Verbing and Nouning

Synonyms

Denominalization and nominalization; Zero conversion

Definition

To verb a noun is to create something of the verbal category from a nominal; to noun a verb is to do the reverse.

Introduction

Verbing and nouning are ways to introduce neologisms. The process, also called denominalization and nominalization, respectively, can be achieved by compounding, e.g., forming the verbs “to back up” or “to pig out” by combining a noun with some other term. It can also be achieved by morphological derivation, especially via affixation. In the noun → verb direction, the English “incentivize” and “declutter” are verbs which are derived morphologically from the nouns “incentive” and “clutter,” respectively. By the same token, the French “brosser” (to brush) comes from the noun “brosse” (brush), just as the Spanish “cepillar” comes from “cepillo.” Going in the verb → noun direction, in English, “suckage” and “singing” are nouns which derived from verbs by means of adding suffixes. Similarly,...