English▸ noun a word that is formed from an existing word which looks as though it is a derivative, typically by removal of a suffix (e.g. edit from editor):
'lase' and 'tase' are back-formations from 'laser' and 'Taser'.
▪ [mass noun] the linguistic process by which back-formations develop:
by the process of back-formation, the word 'gruntled' was reintroduced in 1938.