Editor's Corner

Good day to you!

Although I thought it was, the word I’m about to harp on is not a new word. Lately, though, I’ve been hearing and seeing it everywhere (that’s the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon in action!), so I decided to research its common usage and its etymology.

The word is surveil: it is a verb meaning “to subject to surveillance.”

I have to admit, this word has been bothering me. I usually try not to let the evolution of English words get under my skin because we all play with language and use it to our advantage, whether that be to make a point, to get noticed, to save time, or maybe to shock. But this word has been haunting me lately. It’s everywhere—on the radio, in LinkedIn Learning lessons, in magazines, on TV shows. All of a sudden, it seems to me, people everywhere are being surveilled instead of being monitored or spied on or followed. And they are surveilling instead of monitoring or following someone.

Although it’s only recently been on my radar, it turns out, this is not a new word. It’s been in use since 1884, according to Merriam-Webster. Get with it, Donna!

Here’s the scoop: surveil is what we call a back-formation. The noun surveillance came first (dating back to 1802) and a mere 82 years later, people decided to finagle it into a verb rather than use one of the synonymous verbs we already had.

Here are examples of how the noun and the verb are currently used:

• Electronic surveillance methods are increasingly being used. (noun)
• He decided to surveil his son to find out who he was sneaking out to meet in the middle of the night. (verb)

OK. So, it’s a legitimate old word. I still don’t like it. I just don’t like the sound of it, But I’m no longer indignant about it (much). I realize that language is not stagnant. And back-formation is a common way that new words come into being. To help me on my path to acceptance of the word surveil, I’ve compiled a partial list of verbs formed from nouns by back-formation:

• automate from automation
• babysit from babysitter
• burgle from burglar
• diagnose from diagnosis
• edit from editor [dbb – Uh-oh. This doesn’t help my argument.]
• injurefrom injury
• panhandlefrom panhandler
• sedatefrom sedative
• surrealfrom surrealism
• swindle from swindler
• televise from television
• vaccinate from vaccination

And here are a couple of verbs that were formed from adjectives:

• laze from lazy
• obsess from obsessive

And since none of those words irritate me, I’m going to do my best to get over my disdain toward surveil. Don’t hold your breath though. I’m not feeling amenable—I don’t think I’m going to amen on this one. 😜

• amenfrom amenable (meaning to yield)
  [dbb – I made it up and I know it’s a stretch, but it could catch on! Give it 80 years or so.]

Donna Bradley Burcher |Technical Editor, Advisory | jack henry™

Pronouns she/her/hers

9660 Granite Ridge Drive, San Diego CA 92123

Symitar Documentation Services

About Editor’s Corner

Editor’s Corner keeps your communication skills sharp by providing information on grammar, punctuation, JHA style, and all things English. As editors, we spend our days reading, researching, and revising other people’s writing. We love to spend a few extra minutes to share what we learn with you and keep it fun while we’re doing it.

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