-z

suffix

Etymology

From a mutation (specifically a zetacism) of the rhotic consonant /ɹ/ to /z/. While standalone suffixation (such as soz and Baz) gained wide recognition in British print during the 1980s, the underlying morphophonological shift is attested significantly earlier in Australian English via the derived non‐rhotic suffix -zza (such as Bazza for Barry), which has been in print since at least the 1960s.

derived from via the derived non‐rhotic suffix -zza

Definitions

1
Used as a substitute for -s in marking the plural of nouns. Usually used in words in…
Used as a substitute for -s in marking the plural of nouns. Usually used in words in which the -s suffix is actually pronounced /z/.
- Boyz are always trouble, while girlz just play with their Bratz dolls.
- He lovez me and I love my warez.
2
Forms nicknames, especially of personal names.
- Barry + -z → Baz
- Sharon + -z → Shaz
- Jeremy + -z → Jez
3
Forms colloquial variants of words.
- sorry + -z → soz
- tomorrow + -z → tomoz
- apparently + -z → appaz

The neighborhood

Derived

-zza, onz, rabz, rabz kebabz, upz

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for -z. 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