back-formation

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Also, we talked about how awesome it is that escalate is a back-formation of escalator, so it's actually a modern word!

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Definitions (4)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. noun A new word created by removing an affix from an already existing word, as vacuum clean from vacuum cleaner, or by removing what is mistakenly thought to be an affix, as pea from the earlier English plural pease.
  2. noun The process of forming words in this way. See Note at baby-sit.

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Examples (3)

  • Also, we talked about how awesome it is that escalate is a back-formation of escalator, so it's actually a modern word! —  MetaFilter
  • Most of the time, I can't show you my work, unless I make it up by back-formation. —  Aliens in This World
  • The Merriam-Webster Online states that "liaise" is an example of a "back-formation," through which a new word is extracted from another, perfectly legitimate word on the assumption that it must exist, etymologically, although it does not. —  Yankee Pot Roast
 

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Words tagged back-formation

van · resurrect · couth · enthuse · donate · greed · emote · isolate · manipulate · prequel · orate

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This word has been looked up 19 times.

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