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suffix

[noun suhf-iks; verb suhf-iks, suh-fiks]
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noun
  1. Grammar. an affix that follows the element to which it is added, as -ly in kindly.
  2. something added to the end of something else.
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verb (used with object)
  1. Grammar. to add as a suffix.
  2. to affix at the end of something.
  3. to fix or put under.
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verb (used without object) Grammar.
  1. to admit a suffix.
  2. to add a suffix.
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Origin of suffix

1595–1605; < New Latin suffixum, noun use of neuter of Latin suffixus (past participle of suffīgere to attach on top of), equivalent to suf- suf- + fixus (see fix)
Related formssuf·fix·al [suhf-ik-suh l, suh-fik-] /ˈsʌf ɪk səl, səˈfɪk-/, adjectivesuf·fix·a·tion [suhf-ik-sey-shuh n] /ˌsʌf ɪkˈseɪ ʃən/, suf·fix·ion [suh-fik-shuh n] /səˈfɪk ʃən/, nounun·suf·fixed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for suffixes

Historical Examples

  • Had Omar explained the Koran or had views on the suffixes of words, all would have been well.

    A Boswell of Baghdad

    E. V. Lucas

  • In the following chart the suffixes are constant while the root varies.

  • In adjectives we have suffixes of degree (comparison: -er, -est).

  • As explained above, these suffixes may be piled one on another.

  • We also form many adverbs by the addition of suffixes to other words.

    Plain English

    Marian Wharton

British Dictionary definitions for suffixes

suffix

noun (ˈsʌfɪks)
  1. grammar an affix that follows the stem to which it is attached, as for example -s and -ness in dogs and softnessCompare prefix (def. 1)
  2. anything that is added at the end of something else
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verb (ˈsʌfɪks, səˈfɪks)
  1. (tr) grammar to add (a morpheme) as a suffix to the end of a word
  2. (tr) to add (something) at the end of a sentence, comment, or piece of writing
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Derived Formssuffixal (ˈsʌfɪksəl), adjectivesuffixion (sʌˈfɪkʃən), noun

Word Origin

C18: from New Latin suffixum, from Latin suffixus fastened below, from suffīgere, from sub- + fīgere to fasten
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

Word Origin and History for suffixes

suffix

n.

1778, from Modern Latin suffixum, noun use of neuter of Latin suffixus "fastened," past participle of suffigere "fasten, fix on, fasten below," from sub "upon" (see sub-) + figere "fasten" (see fix (v.)).

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suffix

v.

in the grammatical sense, 1778, from suffix (n.). Related: Suffixed; suffixing.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
suffixes in Culture

suffix

A letter or a group of letters added to the end of a word to change its meaning. For example, adding the suffix -ter to the adjective hot turns it into the comparative adjective hotter, and adding the suffix -ly to the adjective quick turns it into the adverb quickly. Other examples of words with suffixes are: “willing,” “management,” “serviceable,” “harmonize,” and “joyful.” (Compare prefix.)

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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.