Verbing

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. The act of transforming a noun into a verb, typically by adding a suffix; the process of expressing an action or state derived from a different part of speech; a linguistic feature where a word originally belonging to one grammatical category is used in another, particularly as a verb
2. Engaging in the conversion of a noun into a verbal form, often for creative language use; a means of deriving verbs from existing words, allowing for expansive language creation; a phenomenon in linguistics where words shift categories, particularly to provide new verbal usage
3. The process of using nouns as verbs by adding an appropriate ending; a technique in language evolution that facilitates the flexible use of words; the transformation of a word class, usually to enhance expressiveness or functionality in communication

Etymology: "Verbing" is the gerund and present participle of "verb," so its history is really the history of the verb itself. The Latin source, "verbum," meant "word," and English took it directly in Middle English as "verbe," a usage that was later reinforced by the Old French "verbe." The same ancestor gave English "word" and "verve," which is a useful reminder that the grammatical term and the everyday word were once the same thing. The joke in "verbing" lies in its own form. To turn a noun into a verb, English has long used this kind of conversion, so a word like "verb" that names a grammatical category can itself be pressed into the role it describes. Using "verbing" to mean "turning nouns into verbs" is therefore a small self-demonstration: the word performs the very process it names.

Synonyms: verbification, conversion, derivation, inflection, usage