Deverbalize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To convert a word originally derived from a verb into a non-verb form such as a noun or adjective; to eliminate verbal characteristics from a term; to transform a verb-based word into a different part of speech
2. The process of changing a verb-form word into a non-verbal element like a noun or adjective; removing its verbal nature; altering verbal derivatives into other grammatical categories
3. To alter a verb-derived word so it no longer functions as a verb but instead as a noun, adjective, or other part of speech; to strip verbal traits from a word; to effect a grammatical shift away from verbal usage

Etymology: "Deverbalize" is built from the prefix "de-" and "verbalize," so it is a formation made by adding a reversing prefix to a word that already exists. "De-" comes from Latin, where it meant "down," "away," or "off," and in English it often signals removal or reversal. "Verbalize" itself means to turn something into words or to express it in words, so attaching "de-" flips the process: deverbalizing takes a word or expression and converts it back out of verbal form into something else. The term is most often used in linguistics and grammar, where it describes forming a new word from a verb, such as turning "to sing" into "song" or "singer." Because the result is a noun or adjective built on a verb's root, the process is the reverse of verbalizing a noun or adjective into a verb, as in "to bottle" from "bottle."

Synonyms: derivate, nominalize