List of English back-formations

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

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)
berserk from berserker
bibliograph from bibliography
bicep from biceps (non-standard)
biograph from biography
bird (verb) from bird watcher
blockbust from blockbuster
book-keep from book-keeping
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
cavitate from cavitation
chain-smoke from chain-smoker
chalant from nonchalant
Chess (river) from Chesham
choate from inchoate
choreograph from choreography
chupacabra from Spanish chupacabras (both a plural and a singular in Spanish)
claustrophobe from claustrophobia
cohese from cohesion (disambiguation) (cf. cohere)
commentate from commentator
committal from non-committal
complicit from complicity
computerize from computerized
contracept from contraception (cf. rare contraceive)
contrapt from contraption
convect from convection
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 (verb) 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
demograph from demographics
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
extradite from extradition
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
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
gladiola from gladiolus
gnarl from gnarled
goaltend from goaltender
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
herptile (a reptile or amphibian) from herpetology
herpe (a single herpes sore) from herpes
housebreak from housebroken
houseclean from housecleaning
housekeep from housekeeper
hustle from hustler

I

inadvertent from inadvertence
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

kidnap from kidnapper
kudo from kudos (some commentators regard it non-standard)

L

lase from laser
laze from lazy
legislate from legislator
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
mentee from mentor
mix from mixt (adj. from Old French, 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

O

obsess (meaning "to behave obsessively") from obsessive
obligate (as a verb meaning "oblige") from obligation
one-up or one-upman from one-upmanship
orate from oration
orientate from orientation

P

panhandle (meaning "to accost") from panhandler
paramedic from paramedical
partake from partaker
patriation from repatriation
pea from Middle English pease
peddle from peddler
peeve from peevish
pettifog from pettifogger
phosphoresce from phosphorescent
pleb from plebs
ply from reply
preempt from preemption
process from procession
prodigal from prodigality
proliferate from proliferation
proofread from proofreader
pugn from impugn

Q

quadrumvir from quadrumvirate
quantitate from quantitative

R

raunch from raunchy
recurse from recursion
reminisce from reminiscence
resurrect from resurrection
ruly from unruly
rotovate from rotovator

S

sass (impudence) from sassy
scavenge from scavenger
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
sightsing from sightsinging
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
statistic from statistics
stave (the noun) from staves (the original singular is staff)
steamroll from steamroller
stridulate from stridulation
suburb from suburban
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

tamale, as a singular of tamales (plural form of tamal)
tase from Taser
taxon from taxonomy
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

U

underwhelming as a supposed antonym of overwhelming
unit from unity
upholster from upholstery
ush from usher

V

vaccinate from vaccination
vend as in vend out (meaning to contract out to a vendor), derived from vendor
verse from versus
vinify from vinification
vint (meaning to make wine) from vintage and vintner
vivisect from vivisection

W

wiretap from wiretapper

References

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

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