| 释义 |
back-formation
noun[ C ]
language specialized(alsoback formation)uk /ˈbæk.fɔːˌmeɪ.ʃən/ us /ˈbæk.fɔːrˌmeɪ.ʃən/
a word that is formed by removing part of a longer word:
The verb "enthuse" is a back-formation of the noun "enthusiasm".
"Diagnosis" was borrowed from a Greek word. Two hundred years later, the verb diagnose, a back formation, was coined.
Many back-formations are verbs that were formed from nouns, such as "surveil" from "surveillance".
The word "bicep" was formed as a back-formation because English speakers thought the Latin "biceps" was supposed to be a plural noun.
The noun "television" was already in use when electronic television was first demonstrated in 1927, which was also around the time the back-formation "televise" began to be used as a verb.
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