ship

The suffix –ship is used to form nouns to indicate a “state of being” or “skill.” It is often used in everyday and technical terms.

The suffix –ship comes from Old English –scipe, meaning “shape.” Yes, shape. Discover why at our entry for shape. The Latin-derived equivalent of –scipe is –form, from Latin –fōrmis, meaning “having the shape of.” This suffix appears in words such as fungiform and oviform. To learn more, check out our Words That Use article on –form.

An example of a word you may have encountered that features –ship is scholarship, “learning; knowledge acquired by study.”

The scholar– part of the word means “student” or “learned person.” As we have seen, –ship means “state of being” or “skill.” Scholarship literally means “the state of being a student” or “skill of learning.”

What are some words that use the equivalent of the combining form –ship in Old or Middle English?

• craftsmanship
• friendship
• hardship
• lordship
• township
• worship

What are some other forms that –ship may be commonly confused with?

• -shire

Not every word that ends with the exact letters –ship, such as transship, is necessarily using the combining form –ship to denote “state of being.” Learn why transship means “to transfer” at our entry for the word.

Given the meaning of the suffix –ship, what does friendship literally mean?