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-y

suffix
/-i/

Etymology

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.

  1. inherited from *-kos✻
  2. inherited from *-īgaz✻
  3. inherited from *-g✻
  4. inherited from -iġ
  5. inherited from -y

Definitions

  1. Added to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives meaning “having the quality of”, either…

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

    • mess + -y → messy
    • mouse + -y → mousy
    • blue + -y → bluey

  2. Added to verbs to form adjectives meaning "inclined to".

    • run + -y → runny
    • panic + -y → panicky
    • twiddle + -y → twiddly

  3. Forming diminutive nouns.

    • gran(nam) + -y → granny
    • pin(afore) + -y → pinny
    • (s)tom(ach) + -y → tummy
  4. ›+ 8 more definitions

    1. Forming familiar names, pet names, nicknames and terms of endearment.

      • And(rew) + -y → Andy
      • Bill + -y → Billy
      • John + -y → Johnny

    2. Added for metrical reasons to songs, often in children's music where it may carry…

      Added for metrical reasons to songs, often in children's music where it may carry diminutive associations.

    3. Forming colloquial nouns signifying the person or thing associated with suffixed noun or…

      Forming colloquial nouns signifying the person or thing associated with suffixed noun or verb.

      • fridge + -y → fridgy (“fridge magnet”)
      • junk + -y → junky
      • town + -y → towny

    4. Forming nouns relative to an adjective.

      • bald + -y → baldy
      • dum(b) + -y → dummy
      • right + -y → righty

    5. Forming colloquial interjections or phrases.

      • alright + -y → alrighty
      • oops + -y → oopsy
      • right + -y → righty

    6. Forming abstract nouns denoting a condition, quality, or state.

      • modest + -y → modesty
      • honest + -y → honesty
      • -nym + -y → -nymy as in toponym + -y → toponymy

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

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

    8. Denotes the infinitive of verbs when used intransitively.

      • But thee, thee wut ruckee, and ſquattee, and doattee 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.
      • Where's your Tom now? Au! he do worky down to factory— he've a-workèd to the gig's two year
      • d. wiː də ˈbɽɪŋ æʊɽ ˈʃiːp ɪn l̴ami / ‘We bring our sheep in (to) lamb.’ (36 Co 6, book I)

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for -y. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA