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Nominal suffixes
Suffixes Bases Meaning Example Note
-express an
-coverage,
activity (or
leakage,
its result) -
nouns spillage -
denoting a
-age acreage,
verb collective
voltage,
entity or
yardage -
quantity -
orphanage
locations
-arrival,
nouns -action or
overthrowal, -al all have their main stress on
-al the result of
verb recital, referral, the last syllable
an action
renewal
-we would find -ance nominals
only if there are corresponding -
ant adjectives. Ex: riddance
(∗riddant), furtherance
-ance (with
adjectives -absorbance, (∗furtherant) -derived from
its variants -
-action riddance, adjectives that in turn would be
ence/-ancy/- verb retardance derived from verbs -The suffix is
ency)
closely related to -ce/-cy, which
attaches productively to
adjectives ending in the suffix -
ant/-ent. Ex: dependency

Nominal suffixes 1
 Suffixes Bases Meaning Example Note

-persons
(often in
technical or
-applicant,
legal
defendant,
discourse) -
disclaimant -
to
-ant verb attractant,
substances
dispersant,
involved in
etchant,
biological,
suppressant
chemical,
or physical
processes

-this suffix attaches productively

-denote to adjectives in -ant/-ent (e.g.
states, convergence, efficiency,
properties, emergence) -also to nouns
-convergence -
-ce/-cy adjectives qualities or endingin this string, as isthe
presidency
facts -office casewith agency, presidency,
or regency -adjectives in -ate are
institution eligible bases (adequacy,
animacy, intimacy)

-apedom,
-state of
clerkdom,
being X -
slumdom,
collective The native suffix -dom is
yuppiedom -
entities - semantically closely related to -
-dom nouns professordom,
denote hood and -ship, which express
studentdom -
domains, similar concepts
kingdom,
realms or
cameldom,
territories
maoridom

Nominal suffixes 2
 Suffixes Bases Meaning Example Note

-ee derivatives must be sentient -

-denoting
If base words end in the verbal
sentient
suffix -ate the base words are
entities that
-employee, frequently truncated and lose
nouns are
biographee, their final rime (-ee attachment
-ee involved in
verb amputee, would create identical onsets in
an event as
standee the final syllables) ex:
non-
∗ampu.ta.tee (cf. truncated
volitional
amputee), ∗rehabili.ta.tee (cf.
participants
rehabilitee).
-person
-auctioneer, -The suffix -eer is autostressed
who deals
budgeteer, and attaches almost exclusively
in, is
-eer nouns cameleer, to bases ending in a stressed
concerned
mountaineer, syllable followed by an
with, or has
pamphleteer unstressed syllable.
to do with X

-active or
volitional -teacher, singer, -the semantics of -er should be
participants writer -blender, described as rather
in an event mixer, steamer, underspecified, simply meaning
-nouns - toaster -diner, something like ‘person or thing
-er (and its
activity - lounger, trainer, having to do with X.’ -er is often
orthographic verb
person winner - described as a deverbal suffix -
variant -or)
nouns Londoner, New The orthographic variant -or
indicating Yorker, occurs mainly with Latinate bases
place of Highlander, ending in /s/ or t/, such as
origin or New Englander conductor, oscillator, compressor.
residence

Nominal suffixes 3
 Suffixes Bases Meaning Example Note

-bakery,
brewery,
fishery, pottery
-locations
or cakery,
where a
carwashery,
specific
eatery - -but examples such as mousery,
activity is
confectionery, cannery, rabbitry speak for an
nouns carried out
cutlery, underspecified meaning, which is
-(e)ry or a specific
verb machinery, then fleshed out for each
article or
pottery - derivative on the basis of the
service is
summitry meaning of the base.
available -
‘having many
collectivities
political
-activities
summits,’
crookery ‘foul
deeds’

-female -princess,
humans stewardess,
and lioness, tigress,
-ess nouns animals - waitress -
twentieth- hostess,
century burgheress,
coinages clerkess

-bootful, cupful,
handful,
-ful nouns -containers
tumblerful,
stickful
-As with other suffixes,
-adulthood,
metaphorical extensions can
childhood,
create new meanings, for
-state - farmerhood -
-hood nouns example the sense ‘area’ in the
collectivity beggarhood,
highly frequent neighborhood,
Christianhood,
which originates in the collectivity
companionhood
sense of the suffix

Nominal suffixes 4
 Suffixes Bases Meaning Example Note

-person -technician,
-Many -(i)an derivatives are also
having to historian,
used as adjectives -Most words
do with X - Utopian -
belonging to this category are
being from Bostonian,
-(i)an (and stressed on the syllable
X or being Lancastrian,
its variant - nouns immediately preceding the suffix,
of X origin - Mongolian,
ean) exhibiting stress shifts where
being the Scandinavian -
necessary (e.g. Hungary–
follower or Anglican,
´Hungarian ´ , Egypt–Eg ´ yptian ´
supporter of Chomskyan,
)
X Smithsonian

-begging,
running,
-processes sleeping -
-ing verb
-results building,
wrapping,
stuffing
-ion has three allomorphs: when
attached to a verb in -ify, the
verbal suffix and -ion surface
together as -ification
-events or -concentration,
(personification). When attached
results of occasion,
to a verb ending in -ate, we find -
nouns processes - communication
ion (accompanied by a change of
-ion chemical or -epoxide–
verb the base-final consonant from [t]
other epoxidation,
to [ʃ], hyphenation), and we find
substances sediment–
the allomorph -ation in all other
as bases sedimentation
cases (starvation, colonization). -
ion belongs to the class of
suffixes that can cause a stress
shift.

-blondism,
-state,
Parkinsonism,
condition,
adjectives conservatism,
attitude,
-ism racism,
nouns system of
revisionism,
beliefs or
Marxism,
theory
respectively

Nominal suffixes 5
 Suffixes Bases Meaning Example Note

-balloonist,
adjectives -person
careerist,
-ist having to
nouns fantasist,
do with X
minimalist

-All adjectives ending in the

suffixes -able, -al and -ic orin the
-curiosity,
-qualities, phonetic string [id] can take -ityas
productivity,
-ity adjectives states or a nominalizing suffix (readability,
profundity,
properties formality, erraticity, solidity). -
solidity
many -ity derivatives are
lexicalized

-assessment,
-processes endorsement,
-ment verb
or results involvement,
treatment
-smoothness,
adjectives -qualities,
stubbornness,
-ness states or
nouns exactness,
properties
brightness

-apprenticeship,
clerkship,
-state or friendship,
condition - membership,
-ship nouns office - statesmanship,
courting or vicarship -
censorship postmastership,
activity -
censoring

Nominal suffixes 6