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[-] hakase@lemm.ee 18 points 3 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Nope, I can do this all day. Other fun examples of backformation off the top of my head are: "to burgle" from "burglar" (which the Brits still get mad about (note: this is incorrect, see conversation below)), originally from the Latin agent noun burglator from the verb burgare; and "cherry", backformed from Old French cerise, which was reinterpreted as a plural (even though it wasn't one), and then a new singular form was backformed. The same thing happened to "pea" (though that's a native English word) - you can still see the original "pease" in the old nursery rhyme: "Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold, pease porridge in a pot nine days old".

[-] FozzyOsbourne@lemm.ee 2 points 2 days ago

We don't get mad about burgle, that's just a normal word. I do remember thinking I'd gone insane the first time I heard someone unironically use the word "burglarize" to mean "burgle" though!

[-] hakase@lemm.ee 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Ah, yep, you're absolutely right, it is "burglarize" that gets y'all riled up. That's what I get for going off memory and not checking my sources. I've edited my comment above to point out the error.

[-] JasonDJ@lemmy.zip 10 points 3 days ago

I was making a joke with a modern example of a noun being verbified, but thank you for your insight.

[-] hakase@lemm.ee 8 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Oh wow, I'm feeling very whooshed at the moment. Sorry about that.

this post was submitted on 09 Feb 2025
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