back-formation
nounUK /ˌbæk.fɔːˈmeɪ̯.ʃən/ · CA, US /ˌbæk.foɹˈmeɪ̯.ʃən/
Etymology From back- + formation. Coined by British lexicographer and philologist, primary editor of the Oxford English Dictionary James Murray in 1888.
1
Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences The process by which a new word is formed from an older word by interpreting the former as a derivative of the latter, often by removing a morpheme (real or perceived) from the older word, such as the verb burgle, formed by removing -ar (perceived as an agent-noun suffix) from burglar.
2
A word created in this way.
- Back-formations, such as tambour (for “play the tambourine”), are a staple of comedic wordplay.
- Derived terms
- back-form, back-formed
- Related terms
- disfixation