List of English back-formations

Back-formation is either the process of creating a new lexeme (less precisely, a new "word") by removing actual or supposed affixes, or a 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.

Contents: 

• Top
• 0–9
• A
• B
• C
• D
• E
• F
• G
• H
• I
• J
• K
• L
• M
• N
• O
• P
• Q
• R
• S
• T
• U
• V
• W
• X
• Y
• Z

A

• abduct probably from abduction ^[1]
• abscess (v.) from abscessed ^[1]
• aborigine from aborigines, mistaken for a plural noun ^[1]
• accord (n.) from Old French acorde , acort , a back-formation from acorder ^[1]
• accrete from accretion (root: accrescere) ^[2]
• acculturate from acculturation ^[2]
• addict from addicted (root: addicere) ^{[2] [ dubious – discuss ]}
• admix from admixt ^[3]
• Adirondack Mountains from Adirondacks, mistaken for a plural noun ^[1]
• adsorb from adsorption ^[1]
• adolesce from adolescence ^[1]
• adulate from adulation ^[3]
• advect from advection ^[3]
• advisor perhaps from advisory ^[1]
• aerate (meaning "expose to air") probably from aeration ^[1]
• aesthete from aesthetic ^[2]
• aggress from aggression ^[4]
• air-condition from air conditioning ^[2]
• alley ^[1]
• alliterate from alliteration ^[1]
• allotrope from allotropy ^[1]
• amaze from Middle English amased ^[1]
• ambivalent from ambivalence ^[1]
• ameliorate perhaps from amelioration in some cases ^[1]
• annunciate perhaps from annunciation in some cases ^[1]
• anticline from anticlinal ^[5]
• antipode from antipodes (non-standard)
• appeal (n.) from Old French apel , back-formation from apeler ^[1]
• apperceive (in modern psychological use) from apperception ^[1]
• aristocrat from French aristocrate , a back-formation from aristocratie ^[1]
• assent (n.) from Old French assent, a back-formation from assentir
• attrit from attrition ^[5]
• auto-destruct from auto-destruction (cf. auto-destroy)
• automate from automation ^{[2] [4]}
• aviate from aviation ^[2]
• avid partly from avidity ^[1]
• awe-strike perhaps from awestruck ^[1]

B

• babysit from babysitter ^{[2] [4]}
• back-form from back-formation
• bartend from bartender ^[5]
• beg from beggar^{[ dubious – discuss ]}
• benefact from benefactor (and also the derived benefactee, cf. benefactor)
• berserk from berserker
• bibliograph from bibliography
• bicep from biceps (non-standard) ^[2]
• biograph from biography
• bird (verb) from bird watcher
• 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]
• chalant from nonchalant
• 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 (disambiguation) (cf. cohere)
• commentate from commentator ^{[5] [4]}
• committal from non-committal
• complicit from complicity ^[3]
• computerize from computerized
• 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]
• 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 ]}
• herptile (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

• inadvertent from inadvertence ^[2]
• 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

• jell from jelly ^{[2] [4]}
• jerry-build from jerry-built ^[2]

K

• 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

• nake from naked ^[2]
• nitpick from nit-picking ^[2]
• notate from notation ^[2]

O

• obsess (meaning "to behave obsessively") from obsessive^{[ dubious – discuss ]}
• 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]
• recurse from recursion
• 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 (the original singular is staff) ^[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

• underwhelming as a supposed antonym of overwhelming
• unit from unity ^[2]
• upholster from upholstery ^[2]
• ush from usher

V

• vaccinate from vaccination ^[5]
• vend as in vend out (meaning to contract out to a vendor), derived from vendor
• verse from versus ^[9]
• vinify from vinification ^[2]
• vint (meaning to make wine) from vintage and vintner ^[7]
• vivisect from vivisection ^[2]

W

• wiretap from wiretapper ^[5]

References

1. Harper, Douglas (2001), Online Etymology Dictionary , retrieved 7 November 2020
2. "Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary". 2009. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
3. "The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language" (4 ed.). Houghton Mifflin Company. 2009. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
4. Abootty, O. (December 15, 2004). Funny Side of English. Pustak Mahal. p. 29. ISBN   978-8122307993 . Retrieved 31 July 2015.
5. "Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged" (4 ed.). Random House, Inc. 2009. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
6. "Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon". Dictionary.com, LLC. 2003–2009. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
7. "Oxford English Dictionary". Oxford University Press. 2009.
8. "Webster's New World College Dictionary". YourDictionary.com. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
9. "Why Do Kids Say "Versing"?" . Retrieved 2024-02-20.