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In etymology, back-formation is the process of creating a new lexeme, usually by removing actual or supposed affixes.^[1] The resulting neologism is called a back-formation, a term coined by James Murray^[2] in 1889. (OED online first definition of 'back formation' is from the definition of to burgle, which was first published in 1889.)

Back-formation is different from clipping – back-formation may change the part of speech or the word's meaning, whereas clipping creates shortened words from longer words, but does not change the part of speech or the meaning of the word.

For example, the noun resurrection was borrowed from Latin, and the verb resurrect was then backformed hundreds of years later from it by removing the ion suffix. This segmentation of resurrection into resurrect + ion was possible because English had examples of Latinate words in the form of verb and verb+-ion pairs, such as opine/opinion. These became the pattern for many more such pairs, where a verb derived from a Latin supine stem and a noun ending in ion entered the language together, such as insert/insertion, project/projection, etc.

Back-formation may be similar to the reanalyses of folk etymologies when it rests on an erroneous understanding of the morphology of the longer word. For example, the singular noun asset is a back-formation from the plural assets. However, assets is originally not a plural; it is a loan-word from Anglo-Norman asetz (modern French assez). The -s was reanalyzed as a plural suffix.

Back-formation in the English language[link]

Many words came into English by this route: Pease was once a mass noun but was reinterpreted as a plural, leading to the back-formation pea. The noun statistic was likewise a back-formation from the field of study statistics. In Britain, the verb burgle came into use in the 19th century as a back-formation from burglar (which can be compared to the North American verb burglarize formed by suffixation).

Other examples are:

• Adjective "couth" from "uncouth"
• Verb "edit" from "editor"
• Singular "syrinx", plural "syringes" (from Greek): new singular "syringe" formed
• Singular "sastruga", plural "sastrugi" (from Russian): new Latin-type singular "sastrugus" has been used sometimes
• Verbs "euthanase" or "euthanize" from the noun "euthanasia".

Even though many English words are formed this way, new coinages may sound strange, and are often used for humorous effect. For example, gruntled (from disgruntled) would be considered a barbarism, and used only in humorous contexts. The comedian George Gobel regularly used original back-formations in his humorous monologues. Bill Bryson mused that the English language would be richer if we could call a tidy-haired person shevelled – as an opposite to dishevelled.^[3] In the American sitcom Scrubs, the character Turk once said when replying to Dr. Cox, "I don't disdain you! It's quite the opposite – I dain you."^[4]

Back-formations frequently begin in colloquial use and only gradually become accepted. For example, enthuse (from enthusiasm) is gaining popularity, though it is still considered substandard by some today.

The immense celebrations in Britain at the news of the relief of the Siege of Mafeking briefly created the verb to maffick, meaning to celebrate both extravagantly and publicly. "Maffick" is a back-formation from Mafeking, a place-name that was treated humorously as a gerund or participle. There are many other examples of back-formations in the English language.

See also[link]

• List of English back-formations
• Folk etymology
• Backronym
• Retronym
• Juncture loss
• Onomasiology
• Unpaired word

References[link]

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (May 2011)

DJ Chus (born Jesús López Esteban, 1971, Madrid, Spain) is an electronic music producer, remixer and DJ. He works mainly on house music tracks.

Career[link]

Chus began DJing at the age of 16. In 1994, he opened Teatro Kapital, and was also one of the resident in Algarve's Kadoc disco.

After years of producing house and trance music under a variety of names, DJ Chus, along with fellow DJ and producer Pablo Ceballos and manager Carlos Caliço, founded the Stereo Productions record label in 2001. DJ Chus usually collaborates with Pablo Ceballos on progressive house releases, and with David Penn on garage house tracks.

Discography[link]

Singles[link]

DJ Chus[link]

• 1994: "Kapital Of House"
• 1996: "Come Into The House"
• 1997: "Get Funky", with David Penn and Beto Cerutti
• 2005: "World Routes"
• 2006: "Black Rain"

Chus & Ceballos[link]

All are collaborations with Pablo Ceballos

• 2001: "Afrika"
• 2002: "Iberican Grooves Vol. 1"
• 2002: "Deep Architecture", as Dano, Chus & Ceballos, with Dano
• 2002: "Iberican Sound"
• 2002: "The Strong Rhythm", as Manaça, Chus & Ceballos, with Carlos Manaça
• 2002: "On The Strength", as Chus & Ceballos vs. Tony Hewitt, with Tony Hewitt
• 2003: "Echoes From Doruma"
• 2004: "In Stereo", as Chus & Ceballos vs. Tedd Patterson, with Tedd Patterson
• 2004: "Low Frequencies", as Chus & Ceballos vs. Richie Santana, with Richie Santana
• 2005: "Iberican Sound (2005 Remixes)"
• 2005: "Wrong About Me", with Derek Conyer
• 2009: "Blended Sound 002: (Part 1)"

DJ Chus & David Penn/Chus+Penn[link]

All are collaborations with David Penn

• 2000: "Sunshine", with Darren J. Bell
• 2001: "From Madrid With Love"
• 2001: "Music For Playgrounds", as Halo, Penn & Chus, with Halo
• 2002: "Baila", with Caterina de Jesus
• 2002: "Burning Paris"
• 2004: "Esperanza"
• 2004: "Sunshine 2004", with Darren J. Bell
• 2004: "Will I (Discover Love)", with Concha Buika

Hannu[link]

• 2003: "Latina"
• 2004: "Into The Night"
• 2004: "Summerfunk"

Polaris[link]

All are collaborations with Beto Cerutti

• 1997: "Polaris"
• 1998: "The Next Millennium"
• 2000: "Give Me Your Hand"

Latin Lovers[link]

All are collaborations with Beto Cerutti

• 2000: "Voices Of Savanna"
• 2003: "Dos Gardenias (Para Ti)"
• 2004: "Cuando El Amor"

Other aliases[link]

• 1997: "Screaming Dolphins", as Kenya, with Beto Cerutti
• 1997: "Le Plaisir", as Nitro, with Beto Cerutti
• 1998: "Atmosphere", as Nitro, with Beto Cerutti
• 1998: "Are You Ready To Honk The Airhorns?", as Roundheadz, with Beto Cerutti
• 1998: "Bahia's Children", as Cerutti & Lopez, with Beto Cerutti
• 2001: "El Amor", as Joeski & Chus, with Joeski and Caterina de Jesus
• 2001: "The Roma EP", as DJ Chus vs. Oscar de Rivera, with Oscar de Rivera
• 2002: "That Feeling", as The Groove Foundation, with Pablo Ceballos and Darren J. Bell - UK #65^[1]
• 2003: "We Play House", as Soulground, with David Penn and Concha Buika
• 2005: "That Feeling (Bring It Back Again)", as The Groove Foundation, with Pablo Ceballos and Darren J. Bell
• 2006: "We Play House (Remixes)", as Soulground, with David Penn and Concha Buika
• 2006: "Superflyin'", as Cubic, with Pablo Ceballos and Victor Calderone

(Co-)productions for other artists[link]

• 1995: Kadoc - "The Nighttrain"
• 1995: Kadoc - "The Return Of The Dark Mask EP"
• 2000: Tekknova - "Dancing in Outer Space", with David Castellano
• 2003: Marcelo Castelli - "Quimera", with Pablo Ceballos

Awards[link]

• Deejay Mags - Best House DJ 2001, 2004
• Deejay Mags - Best Spanish DJ 2004
• Deejay Mags - Best House Production 2002
• Dance Club Awards - Best Producer 2002, 2004
• Dance Club Awards - Best CD Compilation 2003

References[link]

External links[link]

• DJ Chus Official Site
• DJ Chus discography at Discogs
• Stereo Productions Official Site