Verbs from Substantives

6.7.1. It is difficult to give a general definition of the sense-relation between substantives and de-substantival verbs. The verb may designate any action or state that bears a relation to the substantive in question.

One and the same verb may very often mean two or more different things, the context only showing what is meant in each particular case. Thus the vb in stone a man means ‘kill by throwing stones’, but in stone cherries ‘re­move the stones from’. To powder has the sense of ‘sprinkling or covering with powder’, but to dust generally means ‘to free from dust’, [...] father a child means ‘be or become the father of a child’.

6.7.2. Substantives indicating a place or the like may be used to form verbs with the sense of ‘putting in that place’; book ‘enter in a book’, [...] corner ‘place in a corner, drive into a corner, put in an awkward position’ [...].

6.7.3. De-substantival verbs frequently come to mean ‘provide with or furnish with smth, put on a garment, etc.’ This process may have been furthered by the use of the adjective-ending -ed. Thus, from the sb wing is formed an adj winged (‘having wings’) which is easily apprehended as the past participle (‘furnished with wings’) of a vb. wing. [...] Diet: I wonder whether I ought not to diet you (feed you with plain meats, and leave out the sauce). [...] Horse: Every man that we can horse; initial: She wrote the bill and took it to Miss Connor to initial.

6.7.4. The vb means to deprive of that which the sb indicates:

Bone ‘pull out the bones of’; brain ‘knock out the brains of’; black cock and grey hen dusting themselves in the road [...].

6.7.5. From the names of implements (in a widened sense) are derived a great many verbs that denote the action for which the implements are meant (cf. cable, nail, screw, wire).

Axe ‘cut down (expenses)’ / bomb; he was caned every day, except on holiday and Monday when he was only ruler’d on both hands [...]. Names of drinks may be regarded as implements in a widened sense: liquor ‘consume strong drinks’ / You could come and tea with me / dine and wine with some one / Will you come and wine with me next Thursday?

But we never have verbs in that way from names of food: we cannot possibly say to bread or to meat.

6.7.6. Parts of the body: used as a kind of implement: body: imagination bodies forth the forms of things unknown, breast ‘present the breast to (the waves, a storm)’ [...].

6.7.7.Another minor group is formed by words denot­ing periods of time, weather, etc. Derivatives from these generally mean ‘spend the time indicated by the substan­tive’: honey-moon, We shall, certainly, winter in Rome, Wouldn’t it be a good idea if they week-ended there?, It began to mist pretty hard, it frosted heavily last night.

6.7.8.Not infrequently, a de-substantival verb is used, about an action or state that resembles the thing in shape.

6.7.9.Verbs derived from the names of animals to de­note the action characteristic of the animal in question, are not so frequent:

Buck up ‘cheer up’, I crowfished as fast as I could; dog ‘follow closely’; fox ‘behave craftily’ [...].

Names of persons may produce vbs meaning ‘make, be, become, or do the thing characteristic of’. Some of them, such as father have several significations.

Baby ‘treat as a baby’, boss ‘be the manager (boss) of’ [...].

Verbs formed from names of persons occupied in a cer­tain way are comparatively rare because many of these substantives are in their turn derived from verbs by means of -er or -or. [...]

6.8.1. Verbs are, of course, rarely formed from action-nouns which have themselves been derived from a verb. When it does happen, the new verb generally has a special application: Allowance: to allowance him. To do what? To put him upon a fixed allowance, I am allowanced two glasses before dinner. [...]

6.8.3. With regard to form, we must notice:

(1) In the majority of cases the vb is taken from the singular of the sb. An exception is the vb dice.

(2) Verbs are freely formed from compounds: bee-bonneted, his face looks machine-made and beeswaxed. Sometimes they whistled and cat-called at the very sight of her.

6.8.4. The ease with which the English language coins ‘nonce-words’ is especially seen in the frequent formation of a verb from a sb, an adj, an adv, or indeed any kind of word, or phrase, without any formal alteration. In many cases the urge to use such a term is so great and universally felt that the word is coined independently by several speakers at different times, and the word will then have to be reckoned among the common stock of words in the language. In other cases the term is so bold, being produced by the requirements of an individual speaker on the spur of the moment, that it can never be counted more than a momentary outgrowth of the state of language in which the type “sb = vb” has become fixed.

“Nonce-words” are found early, even before the loss of the endings that distinguish verbs from substantives, but then only rarely. They become very common from the 15^th century.

6.8.5. A special class of “nonce-words” is often used in retorts. In anger one simply seizes one word or phrase in what was said by the other party, and repeats it as a verb in a scornful tone of voice.

Come, Mother Prat... — I’ll prat her;... the roast turned powder — I shall powder you; Trinkets! […]

When the word taken up for retort is, or resembles, an agent-noun, the ending is often removed (“back-formation”): You will be killed: he is a prize-fighter. — I’ll prize-fight him.

6.8.6. Outside retorts proper, “nonce-words” are common in the sense of calling somebody something: She began to read, “Dear Sir.” “He dears me too, you see.” “Darling, ” he cried in amaze. “I told you not to “darling” me.” I do not choose to be mistressed by a maid of honour; They my-loved and my-deared each other; She neither sir’d nor my-lorded him; If you call me Mr. Tennyson any longer, I think that I must Yourgrace you till the end of the chapter.

6.8.7. When from a sb is formed a vb which from its signification must be intransitive, there is a strong tendency to add it as a kind of “empty” object. Many of these formations are nonce-words and phrases.

From adjectives we have: brave it, a nice one indeed to high-and-mighty it over her, rough it.

Perhaps on the analogy of foot it and leg it we have also: walk it.