-ory
1 American
-ory
2
American
-ory
1
British
suffix
-
indicating a place for
observatory
-
something having a specified use
directory
-ory
2
British
suffix
Etymology
Origin of -ory1
Middle English -orie < Anglo-French; Old French -oire < Latin -ōrius, extracted from -tōrius -tory 1; -or 2
Origin of -ory2
Middle English -orie < Anglo-French; Old French -oire < Latin -ōrium, extracted from -tōrium -tory 2; -ory 1, -or 2
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.