lustrate the difference of back-formation and back clipping with the example words editor-edit and dormitory-dorm.
Back-formation is considered to be the opposite process of suffixation. As we know, suffixation is the formation of new words by adding suffixes to bases, and back-formation is therefore the method of creating words by removing the supposed suffixes. This is because many of the removed suffixes are not true suffixes but inseparable parts of the words. For example, the verb edit is made by dropping the ending -or in editor.
Clipping is another way of making a word. It is to shorten a longer word by cutting a part off the original and using what remains instead. Back clipping keeps the front part of the word, dropping the remaining syllables, such as dorm for dormitory.
