EE

The suffix -ee is used to denote nouns related to the object or beneficiary of an act or the performer of an act. It is often used in everyday and technical terms.

The form -ee comes from the French suffixes –é (masculine) and ée (feminine), which are used to designate past participles, much like how -ed is used in English. The suffixes –é and ée come from Latin -ātus (masculine) and -āta (feminine), of the same meaning.

A common word that uses the suffix -ee is absentee, “a person who is absent, especially from work or school.”

The word absent- here means “to take or keep (oneself) away.” The suffix -ee denotes the performer of an act. Absentee literally translates to “someone who takes or keeps oneself away.”

What are some words that use the combining form -ee?

• asylee
• devotee
• employee (using the equivalent form of -ee in French)
• parolee
• trainee
• tutee

What are some other forms that -ee may be commonly confused with?

• -ed
• -eer

Not every word that ends with the exact letters -ee, such as tree or bee, is necessarily using the suffix -ee to denote the performer of an act. Learn where the word bee comes from at our entry for the word.

Given the meaning of the suffix -ee, what does employee literally mean?