BACK-FORMATION


Meaning of BACK-FORMATION in English

| ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷| ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ noun

1. : a word formed by subtraction of a real or supposed affix (as a suffix) from an already existing longer word (as buttle from butler, the final -er being taken as the suffix found in such words as maker or player, or as pea from pease, the final -se z being taken as a plural ending)

2. : the formation of a back-formation

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.