desinence

[ des-uh-nuhns ]

/ ˈdɛs ə nəns /

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noun

a termination or ending, as the final line of a verse.

Grammar. a termination, ending, or suffix of a word.

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Origin of desinence

1590–1600; <French <Medieval Latin dēsinentia, equivalent to Latin dēsinent- (stem of dēsinēns), present participle of dēsinere to put down, leave (dē-de- + sinere to leave) + -ia-ia; see -ence

OTHER WORDS FROM desinence

des·i·nent, des·i·nen·tial

[des-uh-nen-shuhl], /ˌdɛs əˈnɛn ʃəl/, adjective

Words nearby desinence

designer gene, designing, designment, desilver, desilverize, desinence, desipramine, desirable, desire, desired, Desire Under the Elms

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use desinence in a sentence

Conservation must, therefore, be the rule, and desinence the impossible exception.
Life: Its True Genesis|R. W. Wright
Unquestionably the incomers from Brabant and Flanders, whether as troopers or artisans, gave a great impulse to the desinence.
Curiosities of Puritan Nomenclature|Charles W. Bardsley

British Dictionary definitions for desinence

desinence

/ (ˈdɛsɪnəns) /

noun

grammar an ending or termination, esp an inflectional ending of a word

Derived forms of desinence

desinent or desinential (ˌdɛsɪˈnɛnʃəl), adjective

Word Origin for desinence

C16: from French désinence, from Latin dēsinēns ending, from dēsinere to leave off, from de- + sinere to leave, permit

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012