back-formation

Site banner

Home Forums Blogs Articles Photos Videos Contact FAQ

Dream Sharing Forum
at Global Oneness Community.
Share your dreams and let others help you with the interpretation!
Dream Sharing Forum

back-formation
A Wisdom Archive on back-formation

back-formation A selection of articles related to back-formation

back-formation, Back-formation, Back-formation - More examples of back-formation, backronym, retronym, junctural metanalysis

| Top | » Page 4 « Page 5

ARTICLES RELATED TO back-formation

back-formation: Encyclopedia II - English plural - Defective nouns

Some nouns have no singular form. Such a noun is called a plurale tantum: annals, billiards*, measles, nuptials, thanks, tidings, victuals, vittles, credentials * This refers to the table game, not the number 1015 in the long scale system of numeric names, which can be singular billiard. However, some of them do have singular adjective forms, such as in billiard ball. In addition, some of them are treated as singular in construction, such as in "billiards is a game playe ...

See also:

English plural, English plural - Regular plurals, English plural - Almost-regular plurals, English plural - Irregular plurals, English plural - Irregular Germanic plurals, English plural - Irregular plurals of foreign origin, English plural - Plurals of numbers, English plural - Plurals and units of measure, English plural - Defective nouns, English plural - Nouns with multiple plurals, English plural - Plurals of symbols and abbreviations, English plural - Plurals of headless nouns, English plural - Plural to singular by back-formation, English plural - Plurals of names of peoples, English plural - Discretionary plurals

Read more here: » English plural: Encyclopedia II - English plural - Defective nouns

back-formation: Encyclopedia II - English plural - Plurals of numbers

English, like some other languages, treats large numerals like nouns, such as in "ten soldiers" and "a hundred soldiers." This is why dozens is preferred to tens while hundreds and thousands are all right. Plurals of numerals differ according to how they are used. Such words include dozen, score, hundred, thousand, million, and so forth. The following examples apply to all of these. When modified by a number, the plural is not inflected, that is, has no ...

See also:

English plural, English plural - Regular plurals, English plural - Almost-regular plurals, English plural - Irregular plurals, English plural - Irregular Germanic plurals, English plural - Irregular plurals of foreign origin, English plural - Plurals of numbers, English plural - Plurals and units of measure, English plural - Defective nouns, English plural - Nouns with multiple plurals, English plural - Plurals of symbols and abbreviations, English plural - Plurals of headless nouns, English plural - Plural to singular by back-formation, English plural - Plurals of names of peoples, English plural - Discretionary plurals

Read more here: » English plural: Encyclopedia II - English plural - Plurals of numbers

back-formation: Encyclopedia II - Classless Inter-Domain Routing - Assignment of CIDR blocks

The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) issues to Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) large, short-prefix CIDR blocks. For example, 62.0.0.0/8, with over sixteen million addresses, is administered by RIPE, the European RIR. The RIRs, each responsible for a single, large, geographic area (such as Europe or North America), then subdivide these blocks into smaller blocks and issue them publically. This subdividing process can be repeated several times at different levels of delegation. Large Internet Service Providers (ISPs) typically ob ...

See also:

Classless Inter-Domain Routing, Classless Inter-Domain Routing - CIDR blocks, Classless Inter-Domain Routing - Assignment of CIDR blocks, Classless Inter-Domain Routing - CIDR and masks, Classless Inter-Domain Routing - Prefix aggregation, Classless Inter-Domain Routing - Historical background

Read more here: » Classless Inter-Domain Routing: Encyclopedia II - Classless Inter-Domain Routing - Assignment of CIDR blocks

back-formation: Encyclopedia II - American English - Regional differences

Main article: American English regional differences Spoken American English is not homogeneous throughout the country, and various regional and ethnic variants exist. These differences affect both pronunciation and the lexicon, and can make one accent a little difficult for speakers of another accent to understand. General American is the name given to any American accent that is relatively free of noticeable regional influences. It enjoys high prestige among Americans, but is not a standard acc ...

See also:

American English, American English - History, American English - Phonology, American English - Differences in British English and American English, American English - English words that arose in the U.S., American English - English words obsolete outside the U.S., American English - Regional differences

Read more here: » American English: Encyclopedia II - American English - Regional differences

back-formation: Encyclopedia II - Pea - Ways of eating peas

Fresh peas are often eaten boiled and flavored with butter and/or spearmint as a side dish vegetable. Fresh peas are also used in pot pies, salads and casseroles. Pod peas (particularly sweet varieties called mangetout and sugar peas) are used in stir fried dishes. Pea pods do not keep well once picked, and if not used quickly are best preserved by drying, canning or freezing within a few hours of harvest. Dried peas are often made into a soup or simply eaten on their own. In Japan and other East Asian countries includin ...

See also:

Pea, Pea - History and cultivation, Pea - Types of pea, Pea - Ways of eating peas, Pea - Peas in science, Pea - Etymology

Read more here: » Pea: Encyclopedia II - Pea - Ways of eating peas

back-formation: Encyclopedia II - Pea - Types of pea

Peas grown for the immature peas are called garden peas, shell peas or green peas. They are sold fresh (usually in the pod), or tinned or frozen. The mature pea, which dries naturally in the field, is known as the marrowfat pea. It is grown mainly in Britain, but many are exported to the Far East. One of the oldest export varieties, popular in Japan for the last h ...

See also:

Pea, Pea - History and cultivation, Pea - Types of pea, Pea - Ways of eating peas, Pea - Peas in science, Pea - Etymology

Read more here: » Pea: Encyclopedia II - Pea - Types of pea

back-formation: Encyclopedia II - -logy - Other words ending in ology

Not all words ending in -ology are ologies in the above sense. In some words such as tautology and haplology, the -logy suffix is from the Greek λογος, word, and denotes not a field of study but a type of speech or writing. For example, haplology means the mistake of saying one letter, syllable or word when two or more are required, as in the example of pronouncing the word February somewhat like "Febuary". It should also be pointed out that some words mean to study something, bu ...

See also:

-logy, -logy - Etymology, -logy - Other words ending in ology, -logy - Usage, -logy - List of -ologies, -logy - A, -logy - B, -logy - C, -logy - D, -logy - E, -logy - F, -logy - G, -logy - H, -logy - I, -logy - J, -logy - K, -logy - L, -logy - M, -logy - N, -logy - O, -logy - P, -logy - R, -logy - S, -logy - T, -logy - U, -logy - V, -logy - X, -logy - Z, -logy - Ologies that are not fields of study

Read more here: » -logy: Encyclopedia II - -logy - Other words ending in ology

back-formation: Encyclopedia II - -logy - Usage

Although technically incorrect, "-ology" is sometimes used to describe a subject rather than the study of it. Technology is a typical example. This usage is also widespread in medicine; for example, pathology is often used for specific disease ("We have not found the pathology yet"). "Ology" can be appended to any word, humorously, when describing its study; such as beer-ology or Wiki-ology. There are a few irregular exceptions to the ending "-ologist"; f ...

See also:

-logy, -logy - Etymology, -logy - Other words ending in ology, -logy - Usage, -logy - List of -ologies, -logy - A, -logy - B, -logy - C, -logy - D, -logy - E, -logy - F, -logy - G, -logy - H, -logy - I, -logy - J, -logy - K, -logy - L, -logy - M, -logy - N, -logy - O, -logy - P, -logy - R, -logy - S, -logy - T, -logy - U, -logy - V, -logy - X, -logy - Z, -logy - Ologies that are not fields of study

Read more here: » -logy: Encyclopedia II - -logy - Usage

back-formation: Encyclopedia II - American English - English words obsolete outside the U.S.

A number of words that originated in the English of the British Isles are still in everyday use in North America, but are no longer used in most varieties of British English. The most conspicuous of these words are fall, the season; to quit, as in "to cease an activity" (as opposed to "to leave a location" as still used in most other Anglophone countries); and gotten as a past participle of get. Americans are more likely than Britons to name a stream a creek if its breadth or volume is judged insufficient f ...

See also:

American English, American English - History, American English - Phonology, American English - Differences in British English and American English, American English - English words that arose in the U.S., American English - English words obsolete outside the U.S., American English - Regional differences

Read more here: » American English: Encyclopedia II - American English - English words obsolete outside the U.S.

back-formation: Encyclopedia II - American English - Differences in British English and American English

Main article: American and British English differences American English has both spelling and grammatical differences from British English (or Commonwealth English), some of which were made as part of an attempt to rationalize the English spelling used by British English at the time. Unlike many 20th century language reforms (for example, Turkey's alphabet shift, Norway's spelling reform) the American spelli ...

See also:

American English, American English - History, American English - Phonology, American English - Differences in British English and American English, American English - English words that arose in the U.S., American English - English words obsolete outside the U.S., American English - Regional differences

Read more here: » American English: Encyclopedia II - American English - Differences in British English and American English

back-formation: Encyclopedia II - Thomas Crapper - The words crap and crapper

The word "crap" is old in the English language, one of a group of nouns applied to discarded cast offs, like "residue from renderings" (1490s) or in Shropshire, "dregs of beer or ale", meanings probably extended from Middle English crappe "chaff, or grain that has been trodden underfoot in a barn" (c. 1440), deriving ultimately from Late Latin crappa, "chaff." The word fell out of use in Britain by the 1600s, but remained prevalent in the North American colonies which would eventually become the United States. The meanin ...

See also:

Thomas Crapper, Thomas Crapper - Thomas Crapper and his company, Thomas Crapper - Crapper and the syphonic flush toilet, Thomas Crapper - The words crap and crapper, Thomas Crapper - Reference

Read more here: » Thomas Crapper: Encyclopedia II - Thomas Crapper - The words crap and crapper

back-formation: Encyclopedia II - English plural - Nouns with multiple plurals

Some nouns have two plurals, one used to refer to a number of things considered individually, the other to refer to a number of things collectively. In some cases, one of the two is nowadays archaic or dialectal. Note a: Childer has all but disappeared, but can still be seen in Childermas (Innocents' Day). Note b: Kine is still used in rural English dialects. Note c: Dies is used as the plural for die in the sense of a mould; dic ...

See also:

English plural, English plural - Regular plurals, English plural - Almost-regular plurals, English plural - Irregular plurals, English plural - Irregular Germanic plurals, English plural - Irregular plurals of foreign origin, English plural - Plurals of numbers, English plural - Plurals and units of measure, English plural - Defective nouns, English plural - Nouns with multiple plurals, English plural - Plurals of symbols and abbreviations, English plural - Plurals of headless nouns, English plural - Plural to singular by back-formation, English plural - Plurals of names of peoples, English plural - Discretionary plurals

Read more here: » English plural: Encyclopedia II - English plural - Nouns with multiple plurals

back-formation: Encyclopedia II - Laser - Popular misconceptions

The representation of lasers in popular culture, especially in science fiction and action movies, is generally very misleading. For instance, contrary to their portrayal in movies such as Star Wars, a laser beam is never visible in the vacuum of space. In air the ray can hit dust and other particles in its path and scatter producing a glowing "ray", in much the same way that a sunbeam glows in dusty air. This effect can be intensified to make the beam more visible by increasi ...

See also:

Laser, Laser - Physics, Laser - History, Laser - Recent innovations, Laser - Uses of lasers, Laser - Popular misconceptions, Laser - Laser safety, Laser - Common laser types, Laser - Publications about lasers, Laser - Books, Laser - Journals

Read more here: » Laser: Encyclopedia II - Laser - Popular misconceptions

back-formation: Encyclopedia II - Laser - Uses of lasers

At the time of their invention in 1960, lasers were called "a solution looking for a problem". Since then, they have become ubiquitous, finding utility in thousands of highly varied applications in every section of modern society, including consumer electronics, information technology, science, medicine, industry, law enforcement and the military. They have been widely regarded as one of the most influential technol ...

See also:

Laser, Laser - Physics, Laser - History, Laser - Recent innovations, Laser - Uses of lasers, Laser - Popular misconceptions, Laser - Laser safety, Laser - Common laser types, Laser - Publications about lasers, Laser - Books, Laser - Journals

Read more here: » Laser: Encyclopedia II - Laser - Uses of lasers

back-formation: Encyclopedia II - Laser - Publications about lasers

Laser - Books. Koechner, Walter (1992). Solid-State Laser Engineering, 3rd ed., Springer-Verlag. ISBN 0-387-53756-2 Siegman, Anthony E. (1986). Lasers, University Science Books. ISBN 0-935-70211-3 Sifvast, William T. (1996). Laser Fundamentals, Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-55617-1 Svelto, Orasio (1989). Principles of Lasers, 3rd ed. (trans. David Hanna), Plenum Press. ISBN 0-306-42967-5 Yariv, Amnon (1989). Quantum Electro ...

See also:

Laser, Laser - Physics, Laser - History, Laser - Recent innovations, Laser - Uses of lasers, Laser - Popular misconceptions, Laser - Laser safety, Laser - Common laser types, Laser - Publications about lasers, Laser - Books, Laser - Journals

Read more here: » Laser: Encyclopedia II - Laser - Publications about lasers

back-formation: Encyclopedia II - Methanol - Uses

Methanol is used on a limited basis to fuel internal combustion engines, mainly by virtue of the fact that it is not nearly as flammable as gasoline. Methanol blends are the fuel of choice in open wheel racing circuits like Champcars, as well as in radio controlled model airplanes. Drag racers and mud racers also use methanol as their primary fuel source. Methanol is required with a supercharged engine in a Top Alcohol Dragster and all vehicles in the Indianapolis 500 have to run methanol. Mud racers have mixed methanol with gasoline and nitrous oxide to produce more power than ...

See also:

Methanol, Methanol - History, Methanol - Production, Methanol - Uses, Methanol - Health and safety

Read more here: » Methanol: Encyclopedia II - Methanol - Uses

back-formation: Encyclopedia II - Thomas Crapper - Crapper and the syphonic flush toilet

Common myth has it that Crapper invented the flush toilet. He did indeed hold nine patents, three of them for water closet improvements such as the floating ballcock, but none were for the flush toilet. Thomas Crapper's advertisements implied the syphonic flush was his invention — one having the text "Crapper's Valveless Water Waste Preventer (Patent #4,990) One moveable part only" — but patent 4990 (for a minor improvement to the water waste preventer) was not his, but that of Albert Giblin in 1898. His nephew, George Crapper, did improve the siphon mechanism by which the w ...

See also:

Thomas Crapper, Thomas Crapper - Thomas Crapper and his company, Thomas Crapper - Crapper and the syphonic flush toilet, Thomas Crapper - The words crap and crapper, Thomas Crapper - Reference

Read more here: » Thomas Crapper: Encyclopedia II - Thomas Crapper - Crapper and the syphonic flush toilet

back-formation: Encyclopedia II - Methanol - Health and safety

Methanol is toxic, as its metabolites formic acid and formaldehyde cause blindness and death. It enters the body by ingestion, inhalation, or absorption through the skin. Fetal tissue will not tolerate methanol. Dangerous doses will build up if a person is regularly exposed to fumes or handles liquid without skin protection. If methanol has been ingested, a doctor should be contacted immediately. The usual fatal dose: 100–125 mL (4 fl oz). Toxic effects take hours to start, and effective antidotes can often prevent permanent damage. T ...

See also:

Methanol, Methanol - History, Methanol - Production, Methanol - Uses, Methanol - Health and safety

Read more here: » Methanol: Encyclopedia II - Methanol - Health and safety

back-formation: Encyclopedia II - English plural - Plurals of symbols and abbreviations

Symbols and abbreviations whose plural would be ambiguous if only an s were added are pluralized by adding 's. "mind your p's and q's" Usage is divided on whether to extend this usage of the apostrophe to non-ambiguous cases, such as the plurals of numbers (1990's), words used as terms (his writing contains a lot of but's), and capitalized abbreviations (PC's). Some writers use this form in a desire for consistency, wh ...

See also:

English plural, English plural - Regular plurals, English plural - Almost-regular plurals, English plural - Irregular plurals, English plural - Irregular Germanic plurals, English plural - Irregular plurals of foreign origin, English plural - Plurals of numbers, English plural - Plurals and units of measure, English plural - Defective nouns, English plural - Nouns with multiple plurals, English plural - Plurals of symbols and abbreviations, English plural - Plurals of headless nouns, English plural - Plural to singular by back-formation, English plural - Plurals of names of peoples, English plural - Discretionary plurals

Read more here: » English plural: Encyclopedia II - English plural - Plurals of symbols and abbreviations

back-formation: Encyclopedia II - Laser - History

In 1916, Albert Einstein laid the foundation for the invention of the laser and its predecessor, the maser, in a ground-breaking rederivation of Max Planck's law of radiation based on the concepts of spontaneous and induced emission. The theory was forgotten until after World War II. In 1953, Charles H. Townes and graduate students James P. Gordon and Herbert J. Zeiger produced the first maser, a device operating on similar principles to the laser, but producing microwave rather than optical radiation. Townes' maser was incapable of c ...

See also:

Laser, Laser - Physics, Laser - History, Laser - Recent innovations, Laser - Uses of lasers, Laser - Popular misconceptions, Laser - Laser safety, Laser - Common laser types, Laser - Publications about lasers, Laser - Books, Laser - Journals

Read more here: » Laser: Encyclopedia II - Laser - History

back-formation: Encyclopedia II - English plural - Plural to singular by back-formation

Some words have started out with unusually formed singulars and plurals, but more "normal" singular-plural pairs have resulted by back-formation. For an example from the vegetable world, pease was the singular and peasen the plural, but over the centuries, first pease became the plural and pea the singular, and finally the plural was altered to peas. Similarly, termites and primates were the three-syllable plurals of termes and primas, respectively, but these singulars were lost, ...

See also:

English plural, English plural - Regular plurals, English plural - Almost-regular plurals, English plural - Irregular plurals, English plural - Irregular Germanic plurals, English plural - Irregular plurals of foreign origin, English plural - Plurals of numbers, English plural - Plurals and units of measure, English plural - Defective nouns, English plural - Nouns with multiple plurals, English plural - Plurals of symbols and abbreviations, English plural - Plurals of headless nouns, English plural - Plural to singular by back-formation, English plural - Plurals of names of peoples, English plural - Discretionary plurals

Read more here: » English plural: Encyclopedia II - English plural - Plural to singular by back-formation

back-formation: Encyclopedia II - English plural - Plurals of headless nouns

Linguist Steven Pinker, in his book, The Language Instinct discusses what he calls "headless words", typically bahuvrihis, like lowlife and Red Sox, where the life and sox are not heads semantically; that is, a lowlife is not a type of life, nor are Red Sox a kind of sock. Thus, more than one lowlife is lowlifes and a single member of the Boston baseball team is a Red Sox. Other examples include the Toronto ice-hockey team Maple Leafs, not Maple Leaves, sabertooth and s ...

See also:

English plural, English plural - Regular plurals, English plural - Almost-regular plurals, English plural - Irregular plurals, English plural - Irregular Germanic plurals, English plural - Irregular plurals of foreign origin, English plural - Plurals of numbers, English plural - Plurals and units of measure, English plural - Defective nouns, English plural - Nouns with multiple plurals, English plural - Plurals of symbols and abbreviations, English plural - Plurals of headless nouns, English plural - Plural to singular by back-formation, English plural - Plurals of names of peoples, English plural - Discretionary plurals

Read more here: » English plural: Encyclopedia II - English plural - Plurals of headless nouns

| Top | » Page 4 « Page 5

Search the Global Oneness web site