hood
1Origin of hood
1OTHER WORDS FROM hood
hoodless, adjectivehoodlike, adjectiveOther definitions for hood (2 of 5)
Origin of hood
2Other definitions for hood (3 of 5)
or hood
Origin of 'hood
Other definitions for hood (4 of 5)
Other definitions for hood (5 of 5)
Origin of -hood
WORDS THAT USE -HOOD
What does -hood mean?
The suffix –hood is used to indicate “a state of being” or “a group of a particular characteristic or class.” It is often used in a variety of technical and everyday terms.
The form –hood comes from Old English hād, meaning “condition” or “rank.” Similar suffixes in Latin include –itās and –tūdō, both of which indicate a state of being and are the sources of the English suffixes –ity and –tude. Check out our entries for both suffixes to learn how frequently they appear.
Examples of -hood
An example of a word you may have encountered that features –hood is adulthood, “the state or period of being fully grown, fully developed, or of age.”
The adult– portion of the word means, naturally enough, “adult,” from Latin adultus. As we have seen, –hood refers to “a state of being.” Adulthood literally means “the state of being an adult.”
What are some words that use the equivalent form of –hood in Middle English?
What are some other forms that –hood may be commonly confused with?
Break it down!
Given the meaning of -hood, what does sisterhood mean?