ers

¹ American  

[urs, airs] / ɜrs, ɛərs /

noun

1. ervil.

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-ers ² American  

1. a semantically empty suffix that creates informal variations of more neutral nouns and adjectives by processes of truncation identical to those of -er (champers; preggers; starkers ); unlike that suffix, however, -ers is apparently productive, and words formed with it do not appear to belong to a restricted linguistic register, as university slang.

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ERS ³ American  

Or E.R.S.

1. Emergency Radio Service.

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ERS British  

abbreviation

1. earnings related supplement

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Etymology

Origin of ers¹

Middle French < Old Provençal < Late Latin ervus, variant of Latin ervum. See ervil

Origin of -ers¹

Perhaps a conflation of -er ⁷ with the final element of bonkers and crackers in the sense “wild, crazy” (unless these words themselves contain this suffix); -s ³

Example Sentences

Gen Z is still a far more liberal generation than Gen X–ers or boomers.

From Slate

The takeaway is not that Gen Z–ers are uniformly progressive, but that their progressivism is uneven.

From Slate

If the narrative that Gen Z is uniquely progressive were true, we would expect Gen Z–ers to be more progressive than older generations by outright rejecting sexist statements.

From Slate

An estimated 55% of Gen Z investors own some crypto, according to the CFA Institute, compared with just 39% of Gen X–ers.

From MarketWatch

A prison officer has been suspended and no removals from HMP Chelmsford under the ERS will take place this week.

From BBC