Suffixes

The ability of any language to create new words from existing ones is of
unarguable importance. Word-formation generally occurs by one of two processes. The
first is compounding, whereby two or more words are combined to create a new one. This
is a common method in English, though more so in Old English than in modern.
Compounding is responsible for words like steamboat, snowski, and firefighter. The
second word-formation process is derivation, in particular affixation. English creates
many new words by zero-derivation, or by changing the word’s part of speech without
any marker, e.g. to drink vs. a drink, and the more recent a party vs. to party (sometimes
jokingly referred to as verbing nouns, although the process if hardly limited to turning
nouns into verbs or vice versa). However, many more words are created with affixation,
the attachment of prefixes and suffixes to a word. Affixation can change a word’s part of
speech (friend vs. friendly) or a word’s meaning within its part of speech (dark vs.
darkness).1
Our vocabulary will greatly increase if we know about the structure of words and
how they are formed. The main part of a word is called root (for example, write). We can
add prefixes to the beginning (rewrite), and suffixes to the end (writer). If we know
common roots, prefixes and suffixes will increase our vocabulary.
Suffixes have been a part of English since the beginning. Some of the ones in
current use have also been in the language since the beginning. Others have been
borrowed via our various contacts with Latin, Greek, French and other languages. Others
yet have been coined or backformed (e.g. -aholic from alcoholic, now found in
chocoholic, a popular example of speakers misunderstanding the morphemic boundaries).
When you add “-aholic” to a noun, you make a new word that has the meaning “addicted
person”. For example, “chocoholic”, a person addicted to chocolate, “workaholic”, a
person addicted to work, “cashaholic”, a person addicted to cash, “bookaholic”, a person
1
http://www.xmission.com/~ladyslvr/wlk/suffixes.htm ultima actualizare decembrie 2010

1
addicted to books. This class of morphemes is very fluid. Derivational affixes, unlike
inflectional, are often not stable in function and meaning. New suffixes enter the
language, old ones depart, and existing ones alter in meaning. What causes these changes
if no more known than what causes any other language change.
A suffix is a word ending. It is a group of letters you can add to the end of a root
word. For example, “beauty” is a root word. By adding the suffix “full” you can make a
new word such as “beautiful”. Adding suffixes to words can change or add to their
meaning, but mostly they show how a word will be used in a sentence and what part of
speech (e.g. noun, verb, adjective) the word belongs to. For example, if you want to use
the root word “walk” in the following sentence:  I was (walk) in the street. You need to
add the suffix “-ing” so that the word “walk” makes better sense grammatically: “I was
walking in the street.” There are various suffixes we use. Probably the most common are
“-ed” and “-ing”.  Adding a suffix to a word can change the job the word does.  From
verbs to nouns: adding “tion” to a root word can change the word from a verb (action
word) to a noun (name of a person, place or thing). For example, “inject + tion” =
injection, “instruct + tion” = instruction. The important thing is that the verb and noun
are related in meaning. When the word ends with the suffix “-cian” you can tell that the
word is talking about a person and what they do for a living. For example, “music + cian
= musician”, “politic + cian = politician”.2
Learning suffixes can cause some problems when it comes to spelling them
correctly. Most of the time the spelling of the word and the suffixes simply stay exactly
the same. However, there are some rules below that should prove beneficial for learning
suffixes.
 When a word ends with a consonant and the suffix begins with a
consonant, just add the suffix with no spelling changes.
entertainment = entertain + ment
advertisement = advertise + ment
regretful = regret + ful

2
http://www.englishcafe.com/blog/all-about-suffixes-98381 ultima actualizare decembrie 2010

2
  For most words ending in a single consonant you need to double the last
letter when you add suffixes. This is especially true for one syllable
words!
run + ing = running
fun + y = funny
 When the one syllable word ends with more than one consonant, the last
letter is NOT doubled.
start + ing = starting
ring + ing = ringing
 Words with more than one syllable and end with the letter "L" you must
double the "L" when adding suffixes.
reveal + ing = revealing
cancel + ed = cancelled
 Words that are stressed on the last syllable and end with a single
consonant, you need to double the last letter.
refer + ing = referring
begin + er = beginner
 Words that are NOT stressed on the last syllable, you do NOT need to
double the last letter.
benefit + ed = benefited
offer + ing = offering
 The"Y" to "I" and the silent "E"
 Words ending in a consonant plus "Y" = the "Y" is changed to "I" when
adding the suffix. When adding the suffix 'ing' to a word ending in "Y" =
you keep the "Y."
lonely + ness = loneliness
happy + ness = happiness
copy + ing = copying
1. Silent "E" words end with a consonant and an "E." Words like love, like,
and hope... you drop the "E" when you add the suffix.
pimple + y = pimply

3
 simple + y = simply3
What follows is a selection of eight well-known suffixes, with their histories and
present usages outlined. The selection includes four noun-forming suffixes, two verb-
forming, one adjective forming and one adverb-forming, although at least one of the
included serves multiple functions.
-age
“-age” entered Middle English in the 13th century originally through loan words from
Old French -age via Latin - ticum. It is a noun forming element for which the original
meaning was ‘of or pertaining to’. It has since become a living English suffix with
several variations of meaning centered around the original. -age words borrowed from
French include: language, voyage, message. English words to which the suffix has been
applied include: cordage, bondage, breakage. The OED lists three main definitions for
this suffix: “From names of things, indicating that which belongs to or is functionally
related to”, “From names of persons, indicating function, sphere of action, condition,
rank”, “From verbs expressing action”.
The suffix has gained greater productivity over the last twenty years via its
adoption into youth slang. Actor/comedian Pauly Shore popularized the suffix in the late
1980's with coined words such as grindage ‘food’ and fundage ‘money’. While many of
his constructions did not survive the decade, the suffix has become a standard amongst
youth, and/or those trying to represent youth. Teen shows such as Buffy the Vampire
Slayer (Buffy) make an almost overuse of this suffix in their representations of teen
speech with constructions such as kissage and slayage dominating the unmarked
equivalents.
-ate
-“ate” is a 13th century borrowing from the Latin - tus, - tum, - ta, but did not come into
popular usage until the 16th century. Urdang provides three separate categories for this
suffix. As a verb forming suffix he defines it as “to act upon”: venerate; “to act”: placate;
“to cause to be affected or modified by”: detoxicate; “to cause to be in a state or
condition”: eradicate; “to furnish with”: substantiate, populate. He attributes these
usages to descent from the Latin causative use of -ate.
3
http://www.prefixes-suffixes.com/suffixes.html ultima actualizare decembrie 2010

4
As an adjective forming suffix, descended from the past participle ending of the first
conjugation of Latin, he assigns the meanings: “acted upon, brought into being in a
state”: expatriate; “possessing, characterized by possessing”: foliate. As a noun forming
suffix, he assigns the meanings: “a rank of official position”: delegate; “persons filling an
office”: pontificate; “a person or thing acted upon”: initiate. This usage he attributes to
Latin as an application of -ate to nouns without change of form.
-hood
-“hood” is descended from the Old English -hád and has cognate equivalents in Old
Saxon and Old High Germanic. It was a distinct noun with a meaning of ‘state, condition,
quality, rank’ which could be freely combined with other nouns. Eventually it ceased
being a separate word. The suffix forms abstract nouns from concrete ones: childhood,
falsehood. According to the OED, the suffix is living and, “can be affixed at will to
almost any word denoting a person or concrete thing. . . .” A different opinion is held by
Bryant who asserts, “Not all English affixes are today living, in the sense that they can be
freely applied to new words. Thus the suffix -hood . . . could scarcely be attached to a
recent word such as draftee”.4
-ite
-“ite” is a noun forming suffix originally borrowed into Old English in the 13th century.
It comes from the French -ite via Latin - ta ( t s) via the Greek -it( s). The original
meaning was ‘of, belonging or related to’. It has since splintered into several related
meanings. Urdang lists these as: “a person associated with a group or organization as
member, supporter, or devotee”: laborite; “a native of an area, a resident of a place or
accommodation”: Israelite; “a mineral or fossil”: granulite; “an explosive”: cordite; “a
member or part of a body”: somite, zonite.5 As point of comparison, this suffix cannot be
attached to clipped words illustrated under -hood and -ness. fan ‘fanatic’ and zine
‘amateur magazine’ cannot become fanite or zinite. The marked forms are nonsensical.
One could, however, say fandomite ‘of or belonging to a fandom’, although realistically
anyone belonging to a fandom ‘fan base’ would use the name of the fandom rather than
the generic noun.

4
Bryant, Margaret M. (1948). Modern English and Its Heritage. The MacMillan Company, New York, p.302
5
Urdang, Laurence. (1982). Modifiers. Gale Research Company, Detroit, ultima actualizare decembrie
2010

5
 -ity
-“ity” is a 14th century borrowing form the French -ité via the Latin -it s, it tis. It did not
come into real popularity until the 16th century. The suffix denotes a quality, state or
degree: opacity, lucidity, mentality. It transforms adjectives into nouns or concrete nouns
into abstract nouns. The OED lists several alternations including: -acity, -ality, -anity,
-arity, -ariety, -bility, -eity, -idity, -ility, -inity, -iety, -ivity, -ocity, -osity, -uity.
Referring to Buffy once again, this suffix has appeared in such constructions as
Owenosity: meaning one character (not named Owen) who behaved much like another
(named Owen), therefore possessing “a certain Owenosity”. Although it is not unusual
for proper nouns to become common nouns, usually as a result of a person or place being
responsible for a new product, service or idea (hamburger, shrapnel), it does seem
worthy to note that this suffix is being added to a proper noun that has not undergone this
generalization.
-ive
-“ive” is a 14th century borrowing from the French -if, -ive via the Latin -iv(a), -iv(us)
used to turn adjectives into verbs. In its original form it attached mainly to the past
participle of verbs. The OED says that in its modern form it is largely used to adapt Latin
words, or to form words on Latin analogies, with the meaning ‘having a tendency to,
having the nature, character, or quality of, given to (some action).’ It further says that the
meaning implies a ‘permanent or habitual quality or tendency’: acting, active. Variations
include -sive, -tive, -ative.
Vegetive, a shortened form of vegetative has gained some recent popularity. The
variant form seems to apply strictly to people, and is especially referential of that group
of people sometimes known as “couch potatoes” or “mouse potatoes”.
-ly
-“ly” comes from the Old English -l þc and has cognate equivalents in many West
Germanic languages. It is appended to nouns and adjectives to form adverbs, and
sometimes adjectives. The suffix in its recognizable form was found in northern and
midland dialects as early as the 13th century. By the 15th century it was found in all
dialects. Since its introduction it has been a productive suffix. The original meaning was
‘having the appearance or form indicated by the first element of the word’ (OED). Over

6
time it has generalized to ‘characteristic of’ or ‘similar to’. It also has a meaning of
‘recurring or repeated at an interval’: monthly, yearly. More recently, synonyms of Latin
or Romance origin have superceded adjectives formed with this suffix: temporal has
replaced timely. The ability of this suffix to create new adjectives has decreased since Old
English, leaving the suffix currently productive only in the creation of adverbs.
Isitt claims that as of his research in 1961, the suffix was not productive. He
pointed out that of sixty-two appearances of -ly in a search of one million words, none of
the appearances were on words not found in the dictionary; that is, none of the
appearances were part of new constructions.6 Bryant, although writing twenty years
earlier, disagreed. He listed -ly as among the living suffixes.7

-ness
-“ness” is descended from the Old English -nes(s), -nis(s), -nys(s) and has cognate
equivalents in other West Germanic languages. The suffix is attached to adjectives, past
participles, and adverbs to form nouns expressing a state or condition, i.e. abstract nouns:
bitterness, hardness. The suffix continues its productivity in Modern English and is not
restricted to attachment to words of Old English descent: deviousness. It can also be
attached to compound adjectives (kindheartedness) and, more recently, to adjectival
phrases (little-boyishness).
Bryant lists this suffix also as living. It does make new appearances in modern
teen speech, but usually with a sarcastic element implied. Clipped words like fan and zine
can take the suffix, although they rarely do: fanness, zineness (having the quality of a fan;
having the quality of an amateur publication). It also shows up in one specialized usage:
By analogy to the epithet Your Highness, the -ness suffix has gained a “titled” meaning.
Attached to nouns like slayer or chosen, it signifies a, usually mocking, respect: Your
Slayerness, Your Choseness.8
The process of word-formation is never ending in any living language. Word-
formation can be achieved through combining two or more words, through zero-
derivation, or through the addition of an affix. Derivational affixes are used to change the

6
Isitt, David. (1983). Crazic, menty, and idiotal: an inquiry into the use of suffixes -al, -ic, -ly, and -y in
modern English. Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis, Goteborg, Sweden, p.15
7
Bryant, Margaret M. (1948). Modern English and Its Heritage. The MacMillan Company, New York.
8
http://www.xmission.com/~ladyslvr/wlk/suffixes.htm, ultima actualizare decembrie 2010

7
part of speech of a word, or to change a word’s function within its part of speech. The
majority of suffixes in English are class-changing, therefore creating words with very
different functions than their bases.
Derivational suffixes are not as stable as their inflectional counterparts, resulting
in both the form and the meaning of the suffix changing over time. In addition, the
category of suffixes is subject to change. Borrowing, clipping, and analogy all bring new
derivational morphemes into a language. As new ones are added, old ones are not
necessarily lost. This frequently causes several suffixes to contribute to the same process,
e.g. transforming a verb into a noun. As suffixes gain in productivity, they eventually
achieve a point where they can attach to words of etymology outside their origin
language. While not all suffixes can attach to all roots, even if two that cause the same
class change attach, the formed words will have some variation in meaning.
With time, some suffixes gain in popularity, and others fall out of favor,
sometimes disappearing from the language entirely. Living or dying, suffixes can be re-
adopted back into a language, and can be applied to new words to create other new
words. This process is observable in the speech of teenagers, as exemplified on television
shows and in books written for the young adult audience.

References:

8
 Bryant, Margaret M. (1948). Modern English and Its Heritage. The MacMillan
Company, New York
 Isitt, David. (1983). Crazic, menty, and idiotal: an inquiry into the use of suffixes
-al, -ic, -ly, and -y in modern English. Acta Universitatis Gothoburgensis,
Goteborg, Sweden
 Urdang, Laurence. (1982). Modifiers. Gale Research Company, Detroit

 http://www.prefixes-suffixes.com/suffixes.html
 http://www.englishcafe.com/blog/all-about-suffixes-98381
 http://www.prefixes-suffixes.com/suffixes.html