Verbbuilding

Verbbuilding is the process by which new verbs are formed from existing words, especially nouns or adjectives, through a variety of word-formation processes. It covers denominal verbs (verbs derived from nouns), verbal back-formation, conversion (zero-derivation), and affixation that yields new verbs from other parts of speech. The term is not uniformly used in all grammars, but it describes a productive area of lexical expansion in many languages.

Denominal verbs are a common focus of verbbuilding. Examples include verbs created from nouns such as bottle, chair, or scarf (to bottle, to chair, to scarf), where a noun inherits verbal use with little or no alteration to form. Adjectival sources also contribute, with verbs formed from adjectives via suffixes like -en, -ize, or -ify, giving examples such as brighten (from bright), modernize (from modern), or simplify (from simple). Back-formation can produce verbs from nouns or phrases, as in babysit (from babysitter) or edit from editor in some historical spellings, though modern use often fixes the more familiar noun-verb forms.

Affixation and compounding also contribute to verbbuilding. Suffixes like -ize, -en, -ify, and -ate regularly turn adjectives or nouns into verbs in English and many other languages. In some cases, nouns or phrases are combined to form verb-like units, such as web-related or brand-based verbs like Google (as a verb) or email (as a verb). Seepage of informal or brand-language into common usage further expands the verbal lexicon.

Linguists study verbbuilding to understand productivity, semantic shifts, and the interaction of lexical borrowing, syntax, and morphology across languages.