A suffix is an element of a language that is added to the end of a word. E.g. -ly is a suffix often found at the end of adverbs: really, quickly, happily, strangely, etc., -d/-ed is a suffix often found at the end of a verb to denote the simple past: used, bruised, grazed, heated, etc.
2
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2answers
123 views
Eleusian vs. Eleusinian (and, to a lesser extent, Elysian)
Both Eleusian and Eleusinian are used in relation to mysteries. I've only seen Elysian used in relation to Elysian Fields.
Given that the suffix -ian denotes "of or belonging to," I'm wondering if ...
4
votes
1answer
81 views
What are the differences between -ist, -ite, and -ian
The suffixes -ist, -ite, and -ian all mean a follower of a person or idea. For example, a follower of Christianity is a Christian, a follower of Buddhism is a Buddhist, and a follower of Shia Islam is ...
4
votes
1answer
88 views
“Exercise” but not “exercize”
Many words are spelled with -ise in British English and -ize in American English:
realise/realize
sanitise/sanitize
scrutinise/scrutinize
But exercise can only be spelled with -ise, never with ...
0
votes
1answer
58 views
“Boneular” vs. “bonular”
My knowledge in morphology and orthography is lacking. I would like to know how to spell the neologism boneular, from bone (or Backbone, a programming library used for creating Web applications) and ...
-2
votes
1answer
206 views
Does the suffix -ion in “invention” mean the same in “station”?
Is the suffix -ion in the word invention the same as in the words direction, nation, fiction, station?
0
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1answer
77 views
Is it “falsy” or “falsey”?
I have seen both versions of the word, falsy and falsey.
It can mean "something that is equivalent to false" in computer science, such as "The only two falsy values in the Ruby Language are false and ...
1
vote
0answers
55 views
(n+1)st or (n+1)th? [duplicate]
When referring to object number n+1, is it the (n+1)st or (n+1)th object?
Of course, object number 1 would be referred to as the 1st, but since I would say n plus one, adding an -st would make this ...
6
votes
2answers
281 views
Why is “k” added to “panic” when suffixes added (as in “panicky”)?
When adding any suffix to the word "panic," a "k" is added after the "c". Examples: panicked, panicking, panicky.
Why is this the case? Are there any other English words that do the same? I'm also ...
5
votes
1answer
111 views
Why does the “e” in judge vanish in the word “judgment”?
The in the word "judgment", the "e" from "judge" is absent. Three questions on this:
Why is this?
Is there a name for such a contraction?
How and why does the "g" still retain its "soft" ...
0
votes
3answers
149 views
Coining new words from existing ones: Duplicate last letter?
I am trying to invent a word by taking an existing word and turning it into a noun a person can be called who is interacting with an object.
The trouble I ran into was the initial word's ending.
...
3
votes
2answers
136 views
Where does the suffix “-tine” come from?
Where does the suffix -tine come from? For e.g., Ovaltine, Creatine, etc. all have a -tine suffix. What is the meaning connoted to the noun attached?
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3answers
178 views
What is the opposite of the ending “-cide” (as in “suicide”, “pesticide”)?
I'm looking for the antonym of -cide (as in suicide, pesticide, etc.). Essentially the ending to words that would mean "to create or embrace".
2
votes
3answers
221 views
Has the suffix “-trix” acquired a pejorative meaning in recent years?
A couple days ago I needed the correct word for a female aviator, which I figured was aviatress. A dictionary.com search provided aviatress, aviatrice and aviatrix as acceptable choices. ...
3
votes
2answers
129 views
What is the proper demonym for someone from Shreveport?
A tweet popped up in my feed recently that posed a really good question. On first blush I thought "Oh, I can answer this!" then upon further reflection I realized I can't.
In the case of "New ...
10
votes
3answers
175 views
“You are likely to [verb]” vs. “you are like to [verb]”
In a recent answer to another question, a fellow poster just used the following turn of phrase:
The nearest you’re like to get is [word][.]
I only ever saw and used "you’re likely to..." myself, ...
5
votes
3answers
103 views
'Monthly' and 'annual' as descriptors
When I am describing a service that is billed for once a month I write, "This is a monthly service." When describing a service that is billed for once a year I use, "This is an annual service."
...
4
votes
1answer
161 views
What is the origin of “-ix” as a feminine variation?
Some words are made feminine by altering the suffix to be -ix. Examples:
dominator → dominatrix
executor → executrix
rector → rectrix
What is the origin of this variation?
From my 5 years of ...
1
vote
1answer
166 views
Difference between the use of “resilience” and “resiliency”
I constantly hear people use the word "resiliency" (especially sports broadcasters and the like). I've always used "resilience" instead. Is there a preferred word to use in any given situation?
As ...
3
votes
1answer
332 views
Are the adjectives “utopic” and “dystopic” correct English words?
My dictionary only mentions the form ending in "ian" for both adjectives (utopian/dystopian) yet I do come across the "ic" ending in some decent writings. Would that be considered incorrect usage?
1
vote
1answer
113 views
For the verb 'focus' why is the gerund form 'focusing' with a single S, instead of 'focussing' with a double S? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“Focussed” or “focused”? The double consonant
The rule that I learned was that when you have a short vowel in the last syllable, you double the last consonant before ...
13
votes
2answers
227 views
What’s going on with “drink > drench”? Is it like “passage > passenger”?
Edit: I am looking for a particular linguistic term for this process (which here uses terminal palatalization to indicate such) of turning passive verbs like drink into active verbs like drench. I ...
6
votes
2answers
136 views
Are there names for consonant-shifts when suffixes are added?
I saw a spelling mistake on an SO question: submittion. That got me wondering, is there a name for the shift of ‑mit‑ to ‑miss‑ in submission, permission, admission and so on? Are there other patterns ...
8
votes
2answers
178 views
Is “-th” still a productive suffix in English?
The main question here is whether using -(e)th to create ordinals out of cardinals1 is still considered a productive suffix in English. Is it?
If so, then does it matter whether we are in a formal ...
2
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2answers
134 views
Difference between “presidentship” and “presidency”
What's the difference between presidentship and presidency? Please give examples to show the difference.
2
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2answers
132 views
Should a dash be used when constructing words using suffixes such as -ly, -wise when the resultant word isn't in the dictionary?
Should a dash (-) be used when constructing words using suffixes such as -ly, -wise when the resultant word isn't in the dictionary? For example:
money-wise
moneywise
Which one is better?
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vote
4answers
144 views
What is the adverbial form of “communicational”?
I tried communicationally, but the Free Dictionary doesn’t find it to be a word.
What I am trying to express is that someone is communicationally challenged, basically meaning they can’t communicate ...
2
votes
1answer
176 views
Pronunciation of onomatopoeia, pharmacopoeia, etc
Words such as onomatopoeia and pharmacopoeia incorporate the Greek suffix -poeia, meaning to make or to prepare. Wiktionary's provided etymology for onomatopoeia reads:
From Ancient Greek ...
4
votes
2answers
149 views
When is “-less” used, and when is “-free” used?
When is the suffix "-less" used, and when is the suffix "-free" used?
My initial assumption was that "-free" is used when the absence of something is good, such as "care-free", and "-less" is used ...
8
votes
2answers
226 views
Pedlar vs. peddler
The etymonline entry for peddler reads:
late 14c. (c.1300 as a surname, Will. Le Pedelare), from peoddere, peddere (c.1200, mid-12c. as a surname), of unknown origin. It has the appearance of an ...
4
votes
1answer
386 views
Suffix order: -lessness vs -nessless
What is the correct order for combinations of suffixes -less and -ness?
Are they combined in any order, or is there any rule governing a proper usage?
hopelessness
helplessness
But:
...
7
votes
1answer
224 views
The “-igan” ending
Does the -igan suffix serve the same function in the following words?
shenanigan
cardigan
hooligan
If so, what does it mean? Where does it come from?
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3answers
995 views
“Extensible” vs. “extendible”
Where does the adjective form extensible come from and does it connote anything different than extendible? What's the difference, if any, between the two?
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vote
0answers
56 views
“-ic versus -ical” what's the difference in meaning between adjectives ending in -ic or -ical? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Why is it “geometric” but “theoretical”?
“Ironic” vs. “ironical”
“Comic” vs. “comical”
“Historic” vs. “historical”
What's the difference for instance between ...
4
votes
2answers
173 views
Is “Songify” a well-received word as an English neology?
I came across the word “songify” for the first time in the article of October 23 NY Times titled ‘Yes We Chant’ with the sub-head, “The Gregory Brothers songify the debate, with Gregorian chanting.”
...
5
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5answers
705 views
Difference between “opacity” and “opaqueness”
What is the difference in the meaning und usage of the words opacity and opaqueness?
2
votes
5answers
272 views
Pronunciation difference between “cycle” and “psycho”
When I speak English, I can't tell the difference between cycle and psycho, I pronounce them the same.
And it's not only cycle vs. psycho; when words end in -le or -o, I always confusee them.
How to ...
4
votes
1answer
160 views
Why does “lactic” have an “-ic”, while “unique” have an “-ique”?
Lactic:
"pertaining to milk," 1790 (in lactic acid; so called because it was obtained from sour milk), from Fr. lactique, from L. lactis, gen. of lac "milk" (see lactation) + Fr. -ique.
Unique:
...
0
votes
1answer
137 views
“Utilisability” vs. “usability”
I tried hard to find if we have the noun utilisability in dictionaries but it does not exist. But, when goolging, I found some articles that contain this word.
I know that we have the verb to use ...
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votes
3answers
217 views
Is there such a word as “entertainee”? [closed]
Entertainee as in someone who gets entertained by an "entertainer".
If not, is it OK to use it? Or is there a word that can be used instead?
2
votes
1answer
136 views
Doctor Jekyll (Ph.D.), I presume
I am writing an analysis paper (not related to title), an need to introduce someone with a doctorate in English. Do I write "Doctor [name]" or do I use suffix?
4
votes
4answers
1k views
“Postfix” or “suffix”?
Wikipedia and The Free Dictionary were not much help — is there a practical difference in the semantics of suffix and postfix, except that the latter is more rare?
File name extensions are well ...
2
votes
2answers
458 views
Non-lexical words
I like suffixes and prefixes. I am wondering if I can use new nonlexical words such as:
Javasmith (-smith)
Javamaniac (-maniac) (just like shoemania!!)
Javaster (-ster)
The main ...
6
votes
4answers
676 views
Is “Englishnization” an acceptable term?
There's a company named Rakuten in Japan, which introduced "Englishnization" a couple of years ago. They adopted an internal policy where all the employees are expected to speak English as an official ...
7
votes
3answers
291 views
“Golden crown” vs. “gold crown”
In case of the need to describe the color of a crown which is shown as part of an image, which is correct: a golden crown, or a gold crown?
Is it important if it is made of gold or not, but the color ...
2
votes
1answer
917 views
Where do “‑ess” and “‑ine” suffixes come from?
English has a lot of words that end in ‑ess or ‑esse, such as actress, hostess, huntress, finesse, duress, prowess, Lyonesse, and Westernesse.
That looks like a suffix that is also used frequently ...
0
votes
2answers
143 views
What are the differences between the etymology of “ingenious” and “ingenuous”? [closed]
As a matter of fact, I don't know whether there is any difference between the source words in bold below:
From Latin ingeniosus (“endowed with good natural capacity, gifted with genius”), from ...
1
vote
3answers
580 views
What is the difference between “neurologic” and “neurological”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Why is it “geometric” but “theoretical”?
A Google search was not immediately helpful, but I found this document: ...
23
votes
3answers
833 views
What purpose does an '-o' serve?
I have been singing a lot of children’s songs lately, and this afternoon in the car I noticed three songs that add an ‑o to the end of words:
“He had many a mile to go that night before he ...
4
votes
2answers
234 views
Why drop the “i” in “explanation”?
I often catch myself trying to write ?explaination, phonetically spelling the word in my head. To my chagrin I get part way through and have to stop myself.
So I’m wondering why is the i dropped? I ...
11
votes
1answer
369 views
Rules for removing last vowel when adding “-able”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
When to drop the 'e' when ending in -able?
Both are correct for these words:
sizable, sizeable
sharable, shareable
takable, takeable
But these words are ...
