AFFIXATION
An affix is any element in the morphological structure of a word other than a root. For
example, the word unkinder consists of the root kind plus the two affixes un- and –er.
Hence, affixation is used for the process of adding an affix. Affixes are traditionally
divided into: a.suffixes, which come after the form to which they are joined, e.g. –ness in
sadness, thus suffixation is used for the process of adding a suffix; b.prefixes, which
come before the form to which they are joined, e.g. un- in unkind; prefixation is thus the
process of adding a prefix; c.infixes, which are inserted within it. The focus of this chapter
is on suffixes and prefixes.
The following suffixes were originally Latin. They have been included here because
they came into English directly from these Romanic languages.
-ade A suffix meaning: 1. the act of, e.g. blockade, cascade 2. the result or
product of, e.g. orangeade, pomade, lemonade, and 3. participants in an
action, e.g. brigade, parade, cavalcade.
-age This noun-forming suffix means: 1. act, condition, or result of, e.g.
marriage, cleavage, usage 2. amount or number of, e.g. acreage 3. cost of,
e.g.postage 4. place of, e.g. steerage 5. collection of, e.g. peerage 6. home of,
hermitage; the suffix appears in many words borrowed directly from French
into Middle English, e.g. savage, voyage.
-ance, -ence This suffix means: 1.action, state, process denoted by the
verb: acceptance, assistance, disturbance, entrance, and resistance; 2. state or
quality described by adjectives: arrogance, elegance, importance,
insignificance, irrelevance, reluctance.
-ancy, -ency Same as –ance; the –y ending is a modern extension of the –
e ending.
-ant, -ent In combination with verbs, the suffix refers to occupations,
participations, or one who does something: applicant, assistant, attendant,
defendant, immigrant, inhabitant, and participant. It also refers to a thing or
substance that has a specific effect: coolant, defoliant, disinfectant,
pollutant; sometimes, as in the case of the adjectives dependent and
descendent, nouns are distinguished from adjectives by using –ant for the
noun and –ent for the adjective.
-ary Nouns formed in this way refer to a person or thing connected with, a
place for: antiquary, beneficiary, intermediary, missionary, secretary, aviary,
library, infirmary, and seminary.
-ation The suffix combines with verbs to form nouns which refer to the
state or process described by the verb; there are variations of the spelling:
-ation, -ition, -sion, -tion: action, conclusion, creation, decision, education,
exhibition, information, operation, organizition.
-ee Nouns formed in this way refer to the recipient of a specified action or
to a person in a particular condition: addressee, employee, examinee, and
absentee.
-eer Nouns formed with this suffix refer to a person or thing that has to do
with something: auctioneer, engineer, mountaineer or to a person, who
writes, makes: pamphleteer, profiteer.
-ery The suffix combines with verbs to form nouns which refer to an
action: bribery, cookery, delivery, forgery, recovery, robbery; other nouns
describe a type of behaviour: bravery, foolery, savagery, snobbery; the suffix
also combines with verbs or nouns to form new nouns which refer to a place
where something is done or kept: bakery, brewery, distillery, fishery,
refinery, winery; some words ending in –ery refer to a group or collection of
objects of a particular kind: artillery, drapery, imagery, jewellery, scenery.
-ese Nouns formed with this suffix refer to: 1. a native or inhabitant:
Chinese, Japanese, Maltese 2. a language or dialect: Lebanese, Chinese,
Portuguese 3. the style of: journalese.
-ess Nouns formed with this suffix refer to a woman or female animal:
actress, duchess, empress, lioness, hostess, princess, stewardess, tigress,
waitress; today often avoided as discriminating or patronizing.
-et, -ette The suffix is added to nouns, meaning “little”: piglet, islet, and
eaglet.
-ian Nouns containing this suffix refer to a person whose job or hobby
implies the thing denoted by the original noun: comedian, electrician,
historian, musician, physician, and politician.
-ibility The suffix combines with adjectives to form nouns that refer to the
state or quality denoted by the adjective, or to something defined by that
state or quality: accessibility, credibility, possibility, visibility.
-ice A suffix meaning: “state”, “condition”, or “quality”: justice, armistice,
malice.
-ier A noun forming suffix meaning: “a person concerned with (a specified
action or thing)” : furrier, glazier, and bombardier.
-ine The suffix is : 1.added to bases of Latin origin to form nouns derived
from them, e.g. divine 2. used to form feminine nouns: heroine, Josephine 3.
used to form certain abstract nouns, e.g. doctrine, medicine 4. used to form
the names of certain products and substances: benzine, chlorine, iodine,
morphine.
-ism This suffix: 1. occurs in nouns which refer to particular beliefs, or to
behaviour based on these beliefs, e.g. atheism, fascism, feminism, optimism,
pessimism; it also combines with this meaning with nouns and adjectives in
order to form new nouns which refer to beliefs and behaviour based on the
thing reffered to or described by the original noun or adjective, e.g.
absenteeism, barbarism, capitalism, Catholicism, cynicism, modernism,
realism, skepticism, terrorism; in other nouns it refers to a form of
discrimination based on the thing described by the original noun: racism,
sexism, and 2. combines with some verbs ending in –ize or –ise; nouns
formed in this way refer to the process described by the verb, or to an
instance of that process, e.g. baptism, criticism, hypnotism, magnetism.
-ist A noun-forming suffix, corresponding to verbs ending in –ize or nouns
ending in –ism, denoting : 1. a person whose behaviour is based on a set of
beliefs, e.g. feminist, atheist, fascist, optimist; other nouns containing the
suffix refer to someone whose beliefs and behaviour are based on the thing
described by the original noun or adjective: communist, extremist, idealist,
impressionist, realist, terrorist 2. a peson whose work or study implies the
thing described by the original noun, e.g. artist, cartoonist, dentist, dramatist,
economist, novelist, therapist; the suffix also combines with nouns ending in
‘-logy’, as in archeologist, biologist, ecologist 3. a person who plays an
instrument: bassist, cellist, pianist, violinist.
-let Nouns containing this suffix denote things that are smaller than
whatever the noun refers to, e.g. booklet, droplet, eaglet, piglet, rivulet,
starlet; the suffix also occurs in nouns that refer to jewellery: bracelet,
armlet, and wrislet.
-ty A noun-forming suffix meaning : “quality of”, “condition of”, e.g.
novelty, safety.
-y A noun-forming meaning:”quality”, “condition”: jealousy, victory,
glory; it also means “ action”, e.g. inquiry, entreaty.
We have included here suffixes that might also have appeared in the preceding list,
since they may be regarded as French as well as Latin.
-al Nouns containing this suffix refer to the action described by the word
of origin, e.g. betrayal, burial, denial, dismissal, portrayal, renewal.
-an The suffix combines with nouns of places to describe someone or
something coming from that place: (a final ‘a’ is replaced by ‘-an’) African,
American; (a final ‘y’ is replaced by ‘-ian’; when the place name ends in a
consonant, ‘-ian’ is added to the end) Italian, Iranian; note some exception:
Belgian, Norwegian, Moroccan.
-ana
A noun-forming suffix meaning: “sayings”, “writings”, or “facts” of, e.g.
Americana, Churchilliana.
-ar A noun-forming suffix denoting “agency”: bursar, vicar; -ar is
equivalent to –er.
-arian
Nouns containing this suffix show that somebody or something is associated
with a particular thing ( age, social belief, occupation, sect), e.g. agrarian,
humanitarian, librarian, totalitarian, octogenarian.
-arch A noun-forming suffix meaning: “ruler”, e.g. matriarch, monarch.
-ate This suffix denotes: 1. an office, function, agent, official: episcopate,
potentate, directorate 2. a person or thing that is the object of (an action):
legate, mandate 3. (chemistry) a salt made from ( an acid): acetate, nitrate.
-cide A suffix meaning ‘killer’, ‘killing’; it occurs in nouns which have one
of these words as part of their meaning: fratricide, genocide, homicide,
insecticide, pesticide, suicide.
-cy Nouns containing this suffix refer to: 1. quality, condition, state, e.g.
accuracy, delicacy, diplomacy, efficiency, fluency, intimacy, pregnancy,
privacy, redundancy 2. position, rank, or office of, e.g. advocacy, candidacy,
presidency, regency.
-escence This suffix corresponds to the adjective suffix –scent, e.g.
obsolescence.
-gon This form means: “a figure having a specified number of angles”,
e.g. hexagon, pentagon, decagon, octagon.
-gram This is combining form occurs in nouns that refer to: 1. something
that is written or drawn, e.g. anagram, diagram, hologram, pictogram,
telegram 2. weights, e.g. kilogram, milligram.
-graph This form occurs in nouns that have “writing”, “drawing”, or
“record” as part of their meaning, e.g. autograph, monograph, paragraph,
photograph, telegraph.
-ic A noun-forming suffix meaning: 1. a person or thing affected by,
showing, e.g. paraplegic, hysteric, hypnotic 2.adhering to, e.g. Gnostic, and
3.belonging to, e.g. cynic, Philippic.
-ics Nouns containing this suffix refer to a subject or an area of study or
activity: politics, physics, mathematics, linguistics, economics, athletics,
aeronautics, and acoustics.
-ina A suffix used to form feminine names, titles, occupational
designations, e.g. Christina, czarina, ballerina.
-ion Nouns formed with this suffix refer to a state or process, or to an
instance of that process, e.g. action, collection, conclusion, connection,
creation, education, examination, imagination, operation, production,
realization, situation; note the variation of the spelling of –ion, the most
common ones being –ation, -ition, -tion, -sion.
-ite A noun-forming suffix meaning: 1. a native, inhabitant, citizen of:
Brooklynite 2. offspring of: Israelite 3. a follower or supporter of:
Thatcherite 4.a product ( esp. a commercially manufactured one): dynamite,
vulcanite 5.a salt or ester of an acid: nitrite, sulfite 6. a rock or mineral:
anthracite.
-ition. See –ion
-itis This suffix occurs in nouns that refer to an illness, e.g. appendicitis,
bronchitis, hepatitis; it also occurs in nonce words (meaning “obsession” or
“preoccupation” with the thing denoted by the original noun), e.g. golfitis,
weddingitis.
-ity A suffix meaning: “state”, “condition”, “character”, e.g. absurdity,
complexity, creativity, diversity, equality, formality, generosity, immunity,
originality, security, superiority.
-logue The suffix occurs in wors that have “speaking” or “discussion” as
part of their meaning, e.g. dialogue, Decalogue, epilogue, monologue,
prologue.
-mania This combining form occurs in nouns which refer to a (specified)
type of mental disorder characterized by an abnormal preoccupation,
compulsion, e.g. kleptomania, megalomania, egomania.
-ment Nouns containing this suffix refer to the process of making or doing
something, or to the result of this process: abandonment, achievement,
amusement, argument, assignement, management, development, movement,
improvement, replacement, requirement, and retirement.
-meter Nouns containing this form refer to devices for measuring:
barometer, chronometer, hydrometer, and pedometer.
-mony A noun-forming suffix meaning: ‘a resulting thing’, ‘condition’, or
‘state’: patrimony, matrimony.
-ology A combining form meaning: “area of study” or “system”, e.g.
astrology, ecology, mythology, neurology, sociology, psychology and
technology.
-or Nouns containing this suffix refer to people who do the action
described by the original verb, e.g. actor, advisor, collector, commentator,
conspirator, creator, director, editor, governor, inventor, invigilator, narrator,
prosecutor, and supervisor; in other nouns it refers to things rather than
persons: elevator, calculator, compressor, escalator, reactor and refrigerator.
-ory A noun-forming suffix meaning: ‘place’ or ‘thing’ for: laboratory,
lavatory
-osis Nouns containing the suffix refer to a process or state, e.g. hypnosis,
metamorphosis, osmosis, prognosis; other nouns refer to an illness or
disease: neurosis, tuberculosis, sclerosis.
-phile A combining form meaning: “loving”, “favourably disposed to”, e.g.
Anglophile, Francophile, bibliophile.
-phobia A combining form meaning: “fear”, “dread”, “hatred”, e.g.
agoraphobia, claustrophobia, hydrophobia, xenophobia.
-phone This form occurs in words that refer to instruments that produce,
amplify, or transmit sound, e.g. gramophone, microphone, saxophone,
telephone, and xylophone.
--tion. See –ion
-trix This form of some feminine nouns of agent, corresponds to –or, e.g.
aviatrix, executrix.
-tude A noun-forming suffix corresponding to –ness, e.g. certitude,
attitude, gratitude.
--ure The suffix combines with verbs to form nouns that refer to the action
or state described by the verb, e.g. closure, departure, exposure, failure,
pleasure, procedure, sculpture.
-ed This suffix combines with verbs to form past participles which are used
as adjectives, e.g. cooked (meat), excited (boy), retired (teacher); it also
combines with nouns to form adjectives which describe someone or
something as having a particular feature, e.g. bearded (man); some past
participles ending in –ed combine with other words to form compound
adjectives, e.g. blue-eyed (boy).
-en Adjectives containing this suffix describe something that is made from
or resembles the substance referred to by the original noun: golden, silken,
wooden, and woolen.
-er The suffix combines with other adjectives to form comparative
adjectives, e.g. older, softer, younger, narrower, tinier.
-est The suffix combines with other adjectives to form superlative
adjectives, e.g. tallest, fattest, coldest, thickest, youngest, happiest, and
simplest.
-fold Adjectives containing the suffix denote something as having a
specified number of parts , e.g. twofold, threefold.
-ful Adjectives formed with this suffix denote someone or something as
having much of the characteristic or quality mentioned: boastful, cheerful,
delightful, graceful, harmful, powerful, shameful, thankful, and youthful.
-ing The suffix combines with the base form of the verb to form the present
participle; when the present participles of transitive verbs are used as
adjectives, they denote the effect something has on someone’s behaviour or
feelings, e.g. amusing (novel), disgusting (behaviour); when the present
participles of intransitive verbs are used as adjectives, they denote a
continuing process or state: persisting (calamities).
-ish The suffix occurs in words which refer to the people, language or
features of a region, e.g. British, Finnish, Scottish, Turkish; adjectives
containing this suffix also describe something as not having much of the
characteristics denoted by the original adjective, e.g. longish, backish,
darkish, reddish, smallish, warmish, youngish; other combinations describe
one person or thing as being like another: boyish, foolish, childish.
-less A suffix meaning: “without”, “lacking”: airless, effortless, endless,
harmless, helpless, motherless, restless, useless, speechless; adjectives
containing the suffix also refer to someone or something exceeding a
category, e.g. timeless, priceless, numberless, ageless.
-like In combinations with nouns the suffix forms adjectives which
describe things that are similar to whatever the nouns refer to, e.g. childlike,
clock-like, desert-like, dog-like, dreamlike, honey-like.
-ly An adjective-forming suffix meaning: “like”, “characteristic of”,
“typical of”, or “suitable for”: brotherly, deadly, friendly, kindly, lively,
lonely, lively, motherly, sisterly, womanly, worldly.
-most A suffix used in forming superlatives: easternmost, hindmost,
lowermost, nethermost, innermost, outermost, uppermost.
-some It combines with nouns and verbs to form new adjectives that refer to
characteristics of people and things, e.g. bothersome, fearsome, flavoursome,
tiresome, quarrelsome.
-ward Adjectives containing –ward refer to direction or course (homeward
journey, eastward ride); note that words formed with –wards are mainly used
as adverbs.
-worthy Adjectives that contain this combinig form describe people or
things that deserve or merit whatever the original word refers to, e.g.
newsworthy, noteworthy, praiseworthy, and trustworthy.
-y An adjective-forming suffix meaning: “having”, “full of”, “characterized
by”, “inclined, tending to”, “suggestive of, somewhat like”, e.g. bloody,
cloudy, dirty, dusty, foggy, hairy, rainy, smoky, snowy, sunny, thirsty.
-en Verbs containing this suffix describe the process of causing something
to have a particular quality. E.g. blacken, fatten, harden, lighten, sharpen,
shorten, weaken.
-le A suffix used with frequentative force, e.g. babble, prattle.
I.1.5. PREFIXES