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.

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]
  • 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
  • benefact from benefactor (and also the derived benefactee, cf. benefactor)
  • 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

D

E

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
  • headquarter from headquarters[5]
  • helicopt from helicopter
  • herptile (a reptile or amphibian) from herpetology
  • herpe (a single herpes sore) from herpes
  • 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

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
  • 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

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
  • vinify from vinification[2]
  • vint (meaning to make wine) from vintage and vintner[7]
  • vivisect from vivisection[2]

W

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.
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