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-y

//i// suffix

Definitions

Suffix
  1. 1
    Added to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives meaning “having the quality of”, either “involving the referent” or “analogous to it”. morpheme

    "mess + -y → messy"

  2. 2
    Forming diminutive nouns. morpheme

    "gran(nam) + -y → granny"

  3. 3
    Forming abstract nouns denoting a condition, quality, or state. morpheme

    "modest + -y → modesty"

  4. 4
    Denotes the infinitive of verbs when used intransitively. West-Country, morpheme, obsolete

    "But thee, thee wut ruckee, and ſquattee, and doatee in the chimly coander lick an axwaddle; and wi’ the zame tha wut rakee up, and gookee, and tell doil, tell dildrams and buckingham jenkins."

  5. 5
    Added to verbs to form adjectives meaning "inclined to". morpheme

    "run + -y → runny"

Show 6 more definitions
  1. 6
    Forming familiar names, pet names, nicknames and terms of endearment. morpheme

    "And(rew) + -y → Andy"

  2. 7
    Used in the name of some locations which end in -ia in Latin. morpheme

    "Italy, Germany, Saxony, Hungary, Sicily, Lombardy, Tuscany, Albany, Brittany, Gascony, Burgundy, Picardy, Normandy, Romandy, Savoy, Muscovy, Tartary, Arcady, Thessaly, Troy, Turkey."

  3. 8
    Added for metrical reasons to songs, often in children's music where it may carry diminutive associations. morpheme
  4. 9
    Forming colloquial nouns signifying the person or thing associated with suffixed noun or verb. morpheme

    "fridge + -y → fridgy (“fridge magnet”)"

  5. 10
    Forming nouns relative to an adjective. morpheme

    "bald + -y → baldy"

  6. 11
    Forming colloquial interjections or phrases. morpheme

    "alright + -y → alrighty"

Etymology

Etymology 1

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y From Middle English -y, -i, from Old English -iġ (“-y, -ic”, suffix), from Proto-West Germanic *-g, from Proto-Germanic *-īgaz (“-y, -ic”), from Proto-Indo-European *-kos, *-ikos, *-iḱos (“-y, -ic”). Cognate with Scots -ie (“-y”), West Frisian -ich (“-y”), Dutch -ig (“-y”), Low German -ig (“-y”), German -ig (“-y”), Swedish -ig (“-y”), Gothic -𐌹𐌲𐍃 (-igs, “-y”), Latin -icus (“-y, -ic”), Ancient Greek -ικός (-ikós), Sanskrit -इक (-ika). Doublet of -ac and -ic.

Etymology 2

Cognate with Scots -ie, being inherited directly from the same source Middle English -ie, -i, from Old English -iġ (“-ie, -y”, diminutive suffix), possibly from Proto-West Germanic *-ij-, *-j- (diminutive suffix). Not related with Dutch -je, -ie, regional Low German -je, which are from Proto-West Germanic *-ikīn (English -kin as in lambkin), nor with German -i, which is from Proto-West Germanic *-īn (English -en as in maiden). The vowel /i/ has an onomatopoeic quality to it, which may reinforce its occurrence in diminutives.

Etymology 3

Etymology tree Latin -ia Old French -ieder. Middle English -ie Middle English -y English -y From Middle English -y, -ie, -ee, -e, from Anglo-Norman and Middle French -ie and -é, from Latin -ia, -ium, -tās, Ancient Greek -ίᾱ (-íā), -ειᾰ (-eiă), -ιον (-ion). Cognate (as far as Latin -ia is involved) with German -ei and Dutch -ij.

Etymology 4

Inherited from Middle English -y, -ie, for earlier -ien, from the Old English weak class 2 infinitival suffix -ian, -iġan, by syncope from earlier *-ōjan, North Sea Germanic form of Proto-West Germanic *-ōn, from Proto-Germanic *-ōną; reinforced by the suffix -ian, -ġan in Old English verbs of weak class 1 with roots ending in -r (and the exceptional strong class 6 verb swerian). Compare -en (infinitive ending).

See also for "-y"

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