The following are some affixes found in English words. They are organized by function, and within each class, by whether they are native or borrowed.
Affix | Source Lg. | Composition | Examples |
---|---|---|---|
Adjective-forming suffixes | |||
-ish | Native | N + -ish 'like an N' | bearish |
ADJ + -ish 'rather, somewhat' | yellowish, longish | ||
-like | Native | N + like 'like an N' | child-like, squid-like |
-y | Native | N + y | funny, happy, heavy
|
-al | Latin, French | N + al | burial, conical, cortical |
-an | |||
-ane | |||
-ant, -ent | Latin, French | V + -ent, -ant | dependent, formant, lieutenant, tenant, supplicant < |
-ar | Latin | N + ar | planar, lunar |
-ate | Latin | N + ate | articulate (also v.) |
-ary | Latin | root + ary | unitary, binary, solitary |
-esque | French | V + esque | statuesque |
-ic | Latin | N + ic | formic, terrific |
-id | Latin | N + id | liquid, gelid, squalid |
-ile | Latin | N + ile | senile, juvenile, penile |
-ine | Latin | N + ine | feline, canine, porcine, asinine |
-it | |||
-ite | |||
-ive | Latin | V + ive | active, furtive |
-oid | Greek | N + oid | ovoid, rhomboid, |
-ose | Latin | N + ose | adipose |
-ory | Latin | V + ory | dormitory, refectory |
-ous | Latin, often via French | ADJ + (i) + ous | generous |
Verb-forming suffixes | |||
-en | Native | V + en | redden, whiten, blacken |
-ate | Latin | Verb stem + ate | aerate, create, incinerate |
-ize | Greek | N or ADJ + ize | empathize, cannibalize, metabolize |
-ify | French (from Latin) | N, V ADJ + ify | deify, terrify, amplify |
Noun-forming suffixes | |||
-yx (rare morpheme) | Greek | root + yx | calyx, apteryx |
-ion | Latin | N + (other stem material) + ion | compression, deviation |
-y | Latin, French | verb stem + y | inquiry |
Negative prefixes | |||
un- | Native | un-ADJ | untrue, uncaring |
a/an- | Greek | a-/an- + ROOT | anaerobic, atheist, anemic |
dis- | Latin | dis + ROOT | disbelief, disinter, dislocate |
in-/im-/ir-/il- | Latin | in + ROOT | indivisible, inimitable, inconsequential, immobile, illegible |
non- | Latin | non + ROOT | non-academic, nonbinding, nonentity |
anti- | Latin | anti + ROOT 'against (root)' | anti-defamation, anti-government |
© Suzanne Kemmer