Suffixes about one that does a (specified) thing

Posted by Tim Luo on 2006/4/5 20:32:14

Prefixes and suffixes can help you to recognize more words and form new words. The following is devoted to some suffixes about people that do specific things.


-er

This is the most common one. It's added to the end of a verb to form a new word about a person that does the thing related to the verb.

So a driver is one who drives. A dancer is one who dances. A reporter is one who reports. The list can go on and on.


-or

This suffix is similar to -er. The major difference is that -or is mostly added to words of Latin origin. So an actor is one who acts. A inventor is one who invents. Both act and invent are of Latin origin.


-ar

This is a rarer variant of the previous two. The most common word with this suffix is beggar.


-ard

This one usually denotes the said person overdoes it. So a person who drinks too much is said to be a drunkard, not a mere drinker. Someone who brags a lot is a braggard. A very dull person is a dullard.


-ster

This suffix is basically the same as -er, but is mostly added after nouns. So a songster is another way of saying singer. Other words include gangster, spinster, punster and trickster.


-aster

This is a variant of -ster, but it usally conveys inferiority. So a poetaster is one who writes lousy poems. A bad critic is called a criticaster. So can you get what it means when you see the word "politicaster"?


-aire

This is basically of French origin. The most common one should be millionaire. Another common one is billionaire.


-eer

This one is also of French origin. The most common one should be engineer. Other words include auctioneer and profiteer. The last word has some negative connotation.


-ier

This one is also of French origin. The most common one should be cashier. Other words include financier and courier.


-eur

This one is also of French origin. The most common one should be amateur. Other words include entrepreneur or connoisseur


The above can be said to be -r words.


-an, -ian

An artisan is a skilled artist. A courtesan is related to the royal court.

A magician is a practicer or practician of magic. Other words include optician and statistician.


-ant

An assistant is one that assists others. A participant is one that participates (in some activity).


-ent

This is a variant of -ant. A dependent is one that depends on others. A resident is one that resides in a certain place. Other words include president and regent.


-ary

You can consider this suffix the English counterpart of -aire. Revolutionary and reactionary are two example words.


-ast

This is of Greek origin. Enthusiast and gymnast are the most common words.


-ate

Advocate and delegate are two of the common words in this group.


-ist

This is a very common suffix. It can be applied in many different ways. One that plays the violin is a violinist. One that writes novels is a novelist. An expert in geology is a geologist. A believer in hedonism is a hedonist.

-ite

This suffix is similar to -ist when it refers to a believer or adherent. It can also refer to a resident of a certain place. So you might call a person who lives in Taipei a Taipei-er or Taipei-ite. Taipeian is also possible. A flatite is a person who lives in a flat (apartment). So what is a spaceite?


-ive

This suffix is mostly an adjective-forming one. The noun form is related to its adjective counterpart. Captive and operative are two good examples.


-nik

This -nik suffix is of Russian origin. It received its popularity after Sputnik, the first artificial satellite. Peacenik and beatnik are two examples.


-naut

This suffix is quite limited in sense as it's derived from "nautical" or one that sails. The most common word is astronaut. Other words include cosmonaut and the new Chinese one, taikonaut.


Tim