-ery
English · Thesaurus
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-ery¹
- /əɹi/
Where it comes from
From Middle English -erie, from Anglo-Norman -erie, which is from -ier + -ie; a suffix forming abstract nouns.
The suffix first occurs in loans from Old French into Middle English, but becomes productive within English by the 16th century, in some instances properly a combination of the agent suffix -er with -y as in bakery, brewery, but also as a single suffix in terms like slavery, machinery (which are not derived from slaver or machiner). By surface analysis, -er + -y.
suffix -eries · -erie · -ry
- Added to occupational etc. nouns to form other nouns meaning the "art, craft, or practice of." midwife + -ery → midwifery
-
Added to verbs to form nouns meaning "place of" (an art, craft, or practice).
bake + -ery → bakery
Similar: -ing
- Added to nouns to form other nouns meaning "a class, group, or collection of." crock + -ery → crockery
- Added to nouns to form other nouns meaning "behavior characteristic of." snob + -ery → snobbery
-ery²
- /əɹi/
Where it comes from
Alteration of -y.
suffix more -ery · most -ery
- Forming adjectives. My neighbors’ children play with me. / They come for me to ease their woes, / Bleedery stumpings of the toes, / Splinters in fingers, at whose base / Angels have left their kissery trace; / Skinned elbows and such bruisery rings, / Or bumpery dots from wood bees’ stings.
Translations
Talk about this word "-ery." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/-ery. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. -ery. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/-ery "-ery." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/-ery.Cite this
@misc{ery_2026,
title = {-ery},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/-ery},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}