suffix — 19 senses
UK /ə/ · US /ɚ/
Inherited from Middle English -ere, -er, from Old English -ere, from Proto-West Germanic *-ārī, from Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz, usually thought to have been borrowed from Latin -ārius; see Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz for an alternate theory. Reinforced by Middle English -er, from Old French -ier, also from Latin -ārius; compare the synonymous but unrelated Old French -or, -eor (Anglo-Norman variant -our), from Latin -(ā)tor, from Proto-Indo-European *-tōr. The "inhabitant" sense is sometimes connected to Middle English -wær(r)e, -ware, from Old English -ware (suffix denoting residency), from Proto-West Germanic *-wari, from Proto-Germanic *warjaz (“inhabitant”), from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to protect”). Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian -er, West Frisian -er, Dutch -er, German Low German -er, German -er, Danish -er, Swedish -are and Icelandic -ari.
Morpheme, Added to verbs A person or thing that does an action indicated by the root verb; used to form an agent noun.
Informal, Morpheme, Added to verbs A person or thing to which the root verb is done or can be done satisfactorily.
Morpheme, Added to nouns A person whose occupation is the root noun; (more broadly, occasionally with adjectives) a person characterized by the root.
Chiefly denoting occupations
Morpheme, Added to numbers A person or thing to which a certain number or measurement applies.
Measurements or nouns denoting quantified sets
Entertainment, Lifestyle Morpheme, Slang, With few limitations Used to form nouns shorter than more formal synonyms.
Morpheme, Added to nouns A person who is associated with, or supports a particular theory, doctrine, or political movement.
Morpheme A thing that is related in some way to the root, such as by location or purpose.
Added to nouns or occasionally adjectives
Morpheme, Slang Indicates a correspondence or coincidence between the action or condition indicated by the root and the noun being described.
Added in slang speech to verbs or adjectives
Morpheme, Added to a proper noun Suffix denoting a resident or inhabitant of (the place denoted by the proper noun); used to form a demonym.
Morpheme Suffix denoting residency in or around a place, district, area, or region.
Etymology Inherited from Middle English -re, -er, from Old English -ru (plural suffix), from Proto-Germanic *-izō (plural suffix). Cognate with Dutch -er (plural ending), German -er (plural ending). See also -ren.
Etymology From Middle English -ere, from Old English -ra, from Proto-West Germanic *iʀō, *-ōʀō, from Proto-Germanic *-izô or Proto-Germanic *-ōzô (a derivative of Etymology 4, below); related to superlative -est.
Morpheme More; used to form the comparative.
Now especially short ones Added to certain adjectives and adverbs
Etymology From Middle English -er, from Old English -or, from Proto-West Germanic *-ōʀ, Proto-Germanic *-ōz.
Morpheme, Added to certain adverbs More; used to form the comparative.
Etymology From Middle English -eren, -ren, -rien, from Old English -erian, -rian, from Proto-West Germanic *-rōn, *-iʀōn, from Proto-Germanic *-rōną or *-izōną. Cognate with West Frisian -erje, Dutch -eren, German -eren, -ern, Danish -re, Swedish -ra.
Morpheme Frequently; used to form frequentative verbs.
Added to a verb or imitative sound
Etymology From Middle English -er, from Anglo-Norman -er, Old French -er, the infinitive verbal ending.
Law Morpheme, Added to a verb Instance of (the verbal action); used to form nouns from verbs.
Etymology From Middle English -er, -ere (diminutive suffix). Compare -el.
Morpheme Used to form diminutives.
Added to a verb or noun
Etymology Attested in the UK since the 19th century. Originally Rugby School slang. Later adopted by Oxford University and then wider British society.
Morpheme Used to form slang or colloquial equivalents of words.
Etymology From Middle English -er, from Old English -er, -or, from Proto-Germanic *-raz. Compare -le.
Dialectal, Morpheme A suffix creating adjectives from verbs, indicating aptitude, proneness, or tendency toward a specified action
Etymology From Mandarin -兒 /-儿 (-ér).
Literature, Media, Publishing Chinese, Morpheme Junior, child, younger person. (Attached to a name, usually one syllable of the given name.)
Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.