-z meaning (humorous): definition, etymology

-z

suffix

Etymology An eye dialect spelling variant of -s.

Urbanism Internet, Leet, Humorous, Morpheme, Slang Used as a substitute for -s in marking the plural of nouns. Usually used in words in which the -s suffix is actually pronounced /z/.

Boyz are always trouble, while girlz just play with their Bratz dolls.
He lovez me and I love my warez.

Related terms: -ez

-z

suffix

Etymology From a mutation (specifically a zetacism) of the rhotic consonant /ɹ/ to /z/. While standalone suffixation (such as soz and Baz) gained wide recognition in British print during the 1980s, the underlying morphophonological shift is attested significantly earlier in Australian English via the derived non‐rhotic suffix -zza (such as Bazza for Barry), which has been in print since at least the 1960s.

Australia, New Zealand, UK, Morpheme Forms nicknames, especially of personal names.

Barry + -z → Baz
Sharon + -z → Shaz

1 more example

Jeremy + -z → Jez

UK, Morpheme Forms colloquial variants of words.

sorry + -z → soz
tomorrow + -z → tomoz

1 more example

apparently + -z → appaz

Derived terms: -zza, onz, rabz, rabz kebabz, upz