Back-formation is either the process of creating a new lexeme (less precisely, a new "word") by removing actual or supposed affixes, or a neologism formed by such a process. Back-formations are shortened words created from longer words, thus back-formations may be viewed as a sub-type of clipping.
Each back-formation in this list is followed by the original word from which it was back-formed.
A
abduct probably from abduction
abscess (v.) from abscessed
aborigine from aborigines, mistaken for a plural noun
accord (n.) from Old French acorde, acort, a back-formation from acorder
accrete from accretion (root: accrescere) acculturate from acculturation addict from addicted (root: addicere) admix from admixt Adirondack Mountains from Adirondacks, mistaken for a plural noun adsorb from adsorption adolesce from adolescence adulate from adulation advect from advection advisor perhaps from advisory aerate (meaning "expose to air") probably from aeration aesthete from aesthetic aggress from aggression air-condition from air conditioning alley alliterate from alliteration allotrope from allotropy amaze from Middle English amased ambivalent from ambivalence ameliorate perhaps from amelioration in some cases annunciate perhaps from annunciation in some cases anticline from anticlinal antipode from antipodes (non-standard) appeal (n.) from Old French apel, back-formation from apeler apperceive (in modern psychological use) from apperception aristocrat from French aristocrate, a back-formation from aristocratie assent (n.) from Old French assent, a back-formation from assentir attrit from attrition auto-destruct from auto-destruction (cf. auto-destroy) automate from automation aviate from aviation avid partly from avidity awe-strike perhaps from awestruck
B
babysit from babysitter
back-form from back-formation
bartend from bartender
beg from beggar
benefact from benefactor (and also the derived benefactee, cf. benefactor) bibliograph from bibliography bicep from biceps (non-standard) biograph from biography bird (verb) from bird watcher blockbust from blockbuster book-keep from book-keeping brainwash from brainwashing bulldoze from bulldozer bum possibly from bummer burgle from burglar bus ("to clear dirty dishes from table") from busboy bushwhack from bushwhacker buttle from butler
C
cadge from cadger
caretake from caretaker
cavitate from cavitation
chain-smoke from chain-smoker
Chess (river) from Chesham
choate from inchoate
choreograph from choreography
chupacabra from Spanish chupacabras (both a plural and a singular in Spanish) claustrophobe from claustrophobia cohese from cohesion (disambiguation) (cf. cohere) commentate from commentator committal from non-committal complicit from complicity computerize from computerized contracept from contraception (cf. rare contraceive) contrapt from contraption convect from convection conversate from conversation or conversing cose from cosy couth from uncouth co-vary from covariation cross multiply from cross multiplication cross-refer from cross-reference curate (verb) from curator custom-make from custom-made
D
dapple from dappled
darkle from darkling
decadent from decadence
deconstruct from deconstruction
dedifferentiate from dedifferentiation
demarcate from demarcation
demograph from demographics
destruct from destruction
diagnose from diagnosis
diffract from diffraction
dinge from dingy
diplomat from diplomatic
dishevel from disheveled
donate from donation
drear from dreary
drowse from drowsy (possibly a backformation) dry-clean from dry cleaning
E
eave from eaves
eavesdrop from eavesdropper
edit from editor (from Latin stem edere, to bring forth) electrocute from electrocution elocute from elocution emote from emotion enthuse from enthusiasm escalate from escalator eutrophicate from eutrophication evaluate from evaluation explicate (meaning "explain") from explicable extradite from extradition extrapose from extraposition
F
fine-tune from fine tuning
flab from flabby
flappable from unflappable
flake ("eccentric person") from flaky
floss ("to show off") from flossy
fluoresce from fluorescence
fragmentate from fragmentation
free-associate from free association (backformed adjective-verb compound) funk (quality of music) from funky