Chapter VI · Prefixes and Suffixes.

PREFIXES.

1. ENGLISH (OR TEUTONIC).

A (a broken-down form of the A.S. preposition on), at, to, on, in, etc.; astern, abed, aboard, afield, afoot, ashore, alive, aweary.

After; afternoon, afterthought, aftermath, aftercrop.

At; atone (to bring together into one); ado (= at-do); twit (= at-wit).

Be, used both with nouns and with verbs—behalf, behoof, behest, bequest; betake, begin, become, bespatter, bedim, besprinkle, behead.

Down; downfall, downstroke, downcast.

For, not; forbid, forsake (not to seek), forget, forgo (wrongly spelled forego); or utterly; as, forlorn, fordone.

Fore, before; foretell, forefather, foresee, forebode, forecast, forenoon.

Gain, against; gainsay, gainstay (gainstand).

In, im, en, em; income, inlet, insight, inlay, inborn, inbred, into, ingraft, inlay, infold, imbed, endear, enthral, engrave, embower.

Mis, wrong; mislead, mistrust, misdeed, mishap, mistake.

Mid, in the middle of; midmost, midnight, midsummer, midday.

Off, from; offshoot, offset, offspring, offal (= off-fall), offhand.

Out; outset, outstrip, outvie, outrun, outdo.

Over; overwise, overfed, overmuch, overcoat, overhand, overseer, oversight.

Through, thorough; thoroughfare, throughout, thoroughbred, thoroughgoing.

To, this; to-day, to-night, to-morrow.

Un, (1) not; unclean, unwise, untrue, unbelief, unrest: or (2) back; undo, untie, unlock, unfold, unbind, unloose.

Under; undergrowth, underbred, underhand, undersell, underwood.

Up; uproar, upland, upstart, upset, upbear, upbraid, upright.

Wel, well; welfare, welcome, well-born, well-bred, well-trained.

With, against; withstand, withdraw (drawing-room = withdrawing-room), withhold.

2. LATIN.

Ab (a, abs), from or away; averse, avert, aversion, abdicate, abstract, abstain, abjure, abate, abound, abuse, abduction.

Ad (ac, af, ag, al, am, an, ap, ar, as, at, a), to: adore, advise, accord, annex, accuse, accede, allude, allusion, announce, appear, assent, attend, aspire, affirm, affix, aggrieve, annul, ammunition, apparent, arrive, assume, assault, assumption, attend, attentive, attention, assimilate, attain, ascribe, avow.

Am (amb), round; ambient, amputate, ambition, ambiguous.

Ante (anti), before; antedate, antenuptial, antenatal, antechamber, antediluvian, anticipate.

Circum (circu), round; circumlocution, circumnavigate, circuit, circumvent, circuitous, circulate, circumference.

Con (col, com, cor, co), together with; consonant, connect, contend, conduct, compact, compound, commend, collision, collect, correct, corrupt, co-heir, coerce.

Contra (contro, counter), against; contradict, contravene, controversy, controvert, contraband, counterfeit.

De, down or from; denote, describe, depart, descent, devise, demure.

Dis (dif, di); disjoin, difficult, diffuse, divide, differ, dilute, dissent.

Ex (ef, e), out of; extort, exhume, efface, educe, extrude, extol, effect, education.

Extra, beyond; extraordinary, extravagant, extraneous.

In (il, im, ir, em, en), into; invade, incite, induce, illusion, illude, improve, impulse, impel, irruption, embrace, endure, encourage, embroil, irradiate, innate.

In (ig, il, im, ir), not; insecure, ignoble, illiterate, inconvenient, incurable, incapable, incapacitate, immortal, irregular, improper, illegitimate, irrational, innocent, infant.

Inter (intel, enter), between; intercourse, intelligent, interfere, interdict, enterprise, entertain, interrupt.

Intro, within; introduce.

Ob (oc, of, op, os), against; oblige, obtain, object, occur, offend, oppose, occult, offer, ostentation.

Pene, almost; as, peninsula.

Per (pel), through; perform, permit, pellucid, pertain.

Post, after; postpone, posthumous.

Præ or pre, before; prelection, preface, prevent, precede, premature, predict.

Præter or preter, beyond; preternatural, preterite.

Pro (por, pur, pol), forth, on or before; proceed, pollution, portend, purvey, portrait, purloin, purchase, pronoun, purpose.

Re (red), back; refute, result, redolent, redound, reduce, redeem.

Retro, backwards; retrograde, retrospect.

Se (sed), aside or apart; select, seclude, secede, seduce, sedition.

Sub (suc, suf, sug, sup, sur, sus, su), under, up from below; subject, suspect, succeed, suffer, suggest, suppose, suspend, suspect, succinct, suppress, surrogate, susceptible, subdue, suffuse, subtract, succour, supplant.

Subter, beneath; subterfuge.

Super (sur), over; superstructure, surplus, survive, superscribe, surfeit, surcharge, supernatural, surname, supercilious.

Trans (tra, tres); across; transmarine, translate, tradition, trespass, traduce.

Ultra, beyond; ultramontane, ultramarine.

Vice, instead of; viceroy, viceregal, viscount.

3. GREEK.

A or an, not; anarchy, anomaly, anonymous, apteryx (wingless), atheist.

Amphi, on both sides, round; amphibious, amphitheatre.

Ana, up; anatomy, analysis, anabasis, analyse.

Anti (ant), against; antithesis, antipathy, antarctic, antitype, antidote.

Apo (ap, aph), from; apogee, apology, apostrophe, aphelion, aphorism.

Cata, down; catarrh, catalepsy, catastrophe, catechism, cathartic, cathedral, catalogue.

Di (dis), two; diphthong, dissyllable, dilemma, diploma.

Dia, through; diameter, diagonal, diaphonous, diabolic, diagnosis, diastole, diaphragm.

En (el, em), in; ellipse, emblem, energy, enthrone, empyrean, emphasis, emporium.

Endo, within; endogenous.

Epi (ep), upon; epilogue, epitaph, epiphany, epistle.

Exo, without; exogenous, exotic.

Hyper, over or above; hyperbola, hyperbole, hyperbolical, hypercritical, hyperborean.

Hypo (hyph), under; hypotenuse, hypothesis, hypocrite, hyphen.

Meta (met, meth) signifies after, change; metathesis, metonomy, method, metaphor.

Para (par), beside; parabola, paraphrase, parhelion, parody, parable.

Peri, round; perimeter, peristyle, perigee, periphery, period.

Pro, before; prologue, problem, prophet, program.

Pros, towards; prosody, proselyte.

Syn (sy, syl, sym), together with; syndic, syntax, symbol, syllogism, syllable, system, systole, synchronous, symptom, sympathy.

SUFFIXES.

4. ENGLISH (OR TEUTONIC).

Noun Suffixes.

1. Denoting a person or the doer of an action:

-er or -ar; singer, baker, beggar, liar, lawyer, bowyer (a bow-maker), sawyer, sailor, speaker, miller, (fletcher = flechier, an arrow-maker).

-nd (old present participial ending); friend (= a loving person), fiend (= a hating person), errand, wind.

-ster (originally a female agent); Spinster, songster, maltster, huckster, baxter [= bakester], (now a term of contempt); youngster, gamester, punster.

-ter, -ther, -der; daughter, father, spider (that is, spinder), mother, brother, foster (= foodster).

2. Denoting an instrument:

-der or -er; ladder, rudder, bladder (from blow), feather, weather, rudder, murder, stair, finger (from fangen, to seize).

-el or -le; shovel, girdle, shuttle, settle (a small seat), thimble.

3. Forming abstract nouns:

-dom; kingdom, earldom, freedom, thraldom, wisdom, martyrdom, Christendom.

-hood, or -head; manhood, boyhood, childhood, priesthood, Godhead, hardihood, neighbourhood, wifehood.

-ing; hunting, blessing, standing, reading, clothing.

-ness; witness (= a person who wits or knows), wilderness, darkness, goodness, redness, weakness, hardness.

-red; hatred, kindred.

-ship, -scape; friendship, lordship, worship (= worthship), hardship, fellowship, landscape (in Milton, landskip: compare skipper for shipper).

-t, -th, -st, -d; weight, height, sleight (from sly), gift, rift (from rive), theft, drought (from dry), frost, flight, warmth, health, width, death, birth, sloth (from slow), trust (from trow, to believe), flood (from flow), seed (from sow).

4. Diminutives:

-el or -le; thimble (from thumb), riddle (from read).

-en; maiden, kitten, chicken.

-ing; farthing, tithing (from tithe = tenth), riding (from thrid = third).

-kin; lambkin, mannikin, pipkin.

-ling (= l + ing); darling (from dear), duckling, suckling, hireling, gosling, fatling, firstling, nestling, underling, starveling, suckling.

-ock; bullock, hillock, paddock.

-y, -ie; lassie, Annie, Charlie, baby, Tommy, doggie.

Adjective Suffixes.

-d or -ed (originally a perfect participle-ending); hard, cold, loud: also added to nouns, as gifted, wretched, ragged, long-eared, feathered, landed.

-el or -le; fickle, brittle, little, idle, mickle (from much).

-er; lower, higher, brighter, sooner.

-er; bitter, clever.

-ern, denoting the region of the globe; northern, eastern, southern, western.

-est; lowest, highest, brightest, soonest.

-fold; manifold, twofold, threefold, hundredfold, etc.

-ful; scornful, sinful, wilful, truthful, tearful, needful, awful, dreadful, sorrowful.

-ish, -sh, or -ch, denotes partaking of the nature of; childish, foolish, slavish, swinish, churlish, waspish, whitish, goodish, brutish, girlish, boyish.

-less denotes destitute of; worthless, fearless, heedless, hopeless, tearless, sinless, godless, lawless, toothless.

-like, -ly, denotes like; warlike, childlike, womanly, manly, heavenly, godly, ghastly, likely.

-n or -en (also a perfect participle-ending); drunken, shaken, broken, molten, shorn, torn. It also denotes the material of which a thing is made, as golden, linen, wooden, silvern, flaxen, hempen, leathern.

-some denotes the possession of a quality; wholesome, blithesome, gladsome, winsome, lissom (from lithe), buxom (that is, buhsum, from bugan, to bend), quarrelsome, tiresome.

-t (like d), probably perfect participial ending; short (from sceran, to shear), blunt, tight, slight.

-ward denotes direction; homeward, heavenward, seaward, northward, awkward (from awk, contrary), toward, froward (from from).

-y or -ey denotes the possession of a quality; bloody, thirsty, guilty, woody, mighty, healthy, greedy, moody, sundry (from sunder), sticky, sorry (from sore), hairy, bushy, stony, clayey.

Verb Suffixes.

-el or -le gives a frequentative meaning to the verb; waddle (from wade), startle, sparkle, dazzle (from daze), dribble (from drip), swaddle (from swathe), dapple (from dip), crawl, kneel (from knee), struggle, mingle, hurtle.

-en denotes making or doing; fatten, broaden, soften, open (from up), lighten, sadden, gladden, sweeten, frighten, lengthen.

-er, also frequentative; glimmer, stagger, patter, flitter, flutter, wander, batter, sputter, stutter.

-k, also frequentative; stalk (from steal), hark (from hear), walk.

Adverb Suffixes.

-ere denotes place in which; here, there, where.

-es, -se, -ce, -s, which are old (possessive) genitive terminations; sometimes, besides, unawares, else, twice (= twiës), thrice, hence, thence, whence, needs, outwards.

-ly denotes manner; sweetly, sadly, cleanly.

-ther denotes direction towards; hither, thither, whither.

-ward, -wards, denote direction; homeward, homewards, heavenward, heavenwards, hitherward, inwards.

-wise, -ways, denote manner or fashion; otherwise, anywise, nowise, straightway, alway, always, sideways, lengthways.

5. LATIN.

Noun Suffixes.

1. Those denoting persons or the doer of an action:

-an, -ain; artisan, grammarian, villain.

-ant or -ent; agent, student, assistant, attendant, recreant, tenant, miscreant.

-ate, -ee, -ey, -y; legate, magistrate, advocate, curate, nominee, trustee, legatee, committee, attorney, covey, ally, deputy, jury.

-ess denotes a fem. agent; governess, traitress, empress, duchess.

-ive, -iff; captive, fugitive, caitiff, plaintiff.

-tor, -sor, -or, -our, -er, -eer, -ier, -ar, -ary; doctor, successor, chancellor, emperor, actor, Saviour, founder, enchanter, governor, preacher, juror, author, monitor, victor, auditor, sponsor, engineer, auctioneer, grenadier, brigadier, registrar, usher, archer, farrier, vicar, premier, lapidary.

-trix, female agent; executrix.

2. Those forming Abstract Nouns:

-age; age, homage, savage, marriage, voyage, tillage, courage, personage, breakage, salvage. (Tonnage, bondage, shrinkage are hybrids.)

-ance, -ancy, -ence, -ency; distance, constancy, infancy, consistence, resistance, decency, consistency, persistence, conveyance, cadence, chance (a form of cadence).

-ice, -ise; avarice, service, merchandise, justice, exercise.

-ion, -tion, -sion, -som, -son, originally denoted the action of a verb; action, potion, opinion, poison, venison, malison, fusion, reason, tension, lection, ransom, season, position, nation, occasion.

-or, -our; labour, honour, ardour, savour, clamour, amour.

-tude; servitude, latitude, fortitude, altitude, longitude, magnitude, custom (from consuetudo).

-ty, -ity; cruelty, charity, bounty, poverty, fealty, city, vanity.

-ure; juncture, censure, culture, measure, cincture, picture, inclosure.

-y, -cy, -ce; family, copy, memory, story, victory, misery, aristocracy, fancy, grace.

3. Diminutives:

-el, -le; damsel, mongrel.

-et, -let; pocket, rivulet.

-ette; coquette, rosette.

-icle, -cule; article, animalcule.

-ule; globule, granule.

Adjective Suffixes.

-able, -ible, -ble; culpable, probable, flexible, edible, capable, soluble, feeble, amiable.

-acious denotes tendency, generally excessive; loquacious, veracious, vivacious, tenacious, voracious.

-al, -ar; comical, regal, legal, general, regular, singular, loyal, royal, equal, secular.

-an, -ane, -ain, -en, -on; human, urban, pagan, humane, mundane, certain, mizzen (from medius). Surgeon and sexton have become nouns.

-aneous, -ain, -aign, -eign, -ange; cutaneous, mountain, champaign, foreign, strange.

-ant, -ent; volant, fluent, patent, innocent.

-ary, -arian, -arious; stationary, contrary, necessary, gregarious, agrarian.

-ate, -ete, -eet, -ite, -ute, -te; fortunate, deliberate, concrete, effete, discreet, erudite, minute, chaste.

-estrial, -estrian; terrestrial, equestrian.

-ic; civic, classic, barbaric, unique.

-id; fervid, morbid, acid, tepid.

-ile, -il, -eel, -le; servile, senile, fragile, civil, frail, genteel, gentle, able.

-ine denotes belonging to; feminine, divine, feline, lacustrine, canine, equine, saline.

-ive, inclined to; pensive, massive, captive, plaintive, restive, native, fugitive, active.

-ous, -ose, denote full of; famous, ingenuous, glorious, copious, assiduous, querulous, anxious, verbose, grandiose, jocose, dangerous.

-ory; illusory, amatory, admonitory.

-und; jocund, moribund, floribund, rotund.

Verb Suffixes.

-ate; advocate, complicate, anticipate, supplicate, eradicate.

-eer; domineer, career, volunteer.

-esce denotes the beginning of an action; effervesce, coalesce.

-fy denotes to make (from facio), magnify, terrify, qualify, signify.

-ish; nourish, perish, cherish, finish, flourish, banish, punish.

-ite, -ete, -t; expedite, delete, perfect, conduct, reflect, connect.

6. GREEK.

Noun Suffixes.

-et, -t, -ete, -ate, denote the agent; poet, prophet, athlete, comet, planet, apostate, æsthete(?), patriot.

-isk has diminutive signification; asterisk, obelisk.

-ism denotes the result of an action; deism, fatalism, egotism, criticism, aneurism.

-ist denotes the agent; baptist, sophist, evangelist.

-ma, -em, -me, -m, denote the result of an action; diorama, drama, dogma, system, scheme, theme, diadem, phlegm, enema.

-sis, -sy, -se, denote action; crisis, poesy, phase, genesis, emphasis, paralysis, hypocrisy, ellipse, phrensy.

-ter, -tre, denote the instrument; metre, centre.

Verb Suffixes.

-ise signifies to do; criticise, baptise, eulogise.