Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • suffix A suffix forming diminutives from other nouns; compare -ling:
  • suffix A frequentative suffix of verbs, indicating repetition or continuousness:
  • suffix A suffix forming adjectives from verbs with the meaning of "prone to", "tending to", "apt to", "capable of"; compare -ative:
  • suffix A suffix forming agent nouns from verbs:

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English -elen, -len, -lien, from Old English -lian (frequentative verbal suffix), from Proto-Germanic *-lōnan (frequentative verbal suffix). Cognate with West Frisian -elje, Dutch -elen, German -eln, Danish -le, Swedish -la, Icelandic -la. Compare -er.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English -el, -le, from Old English -el, -ol (adjective suffix), from Proto-Germanic *-ulaz (adjective suffix). Cognate with West Frisian -el, Dutch -el, Low German -el, German -el.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English -el, from Old English -el, -il (diminutive suffix), from Proto-Germanic *-ilaz (diminutive suffix).

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English -el, from Old English -el, -ol, -ul (agent suffix), from Proto-Germanic *-ilaz (agent suffix). Cognate with West Frisian -el, Dutch -el, Low German -el, German -el.

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Examples

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Comments

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  • Yiddish suffix of endearment. A guy named Moishe would be called Moishele by grandmothers and so forth.

    April 23, 2009