back-formation Hear it!

back-formation definition

back·-formation (-fôr mā′s̸hən)

noun

  1. a word actually formed from, but seeming to be the base of, another word (Ex.: burgle from burglar)
  2. the process of forming such a word

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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