-ess
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-ess¹
- /ɛs/
- /ɪs/
- /əs/
Where it comes from
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *-is
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-ih₂der.
Ancient Greek -ῐᾰ (-ĭă)
Ancient Greek -ισσα (-issa)bor.
Late Latin -issader.
Old French -essebor.
Middle English -esse
English -ess
From Middle English -esse, borrowed from Old French -esse, from Late Latin -issa, from Ancient Greek -ισσα (-issa). Displaced Old English -en (feminine suffix of nouns).
suffix -esses
- Used to form female equivalents. actor + -ess → actress
- The wife of. alderman + -ess → aldermaness (“alderman’s wife”)
-ess²
Where it comes from
From Old French -esse, from Latin -itia.
suffix
- Used to form nouns from adjectives.
-ess³
Where it comes from
From Middle English -eis, a borrowing from Old French -eis, a locative suffix descended from Latin -ensis. The French and Middle English suffixes created nouns describing a freeman of a fortified town, but in Modern English this is found only in proper nouns, particularly in certain surnames. Cognates include Italian -ese, and English English -ese is a doublet.
suffix
- Used to form proper nouns from nouns.
