gruntled (from disgruntled) would be considered a barbarism, and used only in humorous contexts, such as by P. G. Wodehouse, who wrote ” I wouldn’t say he was disgruntled, but by no stretch of the imagination could he be described as gruntled”. The comedian George Gobel regularly used original back-formations in his humorous monologues. Bill Bryson mused that the English language would be richer if we could call a tidy-haired person shevelled — as an opposite to dishevelled.[3] In the American sitcom Scrubs, the character Turk once said when replying to Dr. Cox, ” I don’t disdain you! It’s quite the opposite — I dain you.”[4] Back-formations frequently begin in colloquial use and only gradually become accepted. For example, enthuse (from enthusiasm) is gaining popularity, though it is still considered substandard by some today. The immense celebrations in Britain at the news of the relief of the Siege of Mafeking briefly created the verb to maffick, meaning to celebrate both extravagantly and publicly. ” Maffick” is a back-formation from Mafeking, a place-name that was treated humorously as a gerund or participle. There are many other examples of back-formations in the English language. CONCLUSION Many words came into English by this route: Pease was once a mass noun but was reinterpreted as a plural, leading to the back-formation pea. The noun statistic was likewise a back-formation from the field of study statistics. In Britain, the verb burgle came into use in the 19th century as a back-formation from burglar (which can be compared to the North American verb burglarize formed by suffixation). Other examples are: * Adjective ” couth” from ” uncouth” * Verb ” edit” from ” editor” * Singular ” syrinx”, plural ” syringes” (from Greek): new singular ” syringe” formed * Singular ” sastruga”, plural ” sastrugi” (from Russian): new Latin-type singular ” sastrugus” has been used sometimes * Verbs ” euthanase” or ” euthanize” from the noun ” euthanasia”. Back-formations frequently begin in colloquial use and only gradually become accepted. For example, enthuse (from enthusiasm) is gaining popularity, though it is still considered substandard by some today. As we know that back-formation is different from clipping — back-formation may change the part of speech or the word’s meaning, whereas clipping creates shortened words from longer words, but does not change the part of speech or the meaning of the word. For example, the noun resurrection was borrowed from Latin, and the verb resurrect was then backformed hundreds of years later from it by removing the ion suffix. This segmentation of resurrection into resurrect + ion was possible because English had examples of Latinate words in the form of verb and verb+-ion pairs, such as opine/opinion. These became the pattern for many more such pairs, where a verb derived from a Latin supine stem and a noun ending in ion entered the language together, such as insert/insertion, project/projection, etc. PREFERENCES http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Back-formation http://en. wiktionary. org/wiki/Appendix: List_of_English_back-formations http://en. wiktionary. org/wiki/back-formation http://www. wordnik. com/words/back-formation? suggested_from= back+formation