Definitions

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • The suffix used to form the plural of most words; as in roads, elfs, sides, accounts.
  • The suffix used to form the third person singular indicative of English verbs; as in falls, tells, sends.
  • An adverbial suffix; as in towards, needs, always, -- originally the genitive, possesive, ending. See -'s.

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

  • suffix Used to form the third-person singular indicative present tense of verbs.
  • suffix Used to form regular plurals of nouns.
  • suffix Used to form many pluralia tantum (nouns that are almost or entirely without singular forms).
  • suffix Diminutive suffix
  • suffix not productive used in the formation of certain English adverbs.
  • suffix UK Possessive in business names.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Shortened form of -sy.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

By dropping the apostrophe in ’s.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Middle English -(e)s (third person singular ending of verbs) from Northern Old English (Northumbian dialect) -es, -as (third person singular ending). Replaced historical Old English third person singular ending -(e)þ, -aþ (-eth). Possibly due to Scandinavian influence or related to -es, -as, second-person singular ending of verbs. More at -est

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English -s, -es, from Old English -as, nominative-accusative plural ending of masculine a-stem (i.e. strong) declension nouns, from Proto-Germanic *-ōs, *-ōz, from Proto-Indo-European *-es, *-oes (plural ending). Most common Old English plural marker (c. 40% of Old English nouns). Cognate with Scots -s (plural ending), West Frisian -s (plural ending), Dutch -s (plural ending), Low German -s (plural ending), Danish -er (plural ending), Swedish -r, -ar, -or (plural ending), Icelandic -ir (plural ending), Gothic  (-os, nominative plural ending of a-stem masculine nouns).

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English -es, from Old English -es ("masc-neut genitive ending of most nouns"). More at -'s

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Examples

  • No meaning would be lost by letting go of -s in this instance.

    The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010

  • English-speakers then absorbed the French word for the game, employing English variations of the French plural eschecs, including chesses and chestes and chesse, before settling on chess, which carries the vestigial -s ending inherited from the French.

    The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010

  • English-speakers then absorbed the French word for the game, employing English variations of the French plural eschecs, including chesses and chestes and chesse, before settling on chess, which carries the vestigial -s ending inherited from the French.

    The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010

  • Things might have turned out differently for Modern English if the genitive ending for another class of Old English noun had prevailed over the one taking an -s.

    The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010

  • Look at how -s performs multiple roles in Modern English: the English as a Second Language teacher says the word bridge.

    The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010

  • Look at how -s performs multiple roles in Modern English: the English as a Second Language teacher says the word bridge.

    The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010

  • Things might have turned out differently for Modern English if the genitive ending for another class of Old English noun had prevailed over the one taking an -s.

    The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010

  • No meaning would be lost by letting go of -s in this instance.

    The English Is Coming! Leslie Dunton-Downer 2010

  • A segment called "Jon Stewart F---s Himself with His Own Mouth" on Tuesday night's episode of The Daily Show is a montage of various other stereotyping, impressions and foreign accents that Stewart has performed on the show.

    VIDEO: Jon Stewart Turns Crack Research Team on Himself 2011

  • "Angels have been just d---s on the show, but Castiel has been the opposite, so we put him in this position where he'd be forced to have to do these things that he doesn't want to have to do necessarily."

    Supernatural: Castiel Bends Time and Truth 2011

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