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Glite Dictionary
back-formation

back-formation

8.6
A word made by removing an ending from a longer word
  • noun
  • /ˌbækˈfɔːrmeɪʃən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : retroformación
  • From phonetic realizations such as *grei-yes, *lei-yes, and *rei-yes, back formations with the palatal offglide would have been inevitable:

Examples

  • The word 'back-formation' was formed from the original word 'editor'.

  • The term 'back-formation' was derived from the earlier word 'librarian'.

  • The word 'back-formation' has origins traced back to the word 'burglar'.

Surface Forms

back-formation singular
back-formations plural

Morphology

back-formation = formation (semi-transparent) = back + formation

The parts 'back' and 'formation' are literal and suggest 'reverse formation', but the precise technical meaning (a word formed by removing an affix) is specialized and not fully predictable by an average learner. [Postprocessing: moved 'back' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

The word back-formation starts with back meaning 'reverse' and formation meaning 'making'. It pictures making a new word by working 'backwards' from an older word. For example, people made burgle from 'burglar' and edit from 'editor' by cutting off an ending, so back-formation means making a new word by removing a part of another word.