backformation
Word created backwards
Backformation is the creation of a new word by removing what looks like an affix from an existing word.
English speakers assumed "editor" must come from a verb, so they created "edit" by dropping the ending.
Similarly, "burgle" comes from "burglar," "enthuse" from "enthusiasm," and "liaise" from "liaison." The process reverses normal word-building, where roots come first and derivatives follow.
Source or origin tracing
- morphologyStudy of structural forms
- etymologyWord origin study
- neologismNewly created expression
- coinageInvented term or currency
analogy · word-formation · clipping · blending · reanalysis · lexicology · philology · semantics
Removing quantities mathematically
- removalAct of taking away
- deletionRemoval of content
- truncationCutting something shorter
- shorteningReducing length or duration
reanalysis · misanalysis · simplification · reduction · extraction · stripping · trimming · clipping
derivation
Source or origin tracing
- morphologyStudy of structural forms
- etymologyWord origin study
- neologismNewly created expression
coinage · analogy · word-formation · clipping · blending · reanalysis · lexicology · philology · semantics · morpheme
subtraction
Removing quantities mathematically
- removalAct of taking away
- deletionRemoval of content
- truncationCutting something shorter
shortening · reanalysis · misanalysis · simplification · reduction · extraction · stripping · trimming · clipping · segmentation
edit
Modify written material
donate · emote · enthuse · liaise · orate · peddle · sculpt · swindle · diagnose · automate
backformationcompounding
Elements merging progressively
blending · borrowing · loanword · coinage · portmanteau