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English morphophonology has aroused considerable interest in the wake of Chomsky and
Halle’s ground-breaking The Sound Pattern of
English (1968). Various theoretical models have
subsequently emerged, seeking to account for
the stress-placement and combinatorial properties of affixes. However, despite the abundance
and versatility of research in this field, many
questions have remained unanswered and theoretical frameworks have often led their proponents to erroneous assumptions or flawed systems. Drawing upon a 140,000-word corpus
culled from a high-performance search engine,
this book aims to provide a comprehensive and
novel account of the stress-assignment properties, selection processes, productivity and combinatorial restrictions of native and non-native
suffixes in Present-Day English. In a resolutely
interscholastic approach, the author has confronted his findings with the tenets of Generative
Phonology, Cyclic Phonology, Lexical Phonology,
The Latinate Constraint, Base-Driven Lexical
Stratification, Complexity-Based Ordering and
Optimality Theory.
Ives Trevian is a tenured senior lecturer accredited
to direct doctoral research in Linguistics at ParisDiderot. His publications – which include two books
published by Peter Lang in 2003 and 2010 – have
centred on stress assignment, morphophonology,
affixation processes, neoclassical compounds and
English-language history.
ISBN 978-3-0343-1576-0
www.peterlang.com
English suffixes
Linguistic Insights
Studies in Language and Communication
Edited by Maurizio Gotti,
University of Bergamo
Volume 202
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Lawrence Solan (New York)
Peter M. Tiersma (Los Angeles)
PETER LANG
Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • Frankfurt am Main • New York • Oxford • Wien
Ives Trevian
English suffixes
Stress-assignment properties, productivity,
selection and combinatorial processes
PETER LANG
Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • Frankfurt am Main • New York • Oxford • Wien
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ISSN 2235-6371 eBook
ISBN 978-3-0351-0761-6 eBook
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To Cecile and Errol
Contents
Symbols and conventions....................................................................xiii
Abbreviations.......................................................................................xv
0.Introduction....................................................................................1
0.1 Objectives and methodology.................................................1
0.2Stress-assignment: a confrontation between
two phonologies�������������������������������������������������������������������6
0.3Two families of affixes to account for the
combinatorial properties of affixes?�����������������������������������11
0.4 Rules vs. constraints...........................................................16
0.5 Book structure.....................................................................18
Part I. S-1 and auto-stressed suffixes
1. -ic..................................................................................................21
1.1 General features..................................................................21
1.2 Suffix combinations ...........................................................22
1.3 Allomorphic transformations .............................................26
1.4 Extensions of the -ic rule....................................................28
1.5 Summary and conclusion....................................................33
2.-ion and similar affixes..................................................................35
2.1 General features..................................................................35
2.2 The -ION generalisation ....................................................36
2.3 -ion and its allomorphs -ation, -ition, -ution,
-fication, -faction����������������������������������������������������������������45
3.-ity.................................................................................................57
3.1 General features..................................................................57
3.2
3.3
3.4
3.5
3.6
Suffix juxtaposition and substitution...................................58
-ety......................................................................................60
-ty........................................................................................61
Underived nouns in -ity.......................................................61
Summary and conclusion....................................................64
4.S-1 suffixes indicative of smaller word populations.....................67
4.1 -ify.......................................................................................67
4.2 -ible/-igible..........................................................................70
4.3 -icide...................................................................................71
4.4 -meter .................................................................................72
4.5 -erie.....................................................................................74
5. Stress-bearing affixes....................................................................75
5.1 Affixes of French origin......................................................75
5.2 Stress-bearing affixes from Latin or Romance
languages other than French...............................................93
5.3 Germanic stress-bearing suffixes........................................96
5.4 Neoclassical affixes and combining forms..........................98
Part II. Neutral suffixes
6. Grammatical suffixes..................................................................105
7. Consonant-initial suffixes...........................................................109
7.1 General features................................................................109
7.2 Consonant-initial suffixes of Latinate stock
in Present-Day English.....................................................111
7.3 Consonant-initial suffixes of Germanic stock...................118
7.4 Consonant-initial suffixes of Germanic stock still
productive in Present-Day English...................................128
7.5 Suffixes extracted from foreign words..............................139
7.6 Neoclassical combining forms .........................................141
7.7 Summary and conclusion..................................................142
8.Neutral vowel-initial suffixes of Germanic stock
or of uncertain origins................................................................147
viii
8.1 Unproductive forms..........................................................147
8.2 Productive forms...............................................................149
9. -er................................................................................................163
9.1 General features................................................................163
9.2 Productivity in compounds...............................................166
9.3 Productivity in non-compound lexemes...........................168
9.4 Nouns in -er with an obscure or opaque stem..................170
9.5 Suffix stacking...................................................................172
10. Latinate vowel-initial suffixes: -er’s rival agent noun suffixes....173
10.1 -ant/-ent.............................................................................173
10.2 -ator and -or......................................................................174
10.3 -ist.....................................................................................183
10.4 -ite.....................................................................................196
10.5 Unproductive person or instrument suffixes.....................198
10.6 Summary and conclusion..................................................202
11.Latinate Vowel-initial noun suffixes of action,
state, process and result..............................................................205
11.1 -acy....................................................................................205
11.2 -age...................................................................................206
11.3 -al......................................................................................209
11.4 -ance/-ancy, -ence/-ency...................................................212
11.5 -ate ...................................................................................217
11.6 -ery....................................................................................218
11.7 -ule....................................................................................221
11.8 -ure....................................................................................222
11.9 Mixed suffixes...................................................................227
Part III. Mixed suffixes
12. -able............................................................................................231
12.1 General features................................................................231
12.2 -able or -ible?....................................................................231
12.3 Stress-neutrality and variation..........................................241
ix
12.4 Suffix stacking...................................................................244
13. Verb suffixes................................................................................247
13.1 -ate....................................................................................247
13.2 -ise.....................................................................................258
14. -y and -ism..................................................................................269
14.1 -y.......................................................................................269
14.2 -ism....................................................................................279
Part IV. S-1/2 suffixes
15. Adjective suffixes........................................................................291
15.1 #Syl + -al, -an, etc............................................................292
15.2 -ION adjective affixes.......................................................294
15.3 Consonant clusters + adjective affixes -al, -ous, etc.........314
15.4 Vowel digraphs + -al, -an, etc...........................................329
15.5 -ul- + adjective affixes -ar, -an, -ous, etc..........................331
15.6-VCal/-an/-ous, etc...........................................................332
15.7 -ative, -atory, -utive, -utory...............................................364
15.8 Suffix stacking...................................................................380
16. Neoclassical suffixes...................................................................387
16.1 General features and stress assignment............................387
16.2 Productive suffixes............................................................393
16.3 Exceptions to truncation of neoclassical endings.............411
17.Stress-assignment and suffix stacking, overall recapitulation....413
17.1Stress-assignement............................................................413
17.2 Suffix stacking...................................................................417
Part V. Further issues
18.Compounds.................................................................................429
18.1 Combining-form compounds............................................429
18.2 Standard compounds.........................................................436
x
19.Conversion..................................................................................443
19.1 Noun-verb and verb-noun conversion...............................443
19.2 Adjective-noun and noun-adjective conversion................449
19.3 Adjective/verb conversion.................................................451
19.4 Verb-adjective conversion.................................................453
20. Secondary stress.........................................................................455
20.1 General principles.............................................................455
20.2The condensation/information dichotomy........................456
General conclusion.............................................................................459
References..........................................................................................463
xi
Symbols and conventions
Cconsonant
C2consonant cluster (at least two graphic and/or phonological
consosants)
Vvowel
VDig vowel digraph
< >
graphic notation
/ /
phonological notation
[ ]
phonetic notation
#
morpheme boundary
/derivational alternative (cubism/cubist < cube) or variational or
synonymous pair separator: anticipative/atory
+morphological component boundary (de- + material + -is(e) +
‑ation) or bound or stress-placing affix in Lexical Phonology
literature
<
historically derived from: boundary (< bound + -ary)
>reverse-order approach to historical derivation: bound > boundary
<~synchronically derivable from: rejection (15th < Latin) but synchronically parseable as derived from reject further to attachment of the suffix -ion (rejection <~ reject)
~>
reverse-order approach to synchronic derivational patterns:
reject ~> rejection
<≠is not derived (or synchronically not derivable) from: ignorant
(“lacking in knowledge or unaware”) <≠ ignore (“refrain from
noticing or acknowledging”)
≠>reverse-order approach to semantic demotivation: ignore ≠>
ignorant
≠
different from or not synonymous with
*
ungrammatical or unattested form: *plentifulise
??
unattested but potentially licit form: ??problemsome
Abbreviations
1. General usage
act.actually
adj.adjective
adv.adverb
alt.alternative(ly)
arch.archaic
BFback-formation
bef.before
CF
combining form
ch.chapter
cont.contemporary
cp.compare
D.
Dictionary (e.g. D. com
for Dictionary. com)
decomp. decomposable
def.definition
dem.demotivated
der.
derived or derivable
dial.dialectal
diff.different
dimdiminutive
esp.especially
etym.etymology
exc.exception(s)
fig.figurative
freq.frequentative
Gram.grammar
insep.inseparable
lang.language
Math.mathematics
n.noun
norm.normative
obs.obsolete
orig.
origin or originally
par.paragraph
pl.plural
prob.probably
r.rare
rel. to relating or relative to
resp.respectively
s.sense(s)
sep.separable
sim.similarly
spec. special or specialised
syl.syllable(s)
syn.synonym(ous)
sync.synchronically
ult.ultimately
v.verb
Zool.Zoology
2. Languages
AAncient
Alg.Algonquin
Ar.Arabic
Chin.Chinese
Da.Danish
Du.Dutch
EEnglish
FFrench
GGerman
GmcGermanic
GB
British English
GkGreek
HHigh
Heb.Hebrew
Hin.Hindi
Ir.Irish
It.Italian
Jap.Japanese
L
Latin (or “Low”, as in MLG = Middle Low German)
Med.Medieval
MMiddle
Nor. F. Norman French
OOld
Per.Persian
Por.Portuguese
Rus.Russian
Sc.Scots
Scan.Scandinavian
Sp.Spanish
Sw.Swedish
US
American English
0. Introduction
0.1 Objectives and methodology
The aim of this book is to provide a comprehensive assessment of the
role of suffixes in lexical stress-assignment and word-formation, complete with a systematic overview of their selection processes, produc­
tivity and combinatorial properties in Present-Day English.
A methodological prerequisite which has become incontroverti­
ble in language studies is the necessity to draw upon a reliable corpus.
The multiplication of online databases has provided researchers with
worktools many times more powerful than those they had at their dis­
posal not so long ago. The corpus used in the present study has been
assembled from the OneLook search engine (henceforth OL) which, in
English, enables users to extract word inventories further to a preselection of morphological components from about a hundred generalist or
specialist dictionaries1.
So as to warrant indisputable reliability as to the data exploited,
the corpus used in this study has been culled from the entries of seven
generalist dictionaries whose reputation is solidly established, complemented with those of Dictionary.com which is the only OL dictionary
providing full etymological data in most of its entries2.
The dictionaries from which the OL corpus has been established
are, by alphabetical order:
1
2
Specialist dictionaries available from OL encompass as diverse fields as Architecture, Art, Business, Computing, Medecine, Science, Technology, etc.
The entries of this dictionary (<http://dictionary.reference.com>) are based either on those of dictionaries accessible from OL (e.g. The American Heritage
Dictionary, Collins English Dictionary, Online Etymology Dictionary) or on
those of The Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
(1)(→ = henceforth)
American Heritage Dictionary of the English language (→ American Heritage
D.); Cambridge International Dictionary of English (→ Cambridge D.); Collins
English D. (→ Collins D.); Dictionary.com (→ D.com); Encarta World English Dictionary, North American Edition (→ Encarta D.)3, Merriam-Webster’s
Online Dictionary, 11th Edition (→ MWD); Webster’s Revised Unabridged,
1913 edition (→ Webster’s D.); Wordsmyth English Dictionary/ Thesaurus (→
Wordsmyth D.).
The corpus assembled from the dictionaries in (1) contains 140,000
words.
Common words recorded exclusively in the Wikipedia Encyclopedia and its companion dictionary Wiktionary have not been retained
in the corpus selected (henceforth the Corpus) since they do not meet
the reliability criteria prescribed in lexicography. References have however been made to these online databases, notably to measure the potential productivity of some highly specialised or strictly scientific families of words, since Wikipedia and Wiktionary have obtained such items
from scientific literature. For example, the combining form -saurus (<
New Latin) is found in only a score of learned compound in the Corpus (e.g. Apatosaurus, Megalosaurus) vs. nearly 1,000 nouns of extinct
saurian species identified by palaeontologists which have hitherto been
recorded only in Wikipedia.
Although, because of the nature of the corpus used in this study,
hapaxes have not been made a priority criterion in productivity measurements, well-formed words (especially neologisms) obtained from
the Internet have regularly been sampled when they did not appear in
the Corpus, with the policy of retaining only those which occurred in
high-register Web pages (e.g. scholarly texts, official documents). Exception to this vetting process has only been made when there was the
necessity to deal with new suffixes used in recent media (computing,
internaut fora, video games, etc.). Such cases have been scrupulously
pointed out.
Lexical and variational information about the additional items
gathered from Web Pages has been verified from other online databases,
namely: A Cross Reference of Latin and Greek elements, Dictionary/
3
2
Microsoft stopped operating the Encarta dictionary at <dictionary.msn.com> in
2011.
Thesaurus, Dinosaur/Palaeontology Dictionary, findtheword.info, Free
Dictionary, Infoplease Dictionary, Macmillan Dictionary, Medical
Dictionary, Memefirst, Online Medical Dictionary, Rice University Ne­
ologisms Database, Urban Dictionary, Wordnik, World Wide Words, The
Word Spy4, (cf. References for Web addresses).
Measuring the productivity of affixes from the data returned by
dictionary-based corpora can, naturally, not consist in merely consid­
ering the number of words they have yielded, such inventory counts
being only relevant in a historical perspective. As will be shown below
a fair number of suffixes which have played a major role in enriching
the lexicon are now extinct or obviously in their death throes. Focusing
on recently-formed words, roughly over a period which can be placed
from the 20th century – more particularly after World War II, which saw
a spectacular development of mass-media diffusion and interdialectal
exchanges – to the present day, seems to be an effective and relevant
protocol, provided due attention is paid to the fact that affixes are inev­
itably subject to fashion trends, which implies that a recently-adopted
suffix may be ephemerally successful. Conversely, a suffix may suddenly rise from its ashes after years of obsolescence (cf. ‑age).
It is at this stage important to remind the reader that synchron­
ically transparent derivational sequences are not necessarily faithful
reflections of the history of English. Many putative suffixed formations
have actually been directly borrowed from French, Latin or Ancient
Greek or tardily reconstructed on roots from the last two languages.
Such items have been signalised as follows: concision (14th < L <~ concis(e) + -ion), to be read as “concision, adopted from Latin in the 14th
century, a noun synchronically analysable as resulting from the affixa­
tion of -ion to the adjective concise”.
Whereas D.com is, as said above, the only dictionary of the Corpus providing full etymological data for most of its entries, many potential derivatives are given in this dictionary merely as “related forms”,
without further information, e.g. applause (main entry, with phonetic
transcription, syntactic category, definitions and etymology) and applausive (tagged as a “related form” below applause, with stress pattern
4
In further references to these corpora, the term “dictionary” has been abbreviated to D. (e.g. Free D. for Free Dictionary).
3
and syntactic category, but no specification as to whether this adjective
was formed from the noun above, with attachment of the -ive suffix, or
directly adopted from French or Latin). Moreover, as regards both the
origins of words and their dates of earliest known use, discordant data
are rife amongst dictionaries, a fact which is particularly striking when
comparing D.com’s etymological notices with those of the online edition of The Oxford English Dictionary (<www.oed.com>, henceforth
OED), which is not accessible from the OL search engine.
Still with the concern of warranting maximum reliability as to
the data exploited, the dates of earliest occurrence of words given in
further pages have been taken from OED, which has the incomparable advantage of providing written sources for this purpose. Dates of
earliest attestation provided by D.com, standardly given in the form of
5- or 10-year time frames (e.g. sportster 1960–65), have not been retained since they often differ widely from those indicated in OED (e.g.
sportster 1918). In the few cases where no information on the earliest
known use of a word could be obtained from OED, relevant data have
been garnered from MWD. For reading convenience, dates of earliest
known use indicated in samples or inventories have been given in the
form of centuries except for words which are to be considered as recent
according to the criteria set out two paragraphs above, namely words
which first appeared in the 20th century (e.g. phenomenal 19th instead of
1825 vs. rapster 1981). This convention has been breached when need
arose to clarify which item of a paradigmatic set was first attested in
English (e.g. nominal pairs in -pathy and -path: psychopathy (1847) /
psychopath (1864)). Dates of earliest appearance given in further pages
are thus compliant to the following conventions:
(2)
a.
pheneomenal (19th); psychopathy (1847) / psychopath (1864); funkster
(1963); no other indication than date = date of earliest known use obtained
from OED
b.
injectant (1950, MWD) = word not listed in OED, date of earliest known use
obtained from MWD
As for the origins of items exemplified in further pages, authentic derivations, given with the < or > symbols, reflect either etymological concordance in D.com and in OED, or etymology from OED alone for want
of relevant information in D.com, ie items tagged in the latter dictionary
4
as “related forms” with no further specification. Thus, examples such as
categorise (< categor(y) + -ise) and criticisable (< criticis(e) + -able)
have not been differentiated in further samples and inventories, although
the first item is given the same etymology in D.com and in OED whereas the second is merely labelled as a related form of criticise in D.com
vs. as derived from criticise in OED. Conversely, disagreements between both dictionaries as to words which are synchronically analysable as formed by derivation have been systematically pointed out as
follows: criminalistics (1910 < criminalist + -ics vs. < criminalistic +
-s in OED), to be read as “date of earliest known use from OED (cf. (2)
above), followed by (reference omitted for reading convenience in this
and further instances) D.com’s derivational description vs. OED’s”);
other example: instantiate (1949 < L stem + -ate vs. < instanc(e) + -iate
in OED). Finally, The Online Etymology Dictionary (henceforth OEtymD), which is accessible from OL, has occasionally been appealed to,
especially with regards to the history of some suffixes.
In this book, semantically transparent deriving forms have been
referred to as bases, the term stem being reserved for bound and opaque
morphemes further to the removal of an inseparable affix (e.g. *patern
in paternal or *joice in rejoice).
Issues at the centre of this study have elicited the interest of linguists claiming adherence to diverse schools and disciplines, among
which morphophonology, morphosyntax, morphosemantics and psycho-linguistics figure prominently. Among the theoretical avenues
which have underlain research in affix properties, morphophonology
has long been the most popular given the role played by affixes in lexical stress-assignment. One of the most spectacular recent developments
in the study of English affixes has led its proponents (cf. §0.3 below)
to postulate usage restrictions stemming not only from affixes but from
base types.
Although it initially set out to depart radically from former theoretical frameworks, most notably Cycle Phonology, Optimality Theory has brought forth a new generation of researchers (e.g. S. Collie,
R. Raffelsiefen, see references in further chapters) who have attempted
to incorporate into their work what they deemed still relevant from previous leading theories.
5
Such efforts are to be highly commended as interscholastic research work in linguistics is often still met with a disapproving eye.
Yet, whatever their respective merits, the models which have emerged
over the last decades would gain greatly by opening up to alterna­
tive theoretical views, the issue of the interplay between morphology
and phonology leaving still too many open questions to be locked into
pigeon-holed orthodoxy.
Openness to various approaches is precisely what has underlain
the conception of the present work, with no concessions for erroneous
conclusions past or present models may have generated but respectful
consideration for the legacy accrued by such eminent linguists as Aronoff, Bauer, Burzio, Chomsky, Fabb, Fudge, Giegerich, Guierre, Halle,
Hay, Keyser, Kiparsky, McMahon, Marchand, Mohanan, Plag, Poldauf,
Prince, Siegel, Smolensky, Spencer and Vergnaud, to name just a few.
0.2 Stress-assignment: a confrontation
between two phonologies
Further to Kingdon (1958) who was one the first scholars to seriously
challenge Jones’ assertion (introduction to The English Pronouncing
Dictionary, 1917) that English word stress did not lend itself to consistent or convincing rules, the first groundbreaking scientific account
of stress-assignment was Chomsky & Halle’s The Sound Pattern of
English (1968, henceforth SPE) whose theoretical foundations were
to have a durable influence on English-speaking linguists. Making of
graphic-phonic correlations the groundwork of his account of English
pronunciation, a system which he named “graphophonemics”, Guierre
(1979: §1) was among the linguists who have contributed most to calling
into question the tenets propounded by Chomsky and Halle. Guierre’s
criticism was essentially founded on three corpus-based findings:
i. contrary to SPE’s claim only a minority of final syllables containing
a free vowel (long or diphthonged) bear stress, a principle which
6
was independently asserted by Burzio 1994 (henceforth Burzio)5,
p. 93, another proof of the fragility of that claim being, according
to Guierre, that Chomsky and Halle were compelled to postulate
regression of primary stress two syllables back in words of three
syllables or more whose last syllable contains a free vowel (anticipate, compromise, execute, etc.);
ii. free vowels in penult syllables are not the triggering factor but a
consequence of stress-assignment;
iii.stress placement in two-syllables verbs does not stem from the
presence therein of heavy final syllables (al'low, de'ny, con'trive,
de'rive, con'vince, etc.) but from that of inseparable prefixes in the
first syllable of such words, a rule inherited from Germanic mor­
phophonology, hence the initial or final stress in verbs such as 'borrow, 'follow (despite the final free vowel), re'bel, com'pel, etc., or
in three-syllable verbs with no final or prefinal heavy syllable such
as con'sider, de'velop, e'licit, e'xamine, ex'hibit, in'herit, in'hibit,
pro'hibit, dis'cover, re'cover, a'bolish, de'molish, etc.6
It is indeed striking that close to 94% of the 2,000 verbs with final or
penult stress do indeed partake of the class described above (comply,
deserve, conserve, detain, repel, retain, determine, etc.) in contrast with
nouns (adverb, pronoun, suburb, etc.) which, still in conformity with
Germanic morphophonology, normally take stress on the first syllable
whether or not they contain an inseparable prefix.
Verbs circumventing this rule are few (about forty in all, e.g.
comfort (+ n.), comment (id.), conquer, enter, differ, injure, prelude (+
n.), process (= “submit to a process” + n., cp. pro'cess = “move in a
procession”), proffer, profit (+ n.), promise (id.), purpose (id.), revel,
suffer) whilst unprefixed two-syllable verbs with final stress which
5
L. Burzio was obviously unaware of Guierre’s work when he wrote his remarkably innovative Principles of English Stress.
6Whereas SPE: 95, 148 & 221 and Halle and Keyser (1971: 37–38) did acknowledge a stress-placement effect on some of what they called “complex verbs” (ie
“verbs with a prefix”, still in these authors’ terms), the inseparable prefix rule
(v. and adj. vs. n. in two- or three-syllable words with no stress-imposing termination (-ate, etc.)) set forth by Guierre (1979: §4.2.6) has, to the best of our
knowledge, never been taken up in the literature from other models.
7
are not subject to other rules (e.g. frustrate, etc. in British English,
ignite, pollute, salute, etc., careen, career (+ n. with a diff. s.), shampoo (+ n.), tattoo (id.), festoon (id.), etc.) are also about forty in all
(e.g. blaspheme, bombard (cp. n. 'bombard), campaign (+ n.), caress
(id.), cajole, carouse, cavort, curtail, fatigue (+ n. and adj.), frequent
(cp. adj. 'frequent), harangue (+ n.), harass (in US English), maraud,
mature (+ adj.), molest, parole (+ n.), patrol (id.), possess, stampede
(+ n.), usurp, etc.).
The stress-placing effect of prefinal consonant clusters (polyan­
drous, segmental, incumbent, etc.) has been retained in Guierre’s model
since it is immediably readable, graphically speaking, barring the definition of monophonemic digraphs (chiefly ch, ph, th) and clusters in Cr
(ludicrous, tenebrous, etc.) which are also graphic representations of
single phonemic units.
Another major disagreement Guierre had with SPE’s authors was
about their assumption that English stress placement was on the whole
governed by Latin rules. In all his treatments of English accentuation
Guierre emphasised the primacy of stress-preservation (which he
named “isomorphism”), in other terms the fact that most English suffi­
xes are actually neutral. Guierre also subscribed to the predominance
of Germanic principles in English phonology (notably leftward stress
retraction), asserting that, barring the stress-placing role of consonant
clusters, the impact of Latin stress rules on English words was a somewhat minor phenomenon.
Whilst conceding that English has definitely been subject to
the confrontation of two phonological systems, which began to exert
a tug-of war on it further to the invasion of the Normans in 1066,
J.M. Fournier (2007) set out to disprove, to quote his own terms, “one
of the founding principles of Chomsky and Halle’s theories (also
pre-eminent in Halle and Keyser’s later works), namely the prem­
ise that the English stress system is, to a great degree, modelled on
Classical Latin metrical rules”. Contrary to Fournier’s claim that Lat­in
stress-assignment rules are not a determining factor in contemporary
English phonology, it will be contended in further chapters that the
Latin penult/antepenult stress assignment is still very active, whether
in monomorphemic words or suffixed formations, even in some
8
contexts when the latter contain supposedly neutral suffixes. This
does not mean that the Germanic phonological inheritance of English
should be paid short shrift, witness the “inseparable prefix rule” set
out above and the prominent role of consonant-initial suffixes in terms
of stress-preservation as well as affix combination possibilities, two
points which will be discussed at length below.
One major criticism to be levelled at the Guierrian School (in
which the author of this book received his initial training) is that it has
tended to play down the complexity inherent in the English stress system since its investigations were based on an edition of The English
Pronouncing Dictionary7 which left little room for variants.
Another criticism, chiefly voiced by English-speaking phonologists8, is that Guierre and his followers make no use of metrical structure
(foot structure and prominence) in the way they address stress patterns,
which is indeed a valid objection in the case of iambic regression when
a stress clash is created between the final two feet in a sequence of
three feet, further to the Phrasal Stress Rule, which dictates that the
final element of a noun phrase be made the most prominent9 (e.g. She’s
Japanese vs. a Japanese girl).
However, since its purpose has always been to focus on word
stress patterns independently of sentence prosody, the Guierrian
school’s disregard of feet is of no consequence, all the more when
considering that the principles postulated for primary and secondary
stress distribution are based on the premises that (a) no word may contain two initial unstressed syllables (a principle set forth by authors
who do not claim adherence to the Guierrian school, e.g. Carr 1999:
74, who refers to it as The Rhythmic Principle); (b) stress adjacency is
prohibited except in verb formations with a separable prefix (remake,
7
8
9
Namely, the 12th edition (revised), 1963. Followers of Guierre (e.g. A. Deschamps, J.L. Duchet, J.M. Fournier and F. Zumstein, 2007) have since then
extended their field of investigations into both the latest editions of the English
Pronouncing Dictionary (edited by P. Roach et al., henceforth EPD) and the
relatively recent English Pronunciation Dictionary (J.C. Wells, three editions:
1990, 2000, 2008, henceforth LPD).
Philip Carr, personal communication, June 2011.
Words with final stress containing only one foot (e.g. ma'roon → maˌroon
'sweater) are not relevant.
9
etc.) and in certain classes of compounds (cf. §18.2); (c) primary stress
is assigned from the end of words to a specific syllable (another principle endorsed by Carr, which he dubbed The End-based Principle,
idid: 74), whether or not further to the influence of a stress-imposing
affix, with the leading principle that in case two stress-imposing suffixes occur successively, the rightmost one always prevails, cancelling
out the stress-placement effect of the one preceding it, as illustrated
below:
(2)'period ~> ˌperi'odic (S-1 -ic) > ˌperio'dicity (S-1 -ity); a'cademy ~> ˌaca'demic
(S-1 -ic) > aˌcade'mician (S-1 V/V, here -ian), etc.
For the specific purpose of dealing with neutral and stress-imposing
suffixes in relation with primary-stress placement, 100,000 words have
been considered out of the 140,000 obtained from the Corpus, further
to discardment of monosyllables10, formations with separable prefixes
(e.g. unaccountable, unachievable, such words will be dealt with in a
chapter dedicated to secondary (or tertiary) stress-assignment), and unsuffixed compounds (e.g. blackbird, warmonger, such words will also
be dealt with in a separate chapter).
Suffixes placing stress one-syllable back will be referred to as
S-1 suffixes, S-1/2 suffixes standing for suffixes placing stress one
or two syllables back11. The term “mixed suffixes” will be used in
a broad­er sense than that found in Fudge 1984 (henceforth Fudge),
namely as suffixes alternately neutral and stress-imposing according
to whether they attach to independent words or bound stems, which
here matches Fudge’s original definition, but also as suffixes which
may be neutral or stress-imposing according to other, often more
complex, factors.
Exceptions to stress-assignment rules emerging from the Corpus
have been verified in EPD, LPD and OED. As regards OED, available
10Besides -s and -ed (on condition they are not preceded by, respectively, a sibilant, e.g. rose > roses, and an alveolar stop, e.g. want > wanted), the only
suffixes which add no syllable to a base are the now extinct -th (warmth, etc.)
and -t (derivational Latinate suffix, e.g. complaint, or Germanic strong-verb
inflectional suffix, e.g. dealt, dreamt, meant).
11
In a few cases, other degrees of primary stress placement, namely S-3, S-4,
must be considered.
10
updates have been indicated for each relevant entry in case of dis­
agreements with transcriptions from the Corpus, so as to provide more
reliability as regards variation in Present-Day English.
0.3 Two families of affixes to account for the
combinatorial properties of affixes?
Many linguists have tried to circumscribe the combinatorial properties
of affixes, notably Siegel (1974), Kiparsky (1982 a-b), Mohanan (1986)
and Spencer (1991), on the basis of a model of level-ordering which
consisted in classing prefixes and suffixes according to a set of prop­
erties (+ and # are the original morphological boundary symbols used in
SPE). Thus, according to Spencer (1991: 79), suffixes could be classed
into two ranks or levels:
(3)
Level 1 suffixes: +ion, +ity, +al, +ate, +ous, +ive, +able, +ize
Level-2 suffixes: #ness, #less, #hood, #ful, #ly, #like, #ist, #able, #ize12
As is well-known, level-1 suffixes are supposedly non-native and
apt to be stress-imposing, in contrast with Level-2 suffixes which
12
Spencer’s list must naturally be seen as a deliberately reductive sample.
Among those who have attempted to provide an exhaustive list of level-1 and
2 affixes, Church (1986) has proposed the ensuing inventory which, because
it was drawn up in a computational linguistics perspective, comes across as
laced with redundancies and oddities: “Level 1 suffixes: ability, able, aceous,
acious, acity, acy, age, al, ality, ament, an, ance, ancy, ant, ar, arity, ary, ate,
ation, ational, ative, ator, atorial, atory, ature, bile, bility, ble, bly, e, ea, ean,
ear, edge, ee, ence, ency, ent, entail, eous, ia, iac, ial, ian, iance, iant, iary,
iate, iative, ibility, ible, ic, ical, ican, icatge, ication, icative, icatory, ician, icity, icize, ide, ident, ience, iency, ient, ificate, ification, ificative, ify, ion, ional,
ionary, ious, isation, ish, ist, istic, itaria, ite, ity, ium, ival, ive, ivity, ization,
ize, le, ment, mental, mentary, on, or, ory, osity, ous, ular, ularity, ure, ute,
utive, y; Level-2 suffixes: able, bee, berry, blast, bodies, body, copy, culture,
fish, ful, fulling, head, herd, hood, ism, ist, ire, land, less, line, ly, man, ment,
mental, mentarian, most, ness, phile, phyte, ship, shire, some, tree, type, ward,
way, wise.”
11
are chiefly of Germanic etymology and stress-neutral. According to
Kiparsky and his followers, level-1 and -2 affixes finally obey distinct
affixation processes, the former being supposed to precede the latter
in derivational formations, in adequation with the level-number they
have been assigned. The fact that Spencer classed -able and -ize as
belonging to either level was revelatory of the gaps of this model13
which was later rejected by the advocates of Cyclic Phonology (see,
among others, Halle & Vergnaud, 1987, and Halle & Kenstowicz,
1991) who held that the principle of a hierarchical alignment of suffixes was not tenable, a contention chiefly founded on bracketing paradoxes (cf. the famed case of ungrammaticality, cf. Strauss, 1982 and
Pesetsky, 1985). More recently, authors such as Giegerich (1999), Hay
(2002) and Plag (1999, 2002, 2003 & 2004) have endeavoured to show
that the lexical stratification theorised by Siegel and re-elaborated by
Kiparsky did not withstand an exhaustive analysis of the lexicon.
Some of these authors also emphasised that native speakers who are
not versed in etymology (in other terms most native English speakers)
are hardly likely to recognise Germanic and Latinate affixes, let alone
distinguish the rules or constraints they respectively abide by in the
formation of morphologically complex words.
The successive questionings of lexical stratification by such prom­
inent linguists as Giegerich, Plag and Hay were to bring forth new assumptions and theoretical frameworks. Thus, Giegerich (1999) claimed
that Lexical Phonology is basically flawed in that stratal behaviour is
actually not determined by affixes but by the the nature of the bases to
which they append, a model he named Base-Driven Lexical Stratification. Plag (1999) posited that there are selectional constraints inherent
in each affix, most strikingly in their intrinsic compatibility with Latinate or Germanic bases, and that these constraints are at the basis of
their combinatorial properties. Plag’s model, which can be defined as
a renewed version of the Latinate Constraint originally suggested by
Bloomfield (1933) and thoroughly re-elaborated by Booij (1987, 1994),
has however shown some inconsistencies of its own, particularly in its
failure to be of any relevance in the domain of prefixation (cf. Rakić’s
criticism, 2007). Hay (2002, 2003) has for her part built a system known
13
12
As will be seen below -ist and -ment also circumvent level-ordering laws.
as Complexity-Based Ordering, grounded on word frequency and affix
aggregation rules graded by the degree of complexity of morphological
components, separable and inseparable affixes14 being the main poles of
this model (about this point, see also Cho, 2007)15.
Whilst Hay’s overall theoretical framework based on word frequency has not been embraced in the present study, the analyses and
conclusions offered below make use of the same discrimination be­
tween (a) separable affixes which, with a meaning of their own, combine
with free bases (cf. Guierre 1984: 38), the meaning of the combination
prefix + base or base + suffix deriving transparently from the meaning
of each constituent (e.g. v. with a sep. prefix ˌre'cover = “cover again” or
ˌrecre'ate = “create anew”; adj. with a sep. suffix hy'drogenous, i'conic);
(b) inseparable affixes which combine with semantically ob­scure or
opaque stems to make words whose meanings cannot be inferred from
the association of both elements. Inseparable affixes are thus found in
(a) formations with an unattested base (in other terms with an opaque
stem, e.g. v. with an insep. prefix detach, contain, resist; adj. with a
bound ending, e.g. paternal, comic, ludicrous), (b) formations which
are semantically demotivated (e.g. v. with an insep. prefix v. re'cover =
“regain, get back”, cp. ˌre'cover = “cover again”, 'recreate = “take recreation”, cp. ˌrecre'ate = “create anew”, etc.; e.g. with an insep. suffix n.
and v. 'discipline, no synchronic semantic link with the n. dis'ciple; adj.
'fabulous, id. <≠ n. 'fable, etc.).
Whereas the concepts of separability (renegotiate, Pro-Thatcher,
etc.) and inseparability (re- in rejoice and pro- in produce, etc.) are
unambiguously straightforward in prefixed formations, the notion of
separability does not suffice to account for all semantically transparent
suffixed formations. Several degrees of suffixation have indeed to be
defined:
14
15
Whereas Hay and Plag (including in the papers they have co-authored, 2002,
2004) have retained the terms “separable” or “separability” in relation to affixes
that can be easily parsed out, they make no use of the terms “inseparable” or
“inseparability” in relation to bound affixes which they generally describe as
“affixes that cannot be parsed out”.
There is an ever-growing concensus among morphologists that only separable
affixes should be considered as relevant in productivity measurements (cf. Van
Marle, 1985, Fradin et al, 2003).
13
i. hydrogenous and iconic can be held as containing separable suffixes
inasmuch as -ous and -ic attach to their respective base (hydrogen
and icon) without truncating it.
This process will be described as suffixation by juxtaposition (or syn­
onymously concatenation). The graphic transformation i > y, a recurrent
phenomenon in English derivatives (happy > happier, etc.), is part and
parcel of the juxtaposition principle evoked above. In this sense categorial will be analysed as category (y > i) + -al16 and thus differently
from:
ii. categoric, categorical(ly), categorise, derivable from categor(y)
+ -ic/-al(ly)/-ise further to truncation of -y17.
On a synchronic plane, equating the -y of category with a bound affix
susceptible to suffixation by substitution, as in other paradigmatic sets
such as melody/melodic/melodise, economy/economic/economise, etc.,
is not a mere contrivance, firstly because this base-truncation derivation­
al process is in many cases backed up by etymology (cat­egorise < cat­
egor(y) + -ise and sim. melodise < melod(y), economise < econom(y),
etc., D.com and OED), and secondly because, as will be seen below (cf.
§14), besides non-learned formations where it can easily be parsed out
as a neutral noun suffix (discovery < discover, felony < felon, modesty
< modest, etc.), -y definitely functions as a stress-imposing noun affix,
representing L -ai, Gk -ia and F -ie in neoclassical combining form
compounds, whether it may there again be parsed out (e.g. bibli­
ophily, sync. decomp. as bibliophile (CF biblio- + CF -phile) + sep. -y,
photog­raphy, sync. decomp. as photograph (CF photo- + CF -graph)
+ sep. -y) or not (e.g. geography, decomp. as CF geo- + CF -graph +
bound -y, no underlying free form → *geograph). Items such as cat­
egoric, categorise, photographic, etc. will thus henceforth be treated as
derivable by affix-replacement (or synonymously substitution), viz. categoric, categorise derivable from categor(y) (no underlying free form)
16
17
14
Depending on theoretical approaches, suffixation with -ial may be postulated
for this adjective, which implies to consider that -ial is in this context a standalone suffix substituting with -y (categor(y) + -ial).
This process is not reducible to graphic coalescence when an i-initial suffix
attaches to -y, witness hobbyist, lobbyist, etc.
and photographic derivable from photograph(y), itself derivable from
photograph by concatenation of -y.
The present study will make use of four appellations in relation
with final affixes, as illustrated below:
(4)
a. separable suffixes: hydrogenous (< hydrogen + -ous)
b.suffixes attaching to a base by affix-replacement: categorise (< categor(y) +
-ise)
c.bound allomorphs of semantically transparent bases: reception (<~ receive),
evolution (<~ evolve)
d.inseparable suffixes (or synonymously “bound endings”), attached to semantically obscure or opaque stems: paternal (no attested free form → *patern,
further to removal of -al), discipline (demotivated, ie no semantic link with
disciple in Present-Day English)
Adjectives and nouns derivable from -Cle words partake of (4c.):
(4c')
Bases in -Cle
a. adj. in -cular n.: clavicular <~ clavicle, rectangular <~ rectangle, etc.
b.n. in -ability/-ibility/ubility < or <~ adj. in: -able/-ible/-uble doability < do­
able, reprehensibility < reprehensible, solubility < soluble, etc.
Graphically speaking, truncation occurs when a Vowel-initial suffix
attaches to a base, sometimes already containing an affix (separable
or not) which ends in mute -e:
(5)
Base in mute -e
a.base in mute -e + V-initial suffix: announcer < announc(e) + -er, cp. announcement (with C-initial suffix -ment);
b.base already affixed by substitution with a suffix in mute -e + V-initial suffix:
categorisation < categoris(e) (< categor(y) + -ise) + -ation.
Nonetheless, in words inherited from French, the graphic-phonic correlation rules of <c> and <g> (<c> = [k], <g> = [g] before <a, o, u>; <c> =
[s], <g> = [dʒ] before <e, i, y>) maintain the graphic image of mute
-e in suffixed forms such as pronounceable, manageable, marriageable
(here with concatenation of two sep. suffixes: -age and ‑able). For simplicity’s sake, derivatives of type (5) such as announcer, categorisation,
etc. will henceforth be classed as affixed with a separable suffix.
Some demonymic derivatives exhibit a tenuous degree of formal
transparency relative to their base: Fleming/Flemish <~ Flanders, Irish
15
<~ Ireland, Welsh <~ Wales, etc.). In such cases, derivational paradigms
are based on semantics alone.
Finally, base truncation quasi-systematically occurs when a suffix
is attached to a word containing a neoclassical ending, e.g. -a, -ae, -es,
-is, -um, -us, etc., or an ending interpretable as such, e.g. -a in China
(orig. uncertain, ult. < Sanskrit, cf. Chinese < Chin(a) + -ese, etc.), even
though most elements of this kind can hardly be held as affixal stricto
sensu (Bauer et al, 2013: 167, see however §16):
(6)
American (16th < Americ(a) + -an), Copernican (17th < Copernic(us) + -an),
fecal (16th < fec(es) + ‑al), uranic/ous (19th < uran(ium) + ‑ic/-ous), lexical (19th
< lexic(on) + -al), phenomenal (19th < phenonmen(on) + -al), pyrolitic (19th <~
pyrolys(is) + -ic18), etc.
0.4 Rules vs. constraints
With the advent (and success) of Optimality Theory, constraint-based
phonology has tended to eclipse the rule-based approach that was characteristic of earlier generative phonology. The respective relevance of
constraints and rules has been the object of several discussions (see
among others Durand & Lyche 2001, Vaux & Nevis et al 2008 and
Odden 2011). In this respect, Odden (ibid.) has come to the conclusion
that “The general ideas of rule-based and constraint-based grammar are
sufficiently open-ended that neither can be per se reasonably judged
superior to the other”.
Moreover, even Optimality-oriented authors have conceded that
the theoretical models of constraints (whether susceptible to competition for predominance or to repair strategies to avert violations19) do not
work that well when dealing with phonology per se. Thus, in his assessment of OT’s core principles, McCarthy (2007: 263) states:
18
19
16
About the s > t alternation in these words, cf. §.1.3.
The Theory of Constraints and Repair Strategies, elaborated by Paradis (1988a
& b) does not allow constraint violations, contrary to OT (for a detailed assessment of this theory, cf. Prince and Smolensky, 2004, §10.3.4).
As phonological representations became increasingly complex, it became possible to imagine an almost rule-less phonology in which automatic satisfaction
of universal constraints on representations was all that mattered. Goldsmith
(1976a; 1976b) and Prince (1983) developed proposals along these lines for
autosegmental and metrical phonology, respectively. This work ran headlong
into another problem, however: the proposed universal constraints did not hold
in every language all of the time.
An acknowledgement which leads this author (ibid: 265) to conclude
that “Each language has its own constraint ranking. The strongest hyp­
othesis is that constraint ranking is the only thing in the grammar that is
language-particular […]”.
As early as 2000 McMahon set out to demonstrate that OT cannot purport to account for language change without the incorporation
of language-specific rules and due consideration of historical and chance
factors in the shaping of languages20. On the merits of a constraint-based
approach when dealing with the interaction of morphology and phon­
ology, McMahon’s judgement (2002: 63) is no less clear-cut:
However, they21 are not quite so helpful when it comes to the interaction of
morphology and phonology, where alternations are often not clearly universally
motivated, but involve facts about the structure and lexical items of that specific
language alone.
It is a fact that Guierre never had much enthusiasm for the theory of universals in natural languages. As a probable consequence of this, those
who have adopted his theoretical framework have somewhat purposefully stood aloof from this field of investigation. In this regard, it should
be noted that Guierre and his followers have made use of the terms
“rule” and “constraint” synonymously in their treatment of English lexical stress, e.g. “la contrainte accentuelle de -ic” (“-ic’s stress constraint”)
or, interchangeably, “la règle accentuelle de -ic” (“-ic’s stress rule”).
Now, as set forth above, this book is predicated upon the assump­tion
that, in terms of word-stress assignment and morphological mecha­nisms,
the English language is subject to the conflicting forces of Germanic
20
21
In the same opus, McMahon goes as far as to argue that evolutionary biology
stands in contradiction with OT’s claims for innateness.
ie “constraints”.
17
phonology and Latin phonology, a tenet which departs radically from
traditional Guierrian approaches. Whilst not denying that, in addition to
the physiological limitations of human speech, universal constraints can
be found in syllable structure or phonotactics, it is our contention that, on
account of its specific history, English is typically a language whose interaction of morphology and phonology involves (to use McMahon’s very
words again) “facts about the structure and lexical items of that specific
language alone”. Thus, in all further analyses, the outputs under scrutiny
have been unapologetically handled in terms of a hierarchy of rules allow­
ing for greater and smaller numbers of exceptions or, more simply put, in
a rule-based framework22, notwithstanding inevitable skepticism from the
proponents of constraint-based phonology23.
Whereas no attempt has been made hereinafter to delve into the
theoretical tenets of Language Universals, references to and comparisons with other languages have played a crucial role in this study, with
specific concern for the affixation processes inherited not only from
Germanic languages but also from French24, Latin or Ancient Greek
without which, it is worth repeating, English would not be what it is.
0.5 Book structure
Part I deals with S-1 and stress-bearing suffixes, part II with stressneutral suffixes, part III with mixed suffixes (cf. definition in last par.
of §0.2), part IV with S-1/2 suffixes. A fifth part has been devoted to
assignment of primary stress other than by affixes and to rules dictating
placement of secondary stress.
22
23
24
18
The notion of “constraint” has of course been retained in analyses of other authors’ theoretical frameworks (e.g. “The Latinate Constraint”).
Symptomatically Giegerich 1999 has met with reviews emphasising the derring-do of a rule-based as opposed to constraint-based approach to morphology
and phonology, with not a single reference to Optimality Theory (e.g. Michael
B. Maxwell, in Linguist List (<Linguistlist.org>).
Most affixation processes inherited from French are still operational in this
language.
Part I
S-1 and auto-stressed suffixes
1. -ic
1.1 General features
Whether separable or not, -ic (from F -ique < L -icus related to A. Gk
suffix -ικος), whose very strict stress rule is one of the best known and
most anciently described of the English morphophonological system,
is chiefly adjectival. Over 90% of the -ic words delivered by the Corpus are labelled as adjectives only. Most of the remaining 10% are de­
scribed in dictionaries as alternately adjectival and nominal.
The stress-imposing rule assigning stress before -ic is highly
efficient with barely a dozen exceptions exhibiting antepenultimate
stress out of some 4,300 words: Arabic, arithmetic, arsenic, cadaveric,
Catholic, heretic, lunatic, politic, rhetoric, turmeric. Only one word
in -ic is recorded with final stress: matric, originally a shortening of
matricu­lation.
It should be noted that arithmetic, arsenic and rhetoric are reg­
ular (stressed before -ic) when adjectival. D.com also gives the rare
adjective variant of he'retical, heretic, as possibly stressed before -ic.
The noun bishopric, which contains the extinct suffix -ric (= “dominion, jurisdiction”, related to rich), should not be classified as an
-ic word. The antepenultimate stressing of the adjectives nickelic and
nucleic has been displaced by the regular [010] pattern. Agaric (n.),
choleric (adj.), chivalric (which was not constructed with the suffix -ric,
18th < chivalr(y) + -ic) and climacteric (n. and adj.) are still vacillating
between irregular S-2 and regular S-1 patterns.
The few words in -ic which only function as nouns or verbs (and
even more rarely as both, e.g. panic, traffic) are predominantly dissyllables with an obscure or opaque stem (e. g. cretic = “metrical foot in
prosody”, originally derived from Crete but not recognisable as such
synchronically).
(1)
-ic nouns with no adj. homograph (+v = + v.)
agaric, asdic (orig. an acronym for anti-submarine detection investigation committee), aspic, attic, cretic, critic, eccentric (however, the adj. eccentric is recorded in the s. of “not centrally placed”), ethic, fabric, garlic, logic, lumbric
(obs. according to OED), matric (cf. 2nd par. of this subsection), mimic+v, music,
panic+v, picnic+v (orig. a compound, < F pique-nique, as shown by its medial
consonant cluster), physic+v, quantic (<≠ n. quantum), relic, republic, rubric,
syndic, topic, traffic+v, tunic, turmeric
Though rarely employed as such, cynic, fanatic, tropic and umbilic are
also adjectives (cf. (6) below).
The -ic affix is naturally subject to the rightmost stress-imposing
affix rule (cf. §0(2)), hence the shifts (to the advantage or detriment of
-ic) such as ˌhistri'onic <~ histrion (-ic vs. -ion rule, cf. §2) or ˌato'm­
icity < atomic (-ity, cf. §3, vs. -ic rule).
1.2 Suffix combinations
1.2.1 -ic + ness, -ity and -ian
The noun suffix -ness is combinable with -ic: apostolicness, aromaticness, elasticness, rusticness, etc. (35 items), as is its rival deadjectival suffix -ity: apostolicity, aromaticity, elasticity, rusticity, etc. (120
items). The suffix -ian also freely attaches to -ic adjectives to form
nouns denoting a specialist in a scientific or technical field. In the latter
configuration, -ian indiscriminately attaches to already suffixed forms
(e.g. atomician < atomic < atom, syntactician < syntactic <~ syntax, cf.
§1.3) or bases in which -ic is inseparable (e.g. cosmetician, arithmeti­
cian), 62 items in all.
1.2.2 -ic + -ism, -ist and -ise
The suffixes -ism, -ist and -ise freely combine with -ic, whether the latter be separable (e.g. Gothic) or attached to a bound stem (e.g. critic):
22
(2)
apostolicism, eclecticism, Gothicism, romanticism, etc.(85 items); astrophysicist, classicist, lyricist, semanticist, etc. (29); criticise, domesticise, Hispanicise, historicise, etc. (27)
Although described as neutral in Guierrian literature, these three suffixes impose, besides velar softening, a regular pattern when they attach
to one of the exceptions to the S-1 -ic rule: A'rabicise < 'Arabic, Ca'tholi­
cism, Ca'tholicise < 'Catholic, po'liticise < 'politic(s) (cf. §1.4.1 below);
about A'rabical < 'Arabic, he'retical <~ 'heretic, po'litical <~ 'politic(s),
rhe'torical <~ 'rhetoric, cf. §1.4.2).
Despite it being held as a Class II suffix, -ist can, as is wellknown, precede -ic and is indeed commonly attested in this position1:
(3)
expressionistic, futuristic, naturalistic, revivalistic, etc. (250 items).
In this regard, Burzio (: 345) has examined such potential pairs as
??evangelistic/evangelicist, ??organistic/organicist, *propagandicist/
propagantistic, ??cubicist/cubistic. One adjective tagged with ?? is actually recorded in the Corpus and in OED, evangelistic (= “rel. to or
promoting the preaching and dissemination of the Christian gospel”),
whilst another, organistic, is given only in OED in the senses of “rel. to
organists or the organ” in music” or “rel. to an organism or organised
structure”. As Burzio pointed out there is no morphosemantic inconsis­
tency in such mirror-image counterparts since words in -istic and -icist
are not synonyms, the former being adjectives and the latter nouns.
1
Kiparsky (1982a.) has attempted to account for this paradox by defining -istic
as a stand-alone suffix in such formations as expressionistic, futuristic etc, on
the model of adjectives such as sim'plistic (19th < 'simple), which implies to consider synonymous adjectives such as futuristic and futurist (most words in -ist
function as nouns and adjectives: capitalist, expressionist, etc.) as derived from
the same base (future + -ist = future + -istic). Kiparsky’s treatment is however
much harder to justify in -istic adjectives qualifying a transparent suffixed noun
in -ist which does not function as an adjective: ˌanna'listic (19th) < 'annalist
(17th, no adjective function, < 'annal(s), and similarly ˌego'istic (19e) < 'egoist
(18e) < egoism, ˌeulo'gistic (1825) < 'eulogist (1808) < eulogy vs. eulogism in
OED), journa'listic (17e) < 'journalist (17e) < 'journal, etc. Kiparsky’s interpretation is moreover invalidated in OED’s etymological notices, where adjectives
such as expressionistic, futuristic, etc. are given as derived from -ist bases (expressionistic < expressionist + -ic, futuristic < futurist + -ic, etc.).
23
Conversely, the nouns propagandicist and cubicist do not appear
in the Corpus or in OED. For the former, lexical blocking is obviously
at play since propagandist already exists. The existence of cubist would
also seem to preclude that of cubicist. However queries on the Internet
show that this noun is now being used by Rubik’s cube fans (e.g. the
Cubicist Association of America) who obviously felt the urge to coin
this term to differentiate themselves from painters of the Cubist school.
Pairs in -ist and -istic may denote a noun > adjective derivation
(altruistic <~ altruist, autistic < autist, egoistic < egoist, optimistic <
optimist, pessimistic < pessimist etc.2) or adjectival synonyms (absolutist + n. < absolute = absolutistic < absolutist, n., Calvinist + n. <
Calvin(ism) = Calvinistic < Calvinist, n., capitalist + n. < capital = capitalistic < capitalist, n., etc.). In the latter case, the -ist form is generally
considered as more common.
-istic is also a suffix in its own right, substituting with:
i. Neo-Latin endings (cf. §0(6)): floristic (<≠ florist) < flor(a)), hubristic (< Gk) <~ hubr(is), yogistic (<?) <~ yog(a)3 etc.; note, however, mediumistic < medium; about asthmatic <~ asthma, miasmatic
<~ miasma, etc., cf. §1.3 below)
ii.-ism endings, when there is no intermediary form in -ist: albinistic
< albin(ism) + -istic) and sim. ameristic (< amer(ism)), atonalistic
(< atonal(ism)), cannibalistic (<~ cannibal(ism), act. < cannibal +
-istic), dioristic (< dior(ism)), dysphemistic (< dysphem(ism)), erethistic (< Gk <~ ereth(ism)), hypocoristic (< GK <~ hypocor(ism)),
melanistic (< melan(ism)), poristic (< Gk <~. porism), Puseyistic
(< Pusey(ism), the corresponding n. is Puseyite), synchronistic
(< synchron(ism)), etc.
2
3
24
According to Srauss (1983), Goldsmith (1990: 268) and Burzio (: 310), denominal adjectives such as ??cartoonistic (< cartoonist) are illicit since, as Burzio
puts it (:310), “cartoonist maintains the word integrity of cartoon, which would
be lost in cartoo(nisticØ)”. Cartoonistic is however found in Web pages as are
other examples with the same type of base structure such as careeristic, which
is listed in Free D., under the entry for ambitious, as one of its analogous adjectives.
A word actually adopted from Hindi.
Historically, several derivatives of type i have actually preceded
the coinage of a corresponding -ist noun: anachronistic (18th < anachron(ism) + -istic, cp. anachronist, 18424), atavistic (1875 < atav(ism)
+ -istic, cp. atavist, post-1833), holistic (1926 < hol(ism) + -istic, cp.
holist, 1937), wholistic (< whol(ism), alteration of holism, cp. wholist,
1956, OED, not listed in the Corpus). However, the ensuing nouns in
-ism have produced direct derivation in -ic: aphorismic (or -istic) <~
aphorism, erethismic (or -istic) < erethism, embolismic < embolism,
organismic < organism (about organistic cf. first par. below (3), same
ch.), priapismic < priapism, seismic <~ seism. The nouns archaism (<
Gk), Judaism (< L), Hebraism (< L), have corresponding nouns and
adjectives in -ist and -istic (archaist, archaistic, Judaist (< Juda(ism) +
-ist), Judaistic, Hebraist (< Hebra(ize) + -ist), Hebraistic) as well as the
adjectival forms archaic (< Gk), Judaic (< L < Gk), Hebraic (< L < Gk).
The -istic suffix occasionally attaches to free bases ending with
a liquid (characteristic <~ character, maternalistic (1909 < maternal +
-istic), polaristic < polar, voyeuristic (1929) < voyeur, also relatable to
voyeurism5, simplistic (<≠ simplist) < simple, stylistic (<≠ stylist) < style,
totalistic (1932) < total6), although this derivational pattern remains
marginal: alcoholic < alcohol, idyllic < idyl, metallic <~ metallic, nickelic < nickel, metric <~ metre, polymeric <~ polymer, bibliophilic < bibliophile, etc. Invested with a different sense from that of maternalistic,
the adjective maternalist appeared in the 20th century in Maternalist
Reform and is now freely used attributively (e.g. maternalist ideology/
policy/welfare state, or as a noun, e.g. a maternalist not a feminist).
Another composite suffix in -ic, -etic, is synchronically analysa­
ble as attaching to the combining forms -ergy (energetic <~ energy,
syn­ergetic < synergy) and -pathy, in the senses of “feeling” or “suffering” (antipathetic <~ antipathy, apathetic < apathy, empathetic
4
5
6
Despite the date of earliest recorded use indicated in OED for anachronistic
(1778), this adjective is given in the same dictionary as formed from anachronist (1842) + -ic. A similar inconsistency is found in OED with anomalistic
(1768 < anomalist (1860) vs. < anomal(y) + -istic in D.com).
Another contradiction arises with this adjective, given in OED as derived from
voyeurist (1955, not listed in the Corpus) < voyeur(ism) + -ist).
Same paradox: given in OED as derived from totalist (1956, not listed in the
Corpus) < total + -ist.
25
< empathy, idiopathetic < idiopathy, sympathetic <~ sympathy, etc.),
further to truncation of their final -y. When the element -pathy denotes a
medical treatment or condition, it is instead adjectivised by attachment
of -ic (still with truncation of -y): allopathic <~ allopathy, psychopathic < psychopathy, etc. Synchronically, the adjective -genetic, which is
very productive in the construction of learned compounds (abiogenetic,
agamogenetic, androgenetic, anthropogenetic, autogenetic, biogenetic,
blastogenetic, cenogenetic, etc., 50 items), can also be interpreted as
resulting from a derivation in -etic from the noun gene, even though,
historically, this noun was adopted in 1909 from German (Gen) and
genetic resulted from replacement by -ic of the -is of genesis by analogy with adjectives corresponding to nouns in -sis (synthetic/synthesis,
etc.).
1.3 Allomorphic transformations
When -ic attaches to neoclassical words with a final or prefinal /s/ (rep­
resented by c, s, x in the graphic sequences -cy, -sy, -sis, -Vs, -Vx, -xy), the
morphophonological transformation /s/ > [t] is systematically attested:
lunatic <~ lunacy, heretic/ical <~ heresy, ankylotic <~ ankylosis, emphatic <~ emphasis, epenthetic <~ epenthesis, genetic <~ genesis (cf.
preceding par.), synthetic <~ synthesis, chaotic < chaos, syntactic <~
syntax, apoplectic <~ apoplexy, etc.
In conformity with classical Greek which had nouns suffixed
with ‑ma derive adjectives from their genitival form, the insertion of
a t has by and large remained compulsory in languages, including
English, drawing from this stock: aromatic <~ aromata, asthmatic <~
asthma, charismatic<~ charisma, dogmatic <~ dogma, dramatic <~
drama, traumatic <~ trauma, etc. (see also adj. in -atous, sarcomatous
<~ sarcoma, cf. §15(32'b.) or alternative plural forms of names of
tumours in -oma: sarcomata < sarcoma, cf. penult par. of §5.4.1).
Nouns in -rama (cf. §5.4.4) are notable exceptions to this principle:
cosmoramic, cycloramic, panoramic).
26
The -atic allomorphic variant of -ic occurs with words of classic
origin that have lost their final -a: axiomatic <~ axiom, idiomatic <~
idiom, paradigmatic <~ paradigm, problematic <~ problem, schematic <~ scheme, symptomatic <~ symptom, systematic <~ system (the
same noun base has however produced the adjective systemic which
is invested with a different sense), thematic <~ theme, etc. Atom is not
descended from a Greek noun in -ma (< atomos), hence the adjectival
derivative atomic. Similarly, the combining forms -derm, -sperm and
-therm were inherited from other Greek endings (respec­tively thermē, dermos (or dermis), spermos), which explains why they do not
normally produce -atic suffixations. To make things even more confusing, the noun sperm, to be distinguished from the homographic
combining form, is indeed descended from the Greek noun sperma,
thus allowing the adjectival derivative spermatic. However the combining forms -chrome and ‑plasm, the origins of which do trace back
to Greek nouns in -ma (respectively khrōma and plásma), vacillate be­
tween -ic and -atic in the adjectives they are apt to derive (achromic =
achromatic, metachromic = metachromatic, cytoplasmic = cytoplasmatic). The -chromic variant is yet preferred when relating to a noun
denoting an abnormal state or condition of pigmentation: hyperchromic = “rel. to hyperchromia”.
The suffix -ic is theoretically always denominal. However, a para­
digmatic relation can be established between verbs in -ify and -ic adjec­
tives: beatify/beatific, calcify/calcific, horrify/horrific, pacify/pacific.
Since -ic is not supposed to be deverbal and the verb suffix -ify is either
denominal or deadjectival (cf. §4.1), it may seem logical to infer an -ic
> -ify derivational axis (with affix-substitution). Still, -ific can synchron­
ically be held as a suffix in its own right, attaching to nouns in ‑o(u)r:
colorific < colour (vs. < L in OED), honorific <~ honour, torporific <~
torpor, vaporific < vapour (vs. < L in OED), cp. meteoric (< meteor)
and meteoritic (< meteorite), which contain the post-classical learned
form meteora.
27
1.4 Extensions of the -ic rule
1.4.1 -ics
This suffix is used chiefly in forming names of sciences, arts, technologies, etc. Historically, it is said to be a plural of -ic, representing Latin
-ica (< Gk -ika). Synchronically it would however be quite specious to
equate it with a mere concatenation of the morpheme of the plural to -ic
(except of course in unambiguous inflectional derivatives such as acrylics < acrylic, Catholics < Catholic, Hispanics < Hispanic, lunatics <
lunatic, etc.), since nouns in -ics denoting a science, an art or a technology are singular (e.g. acoustics is the science of sound) as opposed to
their homonyms denoting an effect, quality or characteristic of the same
science, art, etc. (e.g. the acoustics here are terrible). Synchronically, as
shown by pairs such as criminalistic (19th) / criminalistics (1910 < criminalist + -ics vs. < criminalistic in OED), hygienic (1833 < hy­gien(e) +
-ic) / hygienics (1855 < hygien(e) + -ics vs. < hygiene in OED), phonemic (1921 < phonem(e) + -ic) / phonemics (1934 < phonem(e) + -ics,
vs. < phonemic in OED), we have here two distinct suffixes, -ic and
-ics, with a paradigmatic relation, each being apt to be used first in the
coinage of new words.
The Corpus lists about 450 nouns in -ics denoting a science, an
art or a technology. To a lesser extent, -ics is also employed to construct plural nouns denoting technical characteristics or ostentatious
behaviour.
(4)
academics (“the scholarly activities of a school or university”, + simple pl.
form of academic), antics, basics, biologics (“products derived from biology”),
comics (= “comic books” + simple pl. of comic), demographics (1967, “statistical data”), enterics (“enterobacteria”), geometrics (“geometric characteristics
or features”), heroics (“hammy behaviour”), hieroglyphics (“handwriting, figures, characters, code, etc., difficult to decipher”), histrionics, hysterics, italics, lyrics, melodramatics (“melodramatic behaviour”), Olympics, pyrognostics
(“properties exhibited by a mineral when heated”), spondulics (US slang =
“money”)
Whether attaching to a free base (robotics 1941 <~ robot, 1922 vs. < robotic in OED, apparently coined by I. Assimov) or a bound morpheme,
28
generally a Neo-Greek or Latin combining form, -ics, in the same manner as -ic, causes stress to fall on the syllable which precedes it (S-1)
with the sole exception of politics and the compounds it has spawned
(ecopolitics, geopolitics, petropolitics, etc.).
This suffix is still quite productive: about half of the relevant
nouns listed in the Corpus have been coined since the beginning of the
20th century.
1.4.2 -ical
The Corpus lists 1,000 adjectives in -ical (described as a combination
of -ic and -al, ult < L -icālis). All receive primary stress on the syllable
before -ic. The once irregular penult patterns of cervical and umbilical
have been displaced by regular stress: 'cervical, um'bilical.
Similarly to -ism and -ise (cf. par. between (2) and (3) above), -al
imposes a regular pattern when it attaches to one of the exceptions to
the S-1 -ic rule: he'retical <~ 'heretic, po'litical <~ 'politic(s), rhe'torical
<~ 'rhetoric. This regularisation is due to the basic accentological rule
of ‑al which places primary stress one or two syllables back (cf. §15).
As an adjectival affix, -ical is different from -ic when
i. it adjectivises a noun in -ic which has no adjective homograph (rubrical < rubric, cf. (1) above);
ii. it provides an adjective with an additional and/or different meaning
to that or those in the -ic form (economic ≠ economical);
iii. it has no adjectival equivalent in -ic (lackadaisical vs. *lackadaisic).
An adjective in -ical can also be a mere synonymous variant of an adjective in -ic (geographic = geographical).
Exhaustive examination of the 1,000 adjectives in -ical shows
that classes i., ii., iii. do not betoken many words. In fact merely eight
adjectives in -ical are synchronically relatable to -ic words labelled as
solely nominal in the Corpus:
(5)-ical < or <~ -ic
a. adjectivisation of -ic nouns which have no adjective homograph: critical <
critic (vs. < L. in OED), eccentrical < eccentric (in the s. of “a person with an
29
unusual, odd, or peculiar personality”), ethical < ethic, logical <~ logic, lumbrical (<~ lumbricus according to OED) <~ lumbric (obs. according to OED),
musical (+ n. = “musical show”) <~ music, rubrical < rubric, topical < topic7
b. adjectives in -ical having a s. directly deducible from a n. in -ic plus a dem.
s. rel. to the latter: clerical (“rel. to the clergy”) <~ cleric (“member of the
clergy”) ≠ clerical (“connected with the ordinary work that people do in
offices”), clinical (“pertaining to a clinic”) < clinic ≠ clinical (“not showing
any excitement or emotion”).
(5) can be complemented by the pairs below whose items in -ic are
seldom used as adjectives in Present-Day English, even though some
dictionaries still label them as both nouns and adjectives:
(6)
Arabic/Arabical and sim. arsenic/ical, encyclic/ical, cynic/al, fanatic/ical, heretic/ical, hysteric/ical, mechanic/ical, mystic/ical, panegyric/ical, polemic/ical,
sabbatic/sabbatical (+ n. = “a period away from work”), technic/ical, theoretic/
ical, tropic/ical, umbilic/ical (cf. also (1) above).
Non-synonymous -ic and -ical adjectives come down to the inventory
below:
(7)
classic (“serving as standard, model or guide”) ≠ classical (“marked by classicism or rel. to classical music”; both are syn. when ref. to Ancient Greece
and Rome); comic (“pertaining to, or characteristic of comedy or of a person
who acts in or writes comedy”: comic opera, comic actor, comic situations; a
comic sense) ≠ comical (“producing laughter”); electric (“exciting, tense”) ≠
electrical (“concerned with electricity”: an electrical engineer/consultant; both
are syn. when meaning “using, providing or operated by electricity”); economic
(“rel. to economics or the economy of a country, system, etc.”) ≠ economical
(“not expensive or careful about spending money”); historic (“well-known or
important in history”, “rel. to facts, people or places having taken place or existed in the past” and “periods of time whose history has been recorded”) ≠
historical (“rel. to the study of history”: historical records; historical research,
both adj. are syn. when meaning “rel. to facts, people or places having taken
place or existed in the past”); lyric (“pertaining to lyric poetry”: lyric song,
7
With the exception of critic, a rare or obsolete adjective function is given for
these items in OED: eccentric (latest recorded use: 1836; eccentric in the sense
of “not centrally placed” has also probably fallen into obsolescence, latest recorded use: 1884), ethic (now rare), logic (obs.), music (id.), rubric (now historical), topic (obs.). Although they are recorded as alternately adjectival in the
Corpus, some nouns (e.g. cynic, fanatic (cf. (6), same ch.) are now preferably
adjectivised with the -ical form: cynical, fanatical.
30
lyric writing) ≠ lyrical (which is only syn. with lyric in its other s. of “expressing emotion”: lyrical movie-making style, a painter known for his lyrical landscapes, etc.); politic (“marked by artful prudence, expedience and shrewdness”)
≠ political (“rel. to politics or to a policy”); practical ≠ practic (= “deceitful”,
arch. as a syn. s. of practical); rubric (arch. = “red”) ≠ rubrical (“pertaining to a
rubric”); viatic (“pertaining to a journey”) ≠ viatical (“pertaining to a viaticum
or to an insurance policy for terminally ill people”).
There are also some nouns in -ic and adjectives in -ical with no (or
hardly any) semantic link, at least synchronically:
(8)
attic (“loft”) ≠ Attical (“pertaining to Ancient Attica” + var. Attic); Dominic
(name) ≠ dominical (“rel. to Sunday”), both have the same etym. < L dominicus =
“of the Lord”; medic (“a member of a military medical corps, or a medical
student”) ≠ medical (“pertaining to medicine” + n. = “medical examination”);
physic (obs. = “medicine”) ≠ physical (“rel. to the body, sexual activities or
physics”, + n. = “medical examination”); syndic (“a person appointed to represent a private or public body in business transactions”) ≠ syndical (“pertaining
to a union of people involved in a given trade or to syndicalism”); about clerical, clinical, cf. (5) above.
Finally, according to the Corpus, the adjectives below have no variant
in -ic8:
(9)
(in)amical, biblical, clergical, conventical, dexterical (obs.), dropsical, farcical, finical, identical (identic is now only used in diplomacy), inimical,
lackadaisical, pentahedrical, practical (cf. (7) above), prejudical, quizzical,
rhetorical, (non)sensical, separatical (r.), surgical, whimsical; the ensuing adjectives have been affixed or are sync. analysable as affixed with -al: apical
(<~ apex), cervical (<~ cervix), cortical (<~ cortex), helical (<~ helix), lexical
(19th < lexic(on) + -al), matrical (<~ matrix, about matric cf. (1) above), radical
(now dem. <≠ radix), urtical (<~ urtic(a) + -al), vertical (now dem. <≠ vertex),
vesical (<~ vesic(a) + -al)
Whereas there is possible variation between -ic and -ical when these
affixes attach to a word in -ist (Calvinistic/Calvinistical, egoistic/egoistical, etc., the Corpus lists 30 pairs of this kind), the former affixation is
much more common in contemporary usage (about Kiparsky’s anal­ysis
of adjectives in -istic and our criticism thereof, cf. §1, footnote1).
8
Biblic, farcic and inimic are recorded as obsolete in OED. Rhetoric (with regular /010 pattern vs. 'rhetoric for the n., cp. adj. arith'metic, ar'senic, he'retic, adj.
vs. n. a'rithmetic, 'arsenic, 'heretic) is listed in the same dictionary.
31
When they allow adjectivisation with either -ic or -ical, neoclassical combining forms are also more often affixed with the former (-archic, -chromic, -cratic, -pathic, -phonic, -scopic, etc.). Moreover, close
inspection of attested pairs shows that the -ic form is more frequently
used (e.g. octosyllabic vs. octosyllabical, aristocratic vs. aristocratical,
which bears out Fournier’s (1993) and Kaunisto’s (2004 & 2007) conclusions on the predominance of suffix -ic in the coinage of learned words.
Nonetheless, probably because of the categorial difference be­
tween logic (solely n. in the Corpus, the homographic adj. listed in OED
is now obs.) and logical (solely adj.), the most productive of all final
combining forms, namely -log-, tends to impose -ical in the adjectives it
contributes to creating (astrological rather than astrologic, cf. summary
and conclusion of this chapter).
In the same manner, even though chemic is recorded in dic­
tionaries as an adjectival variant of chemical, the former is obviously
rarely used, as evidenced by the data from the Corpus: Indeed only two
learned adjectives in -chemic (alchemic <~ alchemy, act. from Ar.) and
thermochemic) are recorded vs. more than 20 in -chemical (agrochemi­
cal, alchemical, biochemical, geochemical, etc.). Affixation with -ical
is obviously the norm with the -dox combing form (cacodoxical, het­
eroxical, orthodoxical, paradoxical), although the rare variant para­
doxic is recorded in OED.
There is no attested affixation in -ical with the productive combining forms -cephal- (-cephalic, 30 items), -morph- (-morphic, 50),
‑phil- (‑philic, 35), -phob- (-phobic, 20).
Barring those listed in (9) and those described in the preceding
paragraphs, the remaining adjectives in -ical, all have a variant in -ic.
In most cases, the latter affix is either more commonly used or is the
one recommended in generalist dictionaries, the variant -ical being labelled as obsolete or rare (e.g. Adamic vs. Adamical, anecdotic vs. anecdotical, angelic vs. angelical, antiseptic vs. antiseptical, apologetic
vs. apologetical, aquatic vs. aquatical, aromatic vs. aromatical, atomic
vs. atomical, etc. (250 such pairs, with preference of usage given for
the form in -ic, are found in the Corpus). The few cases of synonymous
variants in which the -ical form predominates in contemporary use have
been listed in (8) above.
32
1.5 Summary and conclusion
Adding up 4,300 words in -ic, 1,000 in -ical, 450 in -ics and about 150
in -icism, -icist, -icise, some 6,000 words are governed by the -ic stress
rule, not counting all the adverbs that can be derived from -ic or -ical
adjectives, being understood that they are supposed to end in -ically
even if there is no corresponding -ical adjective to derive them from
(e.g. morphemic > morphemicALly). However some examples of direct
juxtaposition of the adverbial suffix to an -ic adjective are recorded in
the Corpus (anticly, authenticly, catholicly, impoliticly, politicly, publicly). With the exception of publicly, the -ically variant of these items is
recommended in dictionaries.
Whereas -ic is by far the more prolific of the -ic/-ical pair when
considering usage as well as the number of adjectives it has produced,
‑ical remains essentially active, as stated above, on account of the huge
potential of neologisms in -logy. Further to the proliferation of new
sciences in recent History, more than 150 nouns in -logy have appeared
in the English lexicon since the beginning of the 20th century, giving rise
to a growing number of adjectives in -ical. Out of the 1,000 adjectives
in -ical listed in the Corpus, more than 200 are indeed derivatives from
nouns in -logy. The overall predominance of -ic over -ical, except in
certain morphological classes, such as -logical (and chemical as seen
above), or in certain odd pairs (e.g. surgical rather than surgic), has
been confirmed by a systematic survey of 11,966 adjectives ending with
either affix carried out by Aronoff and Lyndsay (2010).
In terms of contemporary productivity, -ic is first and foremost
associated with learned words. 80% of adjectives containing this affix
are indeed constructions based on neoclassical combining-form compounds. Out of the 300 final combining forms allowing suffixation with
-ic, the most productive are -log- (combining with -ical rather than ‑ic,
200 items, cf. preceding par.), -graph- (-ic rather than -ical, 135) and
-metric (-ic rather than -ical, 100).
The 400 less complex (or not so obviously scientific) adjectives
in -ic which remain generally result from suffixation by juxtaposition:
conic < cone, iconic < icon, scenic < scene. In non-scientific vocabulary,
33
-ic, like -ous (cf. §15.3.7), has seemingly had waning productivity in recent word-formation.
Formerly productive in the adjectivisation of proper nouns (Abrahamic, Adamic, Platonic9, Socratic, etc.), -ic has been gradually supplanted for this purpose by its rival suffix -ian (cf. 3rd par. below §5.1.3).
As a noun and adjective suffix, -ic remains productive to name
families or subfamilies of languages (Altaic, Anatolic, Baltic, Celtic,
Germanic, Hellenic, Nordic, Semitic, Slavic, Turkik, Ugric, Uralic, etc.)
as evidenced by other exemplars of this kind, not recorded in the Corpus but extracted from specialist publications (Didoic, Kamshukotic,
Luorowetlanic, Tsezik, etc.).
The affix -ic is also predominant in naming languages and dialects
from countries or areas ending in -land: (from the Corpus) Greenlandic < Greenland, Icelandic < Iceland, Netherlandic < Netherlands and
(from Web pages): Gotlandic (language spoken in Southern Sweden) <
Gotland, Heligolandic(North Friesian dialect) < Heligoland, Hollandic
(Du. dialect) < Holland, Jamtlandic (Scan. dialect) < Jamtland, Jutlandic (Da. dialect) < Jutland, Rhinelandic < Rhineland, Shetlandic <
Shetland, Zeelandic (Du. dialect) < Zeeland.
An extraction from alcoholic, -aholic has become a productive
suffix in the formation of generally facetious nouns denoting a person
with an addiction: foodaholic, rageholic, sexaholic, shopaholic, work­
aholic (from the Corpus) + (from other sources) loveaholic (Urban D.),
milkaholic (id. + The Word Spy), pizzaholic (Online Medical D.), etc.
Finally, in chemical nomenclature, the suffixes -ic and -ous are
complementary, indicating respectively a higher and lower valence of
an element: boric/borous, carbonic/carbonous, chloric/chlorous, chromic/chromous, ferric/ferrous; iodic/iodous, nitric/nitrous, phosphoric/
phosphorous, sulphuric/sulphurous, etc.
9
34
Derivatives from neoclassical bases in -o often insert an -n: Platonic, Plutonic,
etc.
2. -ion and similar affixes
2.1 General features
From L -iōn-, -iō, the affix -ion and its allomorphs denote an action or
a process, result of an action or process, a state of being or a condition.
In rough numbers, with about 4,200 items, -ion is the second
most productive suffix of Latin origin in the English language. Some
dictionaries list this affix under the form -tion. True enough, 87% of
nouns in -ion recorded in the Corpus end with this sequence. The remaining nouns of the Corpus break down as follows ≈ 345 nouns in
‑(s)sion, 27 in -xion and ≈ 180 in which -ion is preceded by another
graphic consonant, e.g. Albion, region, fashion, battalion, oblivion, etc.
Close scrutiny of the Corpus shows that items in -tion, -(s)sion and -xion
are in a huge majority items synchronically analysable as transparent
suffixed forms, even when they denote a morphophonological transformation of the base, e.g. decision <~ decide, evolution <~ evolve),
where­as those in which -ion is preceded by another graphic consonant
than <s>, <t> or <x> are nearly always words with an opaque stem.
The well-known stress-assignment rule of -ion placing stress on
the syllable which precedes it, whether this affix be separable or bound,
is close to 100% perfect (attention, companion, centurion, oblivion, rebellion, religion, etc.), only four exceptions are recorded: 'dandelion
(from the MF phrasal compound dent de lion, literally “lion’s tooth”),
O'rion and the neoclassical compounds 'cation and 'television (which
has a regular var. in [2010]).
Compressed into a syllabic consonant when palatalised (namely
in more than 97% of -ion words, e.g. passion ['pæ∫.ən]), a phonetic
transformation recognisable to the graphic representations -gion, -shion,
-(s)sion, -tion and -xion, -ion, is nonetheless phonologically dissyllabic.
This underlying bivocalic structure is more obvious in unpalatalised
words in -ion which are alternately realised as one or two syllables (e.g.
35
Albion, companion), a phenomenon which LPD symbolises with the
transcription [i˯ə], the subscript semi-circle indicating possible compression of [i ə] into [jə]. For simplicity’s sake such words will henceforth be transcribed [i.ə], as they are in EPD, the dot indicating syllable
division.
Whether their final sequence is reduced to a syllabic consonant
further to palatalisation → [ən], compressed → [jən] or realised as two
syllables → [i.ən]), words in -ion are to be considered, in terms of phonological structure, as bivocalic.
2.2 The -ION generalisation
As evidenced by the following derivations, in which the second vowel
resurfaces with its full value (experiential [ikˌspiə.ri'en.t∫əl] < experi­
ence [ik'spiə.r i.əns], partiality [̩pɑː∫i'æl.ə.ti] <~ partial ['pɑː.∫əl], oceanic [ˌəʊ.∫i'æn.ik] <~ ocean ['əʊ.∫ən], idiotic [ˌid.i'ɒt.ik] <~ idiot ['idi. ət],
cf. Fournier, 2010: 32), this underlying bivocalic structure described for
-ion is characteristic of all words in -e,i/y,/uVC0(e), a formula that will
be glossed as “words ending with an e, an i (or -y) or a u plus another
vowel, followed or not by one or more consonants, followed or not by a
final silent <e>”1 (e.g. cetaceous, cetacean, acacia, Acadian, individual,
fluctuate, etc.). Similarly to -ion, all other -e,i/y,/uVC0(e) sequences (for
simplicity’s sake, these sequences will henceforth be grouped together
under the generic appellation -ION) have stress fall on the preceding
syllable (S-1)2. As seen above, they produce a compulsory penultimate pattern in case of palatalisation and either a [(-)100] or a [(‑)10]
pattern, further to possible compression of the underlying two vowels
(nation, delicious, ocean = [(-)10] vs. Albion, agrarian, medium =
[(-)10] or [(-)100].
1
2
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This generalisation rules out words such as ˌIndi'ana, Vicˌtori'ana, etc.
It must be made clear that this generalising graphic rule, initially enunciated
by Guierre (1979: §5.3.3), does not account for the phonological phenomena
involved, notably the S-1/2 stress placement of affixes such as -al, -an, -ous, etc.
(cf. §15), e.g. financial, Italian, prejudicious).
The incorporation of other /V + V/ suffixes into a generic -ION
rule considerably increases its range. In a strictly graphic approach, the
most productive of these final affixes, separable or bound, are:
(1)-eous (400 items), -ious (500), -uous (80), -ial (750), -ual (120), -ian (1300),
-uan (30), -iary (50), -uary (30), -iant (40), -ient (140), -eate (44), -iate (230),
-uate (65), -ia (2700), -ium (760), -io (150), -ius (160), -iable (35), -iance/ -iancy
(18), ‑ience/-iency (90), + affix combinations: -arianism (35), ‑arianist (5), -arianise (8), -iarise (5), -ionise (20), -ionism (55), -ionist (120), -ionable (42), -ional
(300), -ionary (70), ‑ioner (38), -ionalise (26), -ionalist (18), -ionalism (25)
Even if highly specialised learned words in -ia (a suffix used, among
other fields, in the naming of diseases and flowers, cf. §16.2.2), -ium
(principally used in the naming of metallic elements, cf. §16.2.6) and
‑ius were to be discarded, the number of words governed by this graphic
stress-assignment generalisation would be increased by about 4,500
units. Besides the affixes listed in (1), many more final sequences fall
into the scope of the -ION generalisation: alien, aphrodisiac, compatriot, continuum, ecclesiast, enthusiasm, Napoleon, period, proletariat,
soviet, symposiarch, etc. The -ION generalisation also applies to initial neoclassical combining forms: 'angiogram, 'bibliophile, 'plesiosaur,
'stereotype, etc. (there are about 40 initial combining forms ending with
the -ION structure).
If all possible avatars of the -ION generalisation are included a
staggering 12,600 words (12.6%) come out of the Corpus, making it (in
grapho-phonemic terms) the most powerful stress-imposing rule in the
English language. To give a more precise idea of its scope, suffice it to
say that words in -ION account for around 11 to 12% of polysyllabic
lexical entries in most generalist dictionaries3.
Since the -ION generalisation is by definition subject to the presence of two distinct phonological vowels in a final sequence, digraphs
are naturally not relevant to its application. Other rules must be ap­
pealed to in order to account for the stressing of words in -ee (ˌabduc'tee, 'pedigree, etc. cf. §5.1.1), -eer (ˌengi'neer, ˌvolun'teer, etc. cf.
§5.1.2), ‑ieC0(e) (re'prieve, re'lieve, etc. cf. §0.2, iii.), ), -ue (e.g. pur'sue,
'rev­enue, cf. §0.2, ii.-iii.), or French loans ˌcama'raderie, chi'noiserie,
etc. cf. §4.5).
3
A similar proportion is found in EPD and LPD.
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2.2.1 -ea
This sequence has an ambivalent status. Thus, <ea> is always a digraph,
with the ea = [i:] correlation, in the stems of words with an inseparable
prefix (an'neal, ap'peal, con'geal, re'lease, re'peal, re'peat, re'veal, etc.)
as well as in or'deal (+ var. [10]) and in ˌcochi'neal (+ var. [100]).
As the graphic representation of two phonological vowels, -ea is
found in neoclassical nouns apt to yield adjectival suffixations in eal and/
or -ean. These three final sequences hardly seem to comply with the -ION
generalisation, as most relevant words actually bear primary stress on the
first of the two final vowels. As far as adjectives in -eal and -ean are
concerned, this alternative stress assignment is consequential to the phon­
ological conditioning of the -an and -al affixes, of which -eal and ‑ean
are extended forms, which imposes placement of primary lexical stress
one or two syllables back (cf. §15 and footnote 3 above). Thus, so as to
satisfy the S-1/2 rule of -al and -an, adjectives in -eal and -ean privilege
stress preservation, either conforming to full preservation when they are
derivable from a base with penult primary stress (ˌKampu'chean < ˌKampu'chea, Zim'babwean < Zym'babwe) or resorting to what Burzio aptly
defined as “weak preservation” when their base has antepenult or earlier
stress (ˌDamo'clean < 'Damocles, ˌEuro'pean <~ 'Europe), since strong
preservation (*'Damoclean, *'European) would entail violation of S-1/2.
Cases of strong preservation chiefly proceed from a sizeable number of
neoclassical nouns (among which many are proper names) in -ea which
nearly always bear primary stress on the <e> of the two-vowel sequence:
(2)
N. and adj. in -eal or -ean derived or syncronically derivable from a base in
-ea → S-1 or S-2 stress (strong preservation): A'ch(a)ean (A'ch(a)ea),ˌCaesa'rean (Caesa'rea, about C(a)e'sarean, cf. (5b.) below.), Chal'dean (Chal'dea),
Cri'mean (Cri'mea), ˌCyre'thean (ˌCyre'thea), ˌCythe'rean (ˌCythe'rea),
ˌEri'trean (ˌEri'trea), Ju'daen (Ju'daea), ˌKampu'chean (ˌKampu'chea), Ko'rean
(Ko'rea), ˌLaodi'cean (Laodi'cean), Ne'mean (Ne'mea), Ni'cean (Ni'cea),
Pan'gean (Pan'gea), Pho'c(o)ean (Pho'c(o)ea), Poi'dean (< Poi'dea), etc. + Ce'tacean (Ce'tacea), Crus'tacean (Crus'tacea), ˌpana'cean (ˌpana'cea), Tes'tacean
(Tes'tacea), etc.; tra'cheal (+ [100]) < trachea (id.), u'real (id.) < urea (id.), etc.;
< -rrh(o)ea: amenorrh(o)eal, diarrh(o)eal, etc.4
4The -rrh(o)ea combining form (whether digraphic or trigraphic, in traditional
spelling) bears primary stress: -(o)ea → [i:.ə] ≠ [i.ə]: amenorrh(o)ea, blenorrh(o)ea, diarrh(o)ea, logorrhea, etc. (25 items cf. §5.4.5).
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Adjectives in -eal or -ean derived from initially-stressed
two-syllable nouns in -ea (ie satisfying -ION) further to truncation of
the neoclassical ending -a, do not bring about violation of S-1/2: 'cochlear (var. of -ean, cf. §15.5 <~ 'cochlea), 'corneal (< 'cornea), 'Guin­
ean (< 'Guinea) + items with variants 'tracheal/tra'cheal (< 'trachea/
tra'chea), u'real/'ureal (< u'rea/'urea), etc.
Besides those in -ea, many proper names characterised by
neo-classical endings (e.g. -as, -i, -es, -us, etc. cf. §16) have adjecti­
vised with -ean. A huge majority of items formed this way also comply
with strong or weak preservation (+var. = items with a stress variant, cf.
(6) below):
(3)
Items derived or synchronically derivable from neoclassical endings other than
in -ea
a.strong preservation: A'chillean+var (A'chilles), Ae'gean+var (orig. <~ Ae'geus),
'Andean+var ('Andes), An't(a)ean (An't(a)eus), ˌArchi'medean+var (Archi'medes), A'tlantean (+ -'tean <~ A'tlantis, cf. ˌAtlan'tean <~ 'Atlas in b.),
Au'gean+var (Au'geas), 'Bornean ('Borneo), Bo'rean (Bo'reas), Bri'arean (var.
-'arian < Bri'areus), Cadmean+var (= -ian <~ Cadmus), 'Circean+var ('Circe),
Eu'terpean (Eu'terpe), ˌGali'lean (< ˌGali'leo, cf. ˌGali'lean <~ 'Galilee
in b.), 'Hadean+var ('Hades), ˌHera'clitean+var (= -an <~ ˌHera'clitus), 'Lethean+var ('Lethe), 'Madzean ('Madza), 'Morphean ('Morpheus), 'Orphean+var
('Orpheus), 'Pandean+var (Pan), Pro'crustean (Pro'crustes), Pro'methean (Pro'metheus), 'Piscean ('Pisces), 'protean+var ('proteus), ˌPyre'nean
(ˌPyre'nees), 'Taurean ('Taurus), 'Thy'estean (Thy'estes), Ty'phoean (Ty'phoeus), etc.; exc.: ˌCabi'rean (= -'birian < Ca'biri), ˌJac­o'bean (<~ Ja'cobus,
Latinised form of James), ˌPria'pean (= -ic <~ Pri'apus), Sa'bean ('Saba),
Tar'tarean ( 'Tartarus), Tem'pean ('Tempe, in Thessaly), The'sean ('Theseus);
b.weak preservation: ˌAeschy'lean ('Aeschylus), Anˌtipo'dean (An'tipodes),
ˌAtlan'tean ('Atlas), ˌCaro'lean (ref. to the Stuart monarchs <~ 'Carolus),
ˌCerbe'rean+var (= -ic <~ 'Cerberus), ˌcyclo'pean+var (= -ian <~ 'Cyclops),
ˌDamo'clean ('Damocles), Diˌoge'nean (Di'ogenes), Eˌpicu'rean (E'picurus),
ˌGali'lean ('Galilee), ˌHebri'dean (= -ian < 'Hebrides), ˌHera'clean+var
('Heracles), ˌHercu'lean+var ('Hercules), ˌMacca'b(a)ean ('Maccabee), ˌMedi'cean ('Medici), Niˌcoma'chean (Ni'comachus), ˌOdys'sean (Odys'seus or
O'dysseus), ˌOedi'pean ('Oedipus), ˌPega'sean+var ('Pegasus), Peˌnelo'pean
(Pe'nelope), ˌPeri'clean ('Pericles), ˌPhari'sean ('Pharisee), Proˌtago'rean
(Pro'tagoras), Pyˌthago'rean (Py'thagoras), ˌSisy'phean ('Sisyphus), ˌSocra'tean (= -ic < 'Socrates), ˌSopho'clean ('Sophocles), Theocri'tean (= -an
<~ The'ocritus); exc.: ˌAristo'telean (= -'telian <~ 'Aristotle).
39
With the exception of European, the adjectives in (4) below have
been derived from non-classical proper names ending with an -e (mute
or pronounced, cf. §15(10)). Such adjectives are generally analysed as
resulting from attachement of the fundamental -an suffix to the base.
They may however alternatively be regarded as suffixed with the allomorphic variant -ean, further to deletion of -e, since most of them
have a variant with the much more commonly used suffix -ian, in which
such deletion has obviously occurred5. Whatever analysis is retained,
these adjectives nearly all comply with the general principle of strong
or weak preservation set forth in (2) and (3).
(4)
Adj. in -ean, derived or sync. derivable from a < n. in -e
a.strong preservation: A'pachean (A'pache), Be'lizean (= ‑ian < Be'lize), 'Boolean
(< Boole), 'Chilean (< 'Chile), 'Dantean (< 'Dante), 'Donnean (= -ian < Donne),
'Goethean (= -ian < 'Goethe), 'Nietzschean (< 'Nitzche), 'Sartrean (< 'Sartre),
Saus'surean (= -ian < Saus'sure), Sho'shonean (id. < Sho'shone), Vol'tairean
(id. < Vol'taire), Za'irean (id. < Za'ire), Zim'bab­wean (< Zim'babwe); exc.:
Cre'olean (= ‑ian < 'Creole), Mel'villean (< 'Melville);
b.weak preservation: ˌDela'warean (< 'Delaware), ˌEuro'pean (< 'Europe),
ˌSinga'porean (< 'Singapore), etc.
A final set of adjectives in -ean have to be considered, namely those
in which -ean is to be analysed as a separable suffix. As evidenced in
the sample below the adjectives of this type exhibit many variants and
irregularities relative to strong and weak preservation:
(5)
Adj. derivable or sync. derivable < n. + -ean
a.weak preservation: ˌAra'm(a)ean ('Aram), ˌCarib'bean (+ Ca'ribbean <
'Carib), ˌSalva'dorean (= -ian or -an < 'Salvador), ˌTyro'lean (< 'Tyrol +
strong preservation var. Ty'rolean < var. Ty'rol = Ty'rolian or ˌTyro'lese);
b.remetrification: C(a)e'sarean (= -ian <~ 'C(a)esar + dem. medical term, cp.
ˌCaesa'rean <~ ˌCaesa'rea), Eu'clidean ('Euclid), Mo'zartean ('Mozart =
-ian).
The indecomposable proper noun (and adjective) ˌMediter'ranean abides
by the ION generalisation, as do most common nouns and adjectives in
‑ea, -eal or ean with an opaque or obscure stem: azalea, bougainvillea,
5
40
Adjectives such as Mil'waukeean (< Mil'waukee), or ˌTennes'se(e)an (<
ˌTennes'see) whose non-classical base ends with the digraph -ee, are obviously
suffixed with -an (cp. ˌPhari'sean < 'Pharisee).
Cetacea, cornea, hydrangea, cerulean, ocean, etc., despite ˌhyme'neal
(dem. <≠ hymen, cp. 'hymenal), i'dea (+ var. 'idea), i'deal (n. and adj. +
var 'ideal, dem. <≠ idea), ˌpana'cea. The adjectives laryngeal (<~ 'larynx), (o)esophageal (< (o)e'sophagus) and pharyngeal (<~ 'pharynx) can
be stressed either on the syllable before ‑geal, in conformity with the
-ION generalisation, or on the <e> of the suffix in abidance with weak
preservation. Despite the generalisations which can be drawn from (2–4),
the suffix -ean is obviously indicative of an unresolved morphophonological conflict between the -ION rule and auto-stressing, as shown by
the great number of adjectives which oscillate between both possibilities:
(6)
Adj. in -ean with a stress var. ([(-)010] + ([(-)0100] or [(-)0100] + [(-)010]), cf.
(2–4) above:
Achillean (A'chilles), Andean ('Andes), Archimedean (ˌArchi'medes), Argean
(Ar'goan <~ 'Argo), Atlantean (A'tlantis or 'Atlas), Augean (Au'geas), Cadmean
('Cadmus), Caribbean ('Carib(s)), ˌCerberean ('Cerberus), Circean ('Circe),
cyclopean ('Cyclops), Danaidean (Da'naides), Etnean ('Etna), Hadean ('Hades), Heraclitean (ˌHera'clitus), Herculean ('Hercules), Heraclean ('Heracles),
Lethean ('Lethe), Mephistophelean (+ -ian < ˌMephis'topheles), Orphean (Orpheus), Pegasean ('Pegasus), Piscean ('Pisces), Pygmean ('Pygmy), Protean
('Proteus), Tyrolean (+ -ian < Ty'rol or 'Tyrol), etc.
A very complex suffix in terms of stress-assignment, with abundant
variation between stress on its -e- or on the preceding syllable, -ean has
steadily been dropping out of use, as has its underlying form -an, whose
allomorph -ian has now become nearly systematic in the coinage of
adjectives relating to geographic and historic entities (Clinton > Clintonian, etc. cf. §10.3.4).
2.2.2 -ier
Another sequence posing problems relative to the -ION generalisation
is -ier. As a bound ending, this sequence is most often realised as [i.ə],
and as such coincides with -ION.
(6)[(-)10]: barrier, croupier (also pronounceable as an imitation of F ['kru:.pi.ei],
cf. next par.), courier, crosier (['krəʊ.zi.ə] or ['krəʊ.ʒə]), denier (in the s. of
“coin” or “thickness of yarn”), farrier, financier (+ [201], cf. (8) below), frontier, gambier, glacier, osier (['əʊ.zi.ə] or ['əʊ.ʒə]), pannier, premier, rapier,
41
soldier (the second syl. reduces to [dʒə] further to palatalisation; a “spelling
pronunciation’” ([di.ə]), is however attested), terrier, vernier.
<-ier> is also realised as ([i.eI]) in recent loanwords from French, supposedly to imitate the modern French pronunciation. Words of this type
also coincide with the -ION generalisation.
(7)
atelier, dossier, escalier, espalier, hotelier, perruquier, rentier, sommelier
-ier also exists as a spelling variant of the suffix -eer (cf. §5.1.2), with
which it is etymologically identical, occurring mainly in loanwords
from French. In this context, <ie>, like the <ee> of -eer, is never the
graphic representation of a dissyllable but a digraph with r-colouring:
[Iə] ≠ dissyllabic [i.ə]. As their counterparts in -eer, the nouns of this
class are stressed on the last syllable. Synchronically, some of the words
with final stress listed below are still relatable to a possible transparent
base:
(8)
arquebusier <~ arquebus(e), bombardier < bombard, brigadier <~ brigade,
cashier <~ cash, fusilier < fusil, gondolier <~ gondola, halberdier <~ halberd,
grenadier < grenade + opaque-stem or demotivated n.: boulevardier (orig. from
boulevard but dem. today = “bon vivant”), brevier, cavalier, chandelier, chevalier, chiffonier <≠ chiffon, clavier (+ [10]), cordelier, cuirassier (<≠ cuirass), vizier (+ [10]); electrolier and gasolier both resulted from a blend with chandelier
(electr(ic)/gas + -o- + (chande)lier); financier has either [010] (cf. (6) above) or
[201].
As a suffix, -ier is also attested as a variant of -er, with the dissyllabic
realisation [i.ə], in some generally old-fashioned nouns of occupations:
(9)
brazier < braze, clothier < clothes, collier < coal, courtier < court, furrier < fur,
glazier < glaze, grazier < graze, haulier < haul, hosier < hose
2.2.3 Neutral suffixations not relevant to the application of -ION
Despite their apparent coincidence with the -ION generalisation, the
words in (9') below, like others analysable as stemming from a word in
‑y + -er (agent suffix or comparative: carrier, copier, fancier, happier,
worrier, etc., in which -ier is also the representation of a dissyllable
42
[i.ə]), are not to be incorporated into the -ION generalisation, as evidenced by the classes below in which the stress-neutral agent suffix ‑er
attaches this time to the diphthong [aI]:
(9')
v. in -y pronounced [aI] + -able, -al (n.),-ant/-ance,-er
a.verb in -ify + -er: ('amplifier < 'amplify): beautifier, certifier, clarifier, classifier, crucifier, denier, falsifier, glorifier, gratifier, intensifier, liquefier, magnifier, modifier, pacifier, purifier, qualifier, ratifier, speechifier, verifier, vilifier,
etc. (56 items)
b.verb in -y (chiefly -ify) + -able: de'niable < de'ny: 'classifiable (or ˌclassi'fiable, cf. §12.3) and sim. electrifiable, fortifiable, identifiable, liquefiable, etc.
(50 items)
c.verbs in -y + -al, ant/-ance: de'fiant/ance < de'fy: (mis)alliance, appliance
(yet dem. <≠ apply), compliant/ ance, denial, decrial, reliance/ant
(9') shows that words resulting from the juxtaposition of a neutral suffix, namely -er, -able, -al (noun suffix), -ant > -ance, to a verb base
in [aI] (with the y > i orthographic adjustment) which is subject to a
stress-assignment rule (e.g. -ify, cf. §4.1 or v. in -y with an insep. prefix)
are not pertinent to the -ION generalisation, contrary to re'mediable
which is derivable from a verb base ('remedy) whose final <y> is not
diphthonged6. The same principle applies in he'resiarch (derivable from
'heresy) for which a variant with initial stress is nonetheless recorded
(cp. ec'clesiarch (no stress variant) <≠ ecclesia), sym'posiarch (no stress
variant <≠ symposium).
Derivations such as acknowledgeable < acknowledge, manageable < manage, noticeable < notice, serviceable <~ service, etc. proceed
from the same principle of strong preservation further to the attachment
of a neutral suffix, the graphic <e> being maintained in the derivatives
so as to not contravene the spelling-to-sound correlations <c> = [s]
and <g> = [dʒ] before <e, i, y>. Morphological structure explains why
jus'ticiable (sync. derivable from justice) is subject to -ION. Contrary
to noticeable or serviceable, this adjective is not parseable as resulting
from a mere agglutination of -able to the -ice bound ending of the base
but from a suffixation in -iable, namely a dissyllabic i + V sequence
6However parodiable is given in dictionaries solely with initial stress. As regards
'remedy vs. re'mediable, Raffelsiefen (2004) proposes to resolve this stress discrepancy by positing the verb remediate (19th, probably a BF< remediation,
OED.) to be the base of remediable.
43
(justic(e) + -iable)7. Other words in -ciable are structurally more obviously relevant to the application of the ‑ION rule since they result from
substitution between -ate and -able in the second syllable of a dissyllab­
ic structure in i + V (appreciable, associable, enunciable, excruciable).
2.2.4 Biblical names in -iaC
Biblical names endings in -iaC, namely -ias, -iah, -iath, receive stress
on the first of the last two vowels: Athaliah, Elias, Hezekiah, Gedaliah, Goliath, Jedediah, Jeremiah, Josiah, Josias, Malachias, Mattathias, Mathias, Moriah, Nehemiah, Obadiah, Tobias, Uriah, Zachariah,
Zepheniah, etc. (exc. He'rodias). Messiah and pariah (the latter was
formerly stressed [1(0)0])) are the only common nouns of Hebraic origin affected by this minor rule8. In proper names of classical origin
stress abides by -ION: 'Nicias, 'Phidias, 'Pythias, Ti'resias, as it does in
alias, of Latin origin.
2.2.5 The -ION generalisation, final considerations
Counting all words in -eal, -ean, -ier, -iaC which contravene -ION
(with no recorded regular var., such as ˌHer'culean/ˌHercu'lean) and
adding to them the other exceptions (again with no regular var.9 recorded in dictionaries, e.g.ˌcheeri'o, ˌColi'seum, ˌele'giacs, ge'nial (=
“of the chin” ≠ 'genial = “amiable”), ˌLata'kia, ly'ceum, ˌmauso'leum,
mu'seum, o'deum, ˌperito'neum, ˌrata'fia, 'spiritual/uous), the number
of irregular words comes out at about 130 (slightly more than 1%) out
of 12,600.
In conformity with the rightmost stress-placing affix rule
(cf. §0(2)), ‑ION sequences do not operate when they precede other
stress-imposing suffixes or endings: ˌhistri'onic <~ 'histrion (cf. §1.1),
so'ciety (no transparent deriving form, cf. §3.1). The same principle applies to words containing two adjacent -ION sequences (asˌsoci'ation
7'Justiceable is recorded in the Corpus but is now considered as obsolete.
8'Rupiah is from Hindi.
9e.g. Fijian ([010] + [100]).
44
<~ as'sociate, neˌgoti'ation <~ ne'gotiate), in which the primary stress
of the base becomes secondary in the suffixed form (weak preserva­
tion).
In terms of productivity, -ION suffixes are still very active.
However, since most highly productive sequences of this type are
actually allomorphs of basic affixes such as -al, -an, -ate or -ous, their
word-formation capabilities and suffix-ordering rules will be examined along with each generic suffix of which they are allegedly a subset
(‑eous, -ious and -uous with -ous, -ial -ual, with -al, -eate, -iate, -uate
with -ate, etc.).
In conformity with this principle, the present chapter will now
take up issues of productivity and suffix ordering solely in relation with
the -ion affix.
2.3 -ion and its allomorphs -ation, -ition, -ution,
-fication, -faction
2.3.1 -ion or -ation?
When looking at the Corpus, it becomes clear that, with nearly 2,800
nouns, the final sequence -ation has the lion’s share in words in -tion.
Most nouns in -ation are synchronically analysable as deverbal suffixations of:
i. a verb in -ate, in which case it may seem legitimate to consider that
this sequence merely results from juxtaposition of the suffix -ion to
the (generally bound) final affix -ate: anticipation <~ anticipat(e)
(however, see §2.3.6 below);
ii. a verb affixed with -ise or -ify, with in the latter case systematic
insertion of a -c- in the derived noun: industrialisation < industrialise, etc., solidification < solidify, etc;
iii. various unsuffixed verbs, most often containing an inseparable prefix: admiration <~ admir(e), adoration <~ ador(e), affixation <~
affix, declaration <~ declar(e), exhumation <~ exhum(e) etc.; (like
45
those in -ify, nouns derivable from verbs with the stem -ply also
entail the insertion of a -c-: application <~ apply, implication <~
imply, multiplication <~ multiply)10.
In the last two environments (ii. and iii.), -ation is obviously to be held
as a suffix in its own right, even if etymology frequently contradicts this
morphological analysis, particularly for nouns synchronically derivable
from a verb with an inseparable prefix which, for most of them (e.g.
those listed in i. and iii.), have been borrowed from Latin. Except for
those derivable from verbs in -ise and in -ify, which are for most of them
real suffixed forms, most of the nouns in -ion, -ation, -ition and -ution
in further samples have been adopted directly from Latin or French (for
brevity’s sake, all examples provided in this subsection and the next
subsection have been treated as derivatives from semantically related
verbs, e.g. congest > congestion instead of congestion < L <~ congest).
As far as other verbs than those affixed with -ate, -ise or -ify
are concerned (attachment of -ation being systematic with the last two
affixes), determining which suffix between -ion and -ation should be assigned necessitates a case-by-case examination of the dozens of bound
stems which are available to construct verbs with an inseparable prefix,
as exemplified in the samples below:
(10)
-ion or -ation?
a.-ion: -fect > -fection: defect > defection, etc.; -gest > gestion: congest > congestion, etc.; -haust: exhaust > exhaustion; -merse > -mersion: immerse >
immersion; ‑sperse > -spersion: disperse > dispersion, etc.; pseudo-morphemes in -ss: compress > compression, concuss > concussion, digress >
digression, obsess > obsession, process > procession, etc.
b.-ation: -fest > -festation: infest > infestation; -form > ‑formation: inform >
information, etc.; -fix > -fixation: affix > affixation, etc.; -hale > -halation:
inhale > inhalation, etc.; -hume > -humation: exhume > exhumation, etc.;
-jure > -juration: conjure > conjuration, etc.; -rest > -restation: arrest > arrestation; -sign > -signation: resign > resignation, etc.; -spire > -spiration:
inspire > inspiration, etc.; -test > -testation: detest > detestation; -voke >
‑vocation: provoke > provocation, etc.
The complexity of the distributional system between the suffix -ion and
its main allomorph -ation is a faithful reflexion of morphological rules
10
46
Supplication is not linkable to supply.
which were proper to Latin, from which most words in -ion have been
borrowed, either directly or via French. In this respect, it is noteworthy that the few non-Latinate bases attested in the inventory of nouns
in ‑ion have all been affixed with -ation: backwardation, botheration,
flabbergastation, flirtation, floatation, starvation. Another striking feature is that most verbs which do not contain an inseparable prefix are
also turned into nouns with -ation: cause > causation, cite > citation,
doc­ument > documentation, fix > fixation, laud > laudation, manifest >
manifestation, note > notation, purge > purgation, quote > quotation,
usurp > usurpation, tax > taxation, tempt > temptation, etc. (but add >
addition, part > partition, cf. §2.3.2, ii. below).
The nouns in -ation analysable as formed from verbs with an
insep­arable prefix and a bound stem containing a vowel digraph are
subject to a graphic adjustment supposed to mirror the destressing
of the final syllable of the putative deriving verb, in compliance with
the necessity of averting stress adjacency (ac'claim > ˌaccla'mation,
con'geal > ˌconge'lation, de'spair > ˌdespe'ration, etc., instead of *aˌcclai'mation, etc.). Still, digraphs also tend to disappear even when stress
(secondary this time) remains on the same syllable as in the putative
verb base (weak preservation): pro'nounce > proˌnunci'ation, re'nounce
> reˌnunci'ation, etc.
To add to the complexity of their derivational system, many
nouns in -ion synchronically derivable from verbs with an inseparable
prefix entail a morphophonological transformation of the verb stem.
The nouns in -ion semantically relatable to such verbs, whose stems are
for most of them Latin participial roots, are usually described as bound
allomorphs of free morphemes (cf. §0(4c.)). Some of the most common
of these bound allomorphs are listed in the sample below:
(11)
-ceive > -ception: deceive > deception, etc.; -duce > duction: introduce > introduction, etc.; -scribe > -scription: subscribe > subscription, etc.; -sorb >
-sorption: absorb > absorption, etc.; -sume > -sumption: resume > resumption,
etc.; -tain > ‑tention: detain > detention, etc.; -vene > -vention: contravene >
contravention, etc. (cp. direct derivation from -vent in circumvent > circumvention, prevent > prevention, etc.)
47
2.3.2 -ition, -ution and -(s)sion
These three bound allomorphs also occur in relation with synchronically transparent suffixations:
(12)a.
-ition: -quire > -quisition: acquire > acquisition, etc.
b.-ution: -olve > -olution: absolve > absolution, etc.
c.-(s)sion: -cede/-ceed > -ssion: recede > recession, succeed > succession,
etc.; -clude > -clusion: conclude > conclusion, etc.; -hend > -hension:
comprehend > comprehension, etc.; -here > -hesion: adhere > adhesion,
etc.; -lude > -lusion: allude > allusion, etc.; -merge > ‑mersion: emerge >
emersion, etc.; cp. -merse > -mersion: immerse > immersion, etc.; -mit >
-mission: permit > permission, etc.; -pel > -pulsion: repel > repulsion, etc.;
‑plode > -plosion: implode > implosion, etc.; -rode > -rosion: corrode > corrosion, etc., -suade > -suasion: dissuade > dissuasion, etc., -terge > -tersion:
deterge > detersion, etc.; -trude > -trusion: intrude > intrusion, etc.; ‑vert >
-version: convert > conversion, etc., -vade > ‑vasion: evade > evasion, etc.;
‑vide > -vision: divide > division, etc.
As (11 and 12) show, bound allomorphs in -sion or in -tion (instead of
‑ation) are the products of verbs which end with a voiced consonant
(rebel > rebellion is one of the very few exceptions to this principle, cp.
repel > repulsion). Verb stems in /d, dʒ, l, r/ normally produce derivatives in -sion: deride > derision, emerge > emersion, adhere > adhe­sion,
compel > compulsion, etc. whilst other voiced consonants are more
likely to produce derivatives in -tion (deceive > deception, detain >
detention, resume >resumption, etc.).
Like -ation, -ition can synchronically be analysed as
i. a mere addition of the suffix -ion to a verb with an inseparable
prefix ending in -it or in -ite (edition, extradition, exhibition, inhibition, prohibition), or even, further to a sh > t orthographic
adjustment, to a verb in -ish: abolish > abolition (+ var. abolishment), admonish > admonition (+ var. admonishment), demolish > demolition (or less com. demolishment), punish > punition
(or more com. punishment). Historically, in the expression of
an action, process or result, most -ish verbs have precisely been
nominalised with the now inactive suffix -ment (accomplishment,
astonishment, impoverishment, etc. cf. §7.2.3). Distinction and
48
extinction are synchronically more directly linkable to the adjectives distinct and extinct than to the corresponding verbs in -ish
(distinguish, extinguish). Synchronically, nominalisation in -ion
from -ish verbs is obviously far from consistent as attested by
these last two examples of postulable derivations: diminish > diminution (diminishment is also attested) and publish > publication
(publishment, coined in the 15th century, is now rare);
ii. a suffix in its own right attaching to verb bases in -pose (suppose >
supposition) or -quire (acquire > bound allomorph acquisition, as
seen in (12.a) above, but also to a few odd verbs: add > addition,
part > partition, render > rendition (where the derivation implies
substitution of the bound ending -er and -ition).
When they are semantically transparent (e.g. deletion <~ delete vs. incretion < in + (se)cretion), nouns in -etion and -otion always denote
juxtaposition of -ion to a verb base with an inseparable prefix: completion, deletion, depletion, devotion, emotion (emote is however a
back-formation from the noun), promotion.
Verbs in -ute are more complex in their derivational processes.
Besides the morphophonological transformation -olve > -olution noted
in (12b.) (devolution, evolution, etc.), it appears that two-syllable verb
bases tend to be suffixed with -ation (compute > computation, dispute >
disputation, impute > imputation, refute > refutation, salute > saluta­
tion, transmute > transmutation,with the notable exceptions of dilute >
dilution and pollute > pollution, whose bound stems have no semantic
relation) whereas bases of more than two syllables are wont to be suffixed
with -ion: contribute > contribution, execute > execution, substitute >
substitution, etc.
2.3.3 -fication or -faction?
As seen above (§2.3.1, ii), verbs in -ify are a specific morphological
class as they derive nouns in -fication, a sequence defined as a suffix in
some dictionaries (e.g. Wordsmyth D, OEtymD or OED) or a combining
form in others (e.g. Infoplease D. or D.com).
49
The somewhat marginal variants -efy and -fy (which is actually
the basic suffix form of all verbs of this class) of -ify (cf. §4.1) produce
suffixed nouns in -faction, a sequence which is given the same defini­
tion as -fication (“a making or producing of ”) in dictionaries: arefaction
<~ arefy, calefaction <~ calefy, liquefaction <~ liquefy, putrefaction <~
putrefy, rarefaction <~ rareft, satisfaction <~ satisfy, torrefaction <~
torrefy, tumefaction <~ tumefy, etc. (most nouns of this class have actually been borrowed from French or Latin).
Some variants in -faction are recorded for nouns which are synchronically derivable from verbs in -ify. Most of them are noted in OED
as rare or obsolete: chilification/chilifaction <~ chilify, lubrification/lubrifaction <~ lubrify, petrification/ petrifaction <~ petrify, vitrification/
vitrifaction <~ vitrify.
2.3.4 Non-deverbal derivatives
Whilst -ion and its allomorphs are fundamentally deverbal suffixes,
there are a few nouns in -ion or -ation which are synchronically interpretable as denominal or deadjectival derivatives, even though most of
them have again been borrowed from Latin or French:
(13)
Nouns in -ion derivable from nouns or adjectives
a. < n.: acculturation (< ac- + cultur(e) + -ation), orchestrion (< orchestr(a) vs.
< G in OED), planation (< plane) + < L: appetition (fig. <~ appetite), coition
(<~ coit(us), same s.), erudition (<~ erudite + adj.), legation (<~ legate),
reclusion (<~ n. or adj. recluse <≠ v. reclude) + < F: affluxion (r. <~ afflux),
futurition (<~ future + -ition, r. = futurity), placentation (<~ placenta) + < L:
balsamation (<~ balsam), elementation (r. <~ n. element, the homographic
v. is now obs., cp. instrumentation <~ instrument, v.), testamentation (<~
testament, no homographic v.) 11;
b. < adj.: backwardation (< backward, adj. and adv.), cuspidation (< cuspidate
vs. < L in OED) + < L: attrition (<~ attrite), aversion (<~ averse), concision
(<~ concise), contrition (<~ contrite), distinction (<~ distinct), extinction
(<~ extinct, cf. §2.3.2 i., above), obtusion (<~ obtuse), precision (<~ precise), profusion (<~ profuse), repletion (<~ replete).
11
Laureation is given as derived from the v. form of laureate in OED.
50
2.3.5 Productivity of -ion, -ation, etc., in Present-Day English
As noted by Huddleston & Pullum (2000, henceforth H&P, p. 1701),
‑ation “is the only variant of the suffix -ion which is productive in Pres­
ent-Day English”. In fact, -ation and -ing are supposedly the only suffixes now productively used in the nominalisation of verbs so as to express
an action, process or result of either, -ance (cf. §11.4) being only marginally used for this purpose. As specified above (cf. §2.3.1 ii) ‑ation
is compulsory in the nominalisation of verbs constructed with the still
productive affixes -ise (cf. §13.2) and -ify (cf. §4.1), with insertion of
a ‑c- in the latter case. As a matter of fact, dozens of such suffixations
have entered the Lexicon since World War II.
(14)
cannibalisation (1947), computerisation (1958), decriminalisation (1945),
deinstitutionalisation (1955), destalinisation (1957), digitisation (1956), dollarisation (1982), Finlandisation (1969), hominisation (1953), initialisation
(1957), lexicalisation (1949), miniaturisation (1947), nuclearisation (1957),
posterisation (1950), prioritisation (1970), securitisation (1982), Vietnamisation (1957), etc.; commodification (1975), declassification (1946), denazification (1945), desertification (1974), gentrification (1973), zombification
(1968), etc.
All in all, about 450 nouns in -ation can be linked to a verb in -ise. As
regards recent constructions of this type, it is not unusual for them to
actually precede the formation of the verb they may be interpreted as
derived from (e.g. Finlandisation 1969 > Finlandise 1979), a phenom­
enon common to other languages making use of these morphological
components.
As indicated above, nouns in -ation derivable from verbs in -ate
may be, on a strictly formal basis, interpreted as resulting from direct
attachment of the suffix -ion to the base. Synchronically, however, it may
be deemed more economical to postulate that, in this class of nouns,
-ation substitutes with -ate, an approach which finds some justification
in etymology as the -ate verb affix was apparently introduced in English
as a null-derivation of nouns or adjectives in -ate and later extended to
other stems. Indeed, Romance languages make no use of the -ate ending in their infinitival cognates of such verbs (e.g. indicar > indicación
(Sp.), indicar > indicação (Por.), indicare > indicazione (It.), indiquer >
51
indication (F). French has gone even further by doing away with the -at
affix still present in participles and departicipial adjectives formed from
these verbs in other Romance languages: séparé vs. separato (It.) / -ado
(Sp. or Por.). H&P favour this derivational paradigm (: 1674), which
is in line with their assertion that -ation is the only suffix of the -ion
family which has remained productive in Present-Day English with two
arguments: (a) -ation is certainly a noun-forming suffix in causation,
flirtation, etc., (b) -ate is clearly replaced in tolerate/tolerant/tolera­ble,
etc. Whichever derivational process (juxtaposition of -ion to -ate or replacement of -ate by -ation) is privileged, few nouns are now likely to
form from -ate verbs as this affix has been marked by declining productivity since the end of the 19th century (Plag, 1999, ch. 5).
2.3.6 Summary and conclusion
In this chapter, it has been established that:
i. -ion is the graphic representation of two phonological syllables,
whether this affix is phonetically realised as one (attention) or, optionally, one or two syllables (Albion);
ii. other sequences in i + V (e.g. Acadia) and more largely in ‑e,i,/y,u
+ VC0(e), whether they are real suffixes (or can synchronically be
held as such, e.g. provincial <~ province) or bound endings (e.g.
patience), are likewise phonologically dissyllabic. Such sequences
place stress one syllable before them (S-1), with the exclusion of
those in which one of the neutral suffixes -er, -able, -al (noun suffix), -ant/-ance juxtapose to a verb in -y in which y is realised as [aI]
(denier/denial/deniable <deny) or a verb in -Vce (serviceable <~
service);
iii. the sequences described in i. and ii., which have been called here,
generically, -ION, account for the stress-patterns of some 12,600
words. Some suffixes in -ION (e.g. -ial, -ian, -ious) are highly productive;
iv. -ion and its allomorphs (-ation, -fication, -faction, -ition, ‑ution,
-(s)sion) are deverbal. Close to 97% of words recorded have
the sequence -ion preceded by a palatalised consonant with the
52
graphic representations <t>, <(s)s>, <sh>, <x> or <g>. More than
90% of these nouns are synchronically interpretable as transparent derivatives from verbs with a separable suffix (e.g. deletion
<~ delete) or a bound allomorph (e.g. decision <~ decide, evolution
<~ evolve);
v. -ation is the most common variant of -ion (2,800 items) and the
only one which, apart from -ing, is still productively apt to form
nouns of action, process or result from verbs, -ance being now only
marginally used in deverbal noun formations. Its word-creation potential is consequential to the vigorous productivity of verbs in -ise
or in -ify.
Whether they are analysable as transparently suffixed (e.g. extortion <~
extort) or have an obscure or opaque stem (e.g. vacation, dem. <≠ vacate), nouns in -ion essentially generate:
(15)
a.n. in -ism: abolitionism, impressionism, segregationism, etc. (55 items), -ist:
abolitionist, impressionist, segregationist, etc. (120) and -er: executioner,
extortioner, vacationer, etc. (38);
b.adj. in -able (but never in -ible): (un)impressionable, (un)objectionable, etc.
(42 items, including 11 antonyms in non-, un-, etc.), -al: evolutional, insurrectional, etc. (300) and -ary: evolutionary, insurrectionary, etc. (70).
Synonymous variants such as extortion(ist/er), petition(ist/er) or evolution(al/ary), insurrection(al/ary) will be dealt with in §10.3.3.
For lack of further specifications in dictionaries, the suffixation
process is often hard to determine in the case of -able adjectives, as a
good many words in -ion are both nouns and verbs. Indeed, when occurring in nouns with an obscure or opaque stem ending in a palatalised
consonant, the ending -ion is generative of null-conversion (cf. §19), as
exemplified by auction, audition (the verb dates from 1935), caption,
caution, commission (v. ≠ commit), condition, function, mention, occasion, pension, petition, position (≠ and <≠ pose or posit), question (<≠
quest), ration, sanction, transition (<≠ transit), and a few others vs.
non-palatalised (de)ionise (19th < ion), lionise (id. < lion), (de)unionise
(id. < union). On some rare occasions (e.g. apportion) only the verb
form is now used. Partition is a case in point. Since it is semantically
still relatable to part, it may at first sight appear odd that it has given
53
rise to a null-derivation verb. However, part (in the sense of “to make a
separation between”) and partition are not exactly synonymous, the latter verb being usually defined as “to divide” in connection with a room,
a vehicle or a country.
With the rising popularity of the suffix -ise in verb-formation,
a few nouns in -sion and -tion have produced non-homographic verb
forms, chiefly since the 19th century: fictionise (19th < fiction), insurrectionise (id. < insurrection), revolutionise (18th < revolution). In the most
extreme cases, doublets in -ise were created from a bicategorial (n. and
v.) -ion word with the same meaning as in the verb form: disillusionise
(19th < disillusion), fractionise (17th < fraction), missionise (19th < mission). The oddest case in this family of words is abolitionise, originally
an Americanism (< abolition), in the sense “to convert people, regions
or states to abolitionism”. Since Emancipation in the United Sates, this
verb has fallen into obsolescence except in historical references. This
verb-formation process is anyway extinct, verbs in -ise semantically
linked to nouns in -ion being now derived from the adjectives in -al
they are apt to yield: institutionalise, internationalise, etc.
Synchronically all adjectives in -ionable are relatable to an attested base in -ion. Even though the adjectival suffix -able is fundamentally
deverbal (cf. §12), denominal derivation is quite legitimate from nouns
in -ion, as shown below (reminder: etymological data have been obtained from OED in case of absence thereof in the Corpus).
(16)
54
< n.: actionable (< action), companionable (ME <~ companion,), communionable (< communion), compassionable (r. < compassion), conscionable (constructed on the root of conscience), emotionable (< emotion), exceptionable (<
exception), fashionable (< n., the v. has a diff. s.), fissionable (1945 < fission),
illusionable (< illusion), impassionable (< passion with expletive insep. prefix
im- < in-), impressionable (< impression), objectionable (< objection), opinionable (r. < opinion), perditionable (r. < perdition, n.), questionable (< question,
n.); < v.: apportionable (< apportion); < n. or v.?: auctionable (< auction),
commissionable (< commission), conditionable (< condition), functionable (<
function), optionable (< option), partitionable (< partition), positionable (< position), proportionable (< L <~ proportion); the following items are given as deverbal derivatives in OED: mentionable (< mention), pensionable (< pension),
petitionable (< petition), portionable (< portion), occasionable (r. < occasion),
sanctionable (< sanction).
The -ion > -ionable derivational axis is still productive, though
moderately so, in Present-Day English as confirmed by recent formations such as fissionable, functionable and (from Web pages) probationable, transitionable.
All the nominal and adjectival derivatives listed above are in
turn apt to yield further suffixations: -ionist > -ionistic (isolationistic,
etc., 22 items), -ional > -ionalism (confessionalism, etc., 25), -ionalist
(educationalist, etc., 18), -ionalise (institutionalise, etc. 26), -ionable
> ‑ionability (impressionability, etc., 12). The sequence -ionalist has
the capacity to derive adjectives in -ionalistic (12 items), which can
ultimately lead to the formation of a word with four successive separable suffixes: representationalistic (represent + -ation + -al + -ist + -ic,
Collins D. and D.com, not listed in OED)12.
Only some 350 nouns in -ion have no identifiable base: ambition,
attention (dem. <≠ attend), auction, bastion, caption, caution, dic­tion,
faction, fiction, fission, fraction, friction, function, gumption, lesion,
lotion, mansion, mention, mission, petition, nation, ovation, passion,
pension, portion, potion, profession (<≠ profess), pulsion (<≠ pulse),
punction, question (<≠ quest), ration, sanction, scission, section, session, station, traction, tuition, version, vision, vocation, volution, etc.
12
To be compared with rationalist(ic/ical) in which the embedded form rational
is demotivated (<≠ ration).
55
3. -ity
3.1 General features
This suffix (from OF -ite < L -itās) is known to place primary stress one
syllable back (S-1). Among the 1,200 nouns in which it occurs there is
no exception to the antepenultimate pattern it entails.
Besides its perfect stress-assignment efficiency, -ity is also remarkable for attaching to a transparent base in close to 92% of recorded items
whether by juxtaposition (absurdity, acidity, intensity, masculinity, etc.) or
further to morphophonological readjustments (doability, curiosity, etc.,
cf. §3.2 below. Another noteworthy feature of this suffix is that it is deadjectival in 98% of the synchronically transparent formations in which
it occurs1. As such, -ity is the main rival of Germanic suffix -ness which
is deadjectival, deadverbial, dephrasal or even, although exceptionally so
now, denominal (e.g. childness, womanness) or deverbal (forgiveness).
Specialists in word-formation have long established that -ity is
only apt to attach to Latinate bases whilst -ness is theoretically compatible with any adjective whatever its etymology (Kiparsky, 1982a-b, Plag,
1999). Whereas -ity shows very few violations of this principle (aldermanity, oddity and queerity, a variant of queerness labelled as rare in
OED, updated 2007, but recorded in the dictionary of slang and cultural
phrases Urban D. and in Collins D. with no comment as to its possible
rarity, and the anomalous colloquial adjective formations biggity and
uppity), it still is apt to nominalise adjectives with a Germanic base
when they contain the Neo-Latin suffix -able (cf. §12.2): bendability,
breakability, stretchability, wearability, etc.
1
Among these rare denominal and deverbal formations there are aldermanity
(17th < alderman), imbecility (16th < MF <~ imbecile), moronity (post-1910 <
moron), oceanity (19th < ocean = oceanicity, 1934 < oceanic), rascality (16th <
rascal), depravity (17th < deprave vs. an extension of pravity, n., in OED), fixity
(17th < L. <~ fix), obtundity (date? < obtund).
About the rivalry between -ity and -ness, it has been amply demonstrated in the literature that -ity can combine with most non-Germanic
adjectival affixes (-able, -ible, -al (+ var. -ar), -ary2, -ian, -ic/‑ical, -id,
-ile, -ine, -ive, -ous (+ doublet -ose), etc.). Exceptions are ‑ant/‑ent,
-atory, -ite and -it, -ness having apparently exclusive capability to convert adjectives of the last three types into nouns (derogatoriness, dilatoriness, explanatoriness, obligatoriness, predatoriness, etc., appositeness, attriteness, compositeness, exquisiteness, etc., decrepitness,
explicitness, illicitness, implicitness, tacitness). Lexical blocking has
been appealed to in order to account for the incompatibility between
-ant/-ent and -ity as these adjectival affixes nominalise with ‑ance/-ancy
and -ence/-ency. (Aronoff 1976, ch. 3, Fabb, 1988 (henceforth Fabb):
537). However, -ness is not affected by this process (defiantness, discordantness, concurrentness, etc.). Euphonic reasons actually account
for most of the lexical gaps observed in relation with the -ity affixation
process, precluding the existence of identical onsets in final adjacent
syllables, hence the impossible formations *-Vtity: *completity, *obsoletity, *repletity3, etc., cf. Plag 2003: 115. The sequence -tity is however
attested in the nouns with an opaque stem entity, identity, quantity, quotity (<≠ quote) and sanctity as well as in chastity and vastity (both from
MF), each being analysable as formed from a one-syllable adjective,
respectively chaste and vast.
3.2 Suffix juxtaposition and substitution
Despite orthographic and morphophonological adjustments (-osity <~
‑ous: curiosity <~ curious, etc., -bility < -ble: capability < capable, etc.
2
3
58
Fabb (:537) states that -ity nouns cannot form from this suffix, a contention
belied by dictionary data: complementarity, exemplarity, etc.
Identical consecutive onsets are seemingly not recommended with adjectives
ending in -did, ie candidity, sordidity, which are not listed in the Corpus. Sordidity is however recorded in OED. Candid and sordid are standardly nominalised with -ness (candidness, sordidness, cp. the perfectly licit fetidity, humidity,
etc.).
‑plicity < -ple: simplicity <~ simple, triplicity <~ triple, multiplicity <~
multiple), transparent suffixations with -ity nearly always result from a
process of juxtaposition. Indeed, suffixed nouns in -ity are apt to derive
by affix-replacement from only two classes of adjectives.
i.-ate (e.g. disparity <~ dispar(ate))
As regards adjectives in -ate, it is obvious that, historically, -ness and
(to a lesser extent) -acy have been the legitimate suffixes used in their
nominalisation (-ateness: articulateness, (in)delicateness, elaborateness, (il)legitimateness, immediateness, literateness, etc., 70 items;
(in)accuracy, (in)delicacy, (in)determinacy, (il)legitimacy, (il)literacy,
immediacy, etc., cf. §11.1). As a matter of fact, barely 4 nouns in -ity
can synchronically be postulated to derive from an adjectival base in
-ate: alternity (r.) <~ alternate, disparity <~ disparate, prox­imity <~
proximate, ultimity <~ ultimate (from obs. ultime according to OED),
all by affix-replacement. As will be seen in §13.1.4, iv.-v., suffix substitution is pretty much the rule in the derivational processes of -ate
words (toler(ant)/toler(able) <~ toler(ate), cf. Bauer et al 2013: 167),
a replacement made compulsory in this context by the syllable-onset
rule described above (*completity, *illicitity, etc. and, likewise, *disparatity, etc.).
ii.-ous (e.g. impecuniosity < impecuni(ous))
Suffixed nouns in -ity which are semantically related to an adjective in
‑ous are seemingly as often analysable as the result of affix substitution as of juxtaposition (continu(ity) <~ continu(ous), efficac(ity) <~
efficaci(ous) vs. impecuniosity < impecunious, religiosity <~ religious).
When there is apparent concatenation of the two affixes, the graphic
adjustment -ous > -osity is meant to reflect the shortening of the stressed
vowel in this context, a rule initially set forth by Luick (1898) and reintroduced by Chomsky and Halle in SPE under the appellation Trisyllabic Shortening. The shortening of the stressed vowel would indeed
be more difficult to read should the digraph <ou> be maintained in the
derivative. Etymological notices indicate that nouns in -ity analysable as
derived from -ous adjectives by affix-replacement have been inherited
59
from French or Latin (assiduity, continuity, exiguity, etc.4) whilst there
can be straightforward derivation from the adjective (impecuniosity <
impecunious, nebulosity < nebulous, etc.) or direct borrowing of the -ity
noun from French or Latin (curiosity <~ curious, religiosity < religious,
etc.) in items seemingly resulting from affixation by concatenation. The
-itous/-ity paradigms show that in most cases the adjective was actually
derived from the noun, a derivational pattern synchronically recognisable in that there is truncation of the -y of -ity as opposed to replacement
of the whole affix (cp. assidu(ity) <~ assidu(ous), etc. About atrocious
< atrocity, capacious < capacity, etc., see 4th par. in §15.2.1.3.
(1)
-itous < -ity: acclivitous < acclivity, alacritous < alacrity, calamitous < calamity
(vs. < F in OED), declivitous < declivity (vs. < L in OED), duplicitous (1961) <
duplicity, felicitous < felicity, fortuitous < fortuity (vs. < L in OED), iniquitous
< iniquity, necessitous < necessity, obliquitous < obliquity, serendipitous (1958)
< serendipity, temeritous < temerity; ubiquitous < ubiquity (vs. < L in OED),
propinquitous (not listed in the Corpus) has similarly been derived from propinquity (OED); gratuitous is dem. (<≠ gratuity)
Even though all the pairs hereafter have been inherited from Latin, they
can synchronically be interpreted as cases of affix substitution: acute/
acuity, annual/annuity, eternal/eternity, fraternal/fraternity, paternal/
paternity, reciprocal/reciprocity, sororal/sorority (in contrast with rural/rurality, spiritual/spirituality, etc., 250 items for the latter class).
Temerarious, now only literary according to OED, can be related to the
obsolete form temerarity (from L). Hospitable (from L) and hospitality
(from F) is a solitary paradigm.
3.3 -ety
The -ety allomorph of -ity (which only occurs after a graphic i) is recorded in about 20 nouns. Whereas most of them can be interpreted as deriving from an adjective by affix-replacement, diachronic investigations
4
60
The only counter-example delivered by D.com, promiscuity (< promiscu(ous) +
-ity), is given as derived from a L. stem + -ity in OED.
show that they were all directly taken from Latin or Old French: anxiety
(sync. derivable from anxious), dubiety (id. dubious), ebriety (id. ebrious), notoriety (id. notorious), variety (id. various), etc.
3.4 -ty
Of a different etymology (< OF -te(t) < L -tātem, accusative of -tās),
the separable suffix -ty (diff. from the -ty of twenty, thirty, etc., cf. §5.3)
occurs in about 40 words, generally denoting quality, state or an official
function: admiralty, casualty (dem. <≠ casual), (in/un)certainty, ephoralty (< ephoral < ephor, a magistrate in ancient Sparta), fealty (the adj.
feal is now obs.), frailty, laity, (dis)loyalty, mayoralty, novelty, penalty,
(vice)royalty, etc. Though these suffixed nouns are basically deadjectival, some of them are derivable from nouns: admiralty, sovereignty,
suzerainty.
3.5 Underived nouns in -ity
The Corpus contains close to 100 nouns (out of 1,200) in -ity which have
no putative base in synchrony5. More than half of these nouns are labelled as obsolete or archaic in dictionaries. Besides the nouns listed in
(1) above, which have actually derived the corresponding -itous adjectives (alacritous < alacrity, etc.) or are synchronically interpretable as
having done so (calamity <~ calamitous, etc.), the only indecomposable
-ity nouns which are not not labelled as obsolete or archaic are: affinity, alterity (<≠ v. alter), amability, amenity (<≠ amenable), animosity
(<≠ animous), authority (<≠ author), cavity, cecity, celebrity, celerity, charity, commodity (<≠ commodious), community (<≠ commune),
5
Others are semantically linkable to bases which are of rare usage today asperity
<~ asperous, fatuity <~ -fatuous, hability <~ -habile, solidarity <~ -solidary.
61
deity, (in)dignity, entity, (in)equity, fidelity, gratuity (<≠ gratuitous),
gravity (in the s. of “physical force that makes masses move toward
each other” <≠ adj. grave), heredity, humility, identity, indemnity, integrity (<≠ integer), majority (<≠ major), minority (<≠ minor), parity,
paucity, polity, posterity, priority (in the s. of “something that must be
done first or urgently” <≠ prior), (im)probity, proclivity (<≠ proclivitous, obs. = “steep” = propensity, whose putative adj. base, propense, is
now r.), publicity (<≠ public), quality, quantity, sanctity, satiety, speciality (<≠ special), trinity, unicity, unity (<≠ unit), utility (<≠ utile in the
s. of “public service”), university (<≠ universe), varsity, velleity, verity.
Despite their morphophonological transformations brevity, clarity and
vanity are semantically linkable to respectively brief (adj. s.), clear and
vain.
Unsurprisingly, since -ity is almost exclusively a deadjectival suffix, adjectivisations from nouns in -ity are normally restricted to those
which have an obscure or opaque stem so that type-blocking may not
be infringed:
(2)
authoritative < authority (<≠ author), charitable <~ charity, entitative <~ entity, qualitative <~ quality, quantitative <~ quantity, etc. + reprised from (1): acclivitous < acclivity, alacritous < alacrity, calamitous <~ calamity, declivitous
<~ declivity, duplicitous < duplicity, felicitous < felicity, fortuitous <~ fortuity,
iniquitous < iniquity, necessitous < necessity, obliquitous < obliquity, serendipitous < serendipity, ubiquitous <~ ubiquity
The principle set out above is not circumvented by words constructed
with the bicategorial suffix -arian, a word-formation process which became very popular in the 19th century, a period most propitious to the
advancement of new philosophical and political theories, since the adjective forms of such items are not synonymous with the putative bases
of the -ity words from which they are derivable (equalitarian ≠ equal,
etc.).
(3)
N. and adj. in -arian
equalitarian < equalit(y) (<~ equal) + -arian, futilitarian, a humorous blend of
futility and utilitarian, humanitarian < humanit(y) (<~ senses rel. to humane
or human) + -arian, uniformitarian < uniformit(y) (<~ uniform, adj.) + -arian,
utilitarian < utilit(y) (<~ utile) + -arian; cp. words in -arian derivable from
a noun in -ity with no putative base: authoritarian < authority (<≠ author),
62
communitarian < community (<≠ commune), hereditarian-< heredity or hereditary vs. < hereditary in OED), libertarian < liberty), majoritarian (1918) < majority (<≠ major), necessitarian < necessity, Trinitarian < Trinity, Ubiquitarian
<~ ubiquity (vs. < ubiquitary in OED)
The -ity + -arian suffix combination is still active, with an occasional
humorous slant in recent formations: majoritarian (1918), totalitarian6
(1926), celebritarian (circa 2000, Urban D.), cp. brutalitarian (1904).
The adjective quidditative, which is synchronically derivable from the
now rare quiddity does not infringe (2) above as it is relatable to quid,
in the sense “that which is a thing”, to wit to a noun instead of an adjective. However, the Corpus contains six adjectives parseable as derived
from an already suffixed noun in -ity which have historically violated
type-blocking: gentilitial, in the sense of “of or pertaining to gentle
birth”, OED (< L <~ gentility < L <~ gentle; in its main sense, ie “of,
pertaining to, or peculiar to a nation, national”, OED, gentitilitial and
its synonymous var. gentilitian/-ious are demotivated <≠ gentility), futuritial (obs. < futurity < future) which co-existed with the adjective
future in the 19th century, and natalitial/ous (< L. <~ natality < natal, in
its obs. s. of “the fact or condition of being subject to birth). All these
adjectives are now rare or obsolete.
Another adjective analysable as suffixed from a noun in -ity
which may appear to violate type-blocking is the seemingly neological multiplicitous. Although it does not appear in generalist dictionaries, this adjective is recorded in Glossary of Legal Terms, a database
accessible from the OL search engine, in a sense narrowly related to
that of multiplicity (“giving rise to or resulting from multiplicity”)7,
and in Urban D., which gives it lexicalised senses (“having more than
one occurrence, usually varying in degree of subtlety, of premeditated
deceptiveness in behavior or speech; multiple duplicitous; having vast
coordinated and synergistic deceptiveness”), possibly indicative of a
blend between multiple and duplicity. Contrary to obliquitous which is
not interchangeable with oblique (the former qualifies the sense of immorality or dishonesty that obliquity alternatively has whilst oblique is
6
7
This word (1926 < totality + -arian, formed in English on the model of Italian
totalitario, OED) may be seen as somewhat demotivated relative to totality.
This usage is met with in many Web pages related to legal proceedings (multiplicitous charges, a multiplicitous indictment, etc.).
63
normally restrained to geometric senses), the non-lexicalised usage of
multiplicitous clearly stands out as a paradox since it is synchronically
derivable from multiplicity (< MF, sync. derivable from multiple).
3.6 Summary and conclusion
In this chapter it has been shown that:
i. the -ity S-1 stress rule has 100% efficiency;
ii. 92% of nouns in -ity are transparent deadjectival derivatives;
iii.-ity is predominantly affixed by juxtaposition (with graphic and
morphophonological adjustments for -ous (> ‑osity) and -ble (>
-bility) and -ple (> -plicity)), except when it combines with:
a. -ous, in which case both suffixation systems obtain;
b.-ate, which only marginally produces -ity suffixations, always by
affix-replacement (cf. §3.2 i. above);
iv. barring a few words (aldermanidty, oddity, queerity), -ity attaches to
a. Latinate bases (barring those which would result in identical
onsets in the last two syllables of the resultant noun: *completity vs. completeness, etc.);
b. Germanic bases suffixed with -able;
v. -ity’s rival suffix -ness attaches to Latinate or Germanic bases.
The lexical and combinatorial resilience of -ness has led some authors
to conclude that it was gaining ground against -ity (e.g. Aronoff &
Schvanedelt, 1978 or T. Williams, 1965). Looking at the data provided
by the Corpus, it appears at first analysis that 50% of -ity nouns have a
variant in -ness (solidity/solidness, taciturnity/taciturness, etc.).
However, even when they appear to have the same base -ity and
-ness nouns are not necessarily synonymous. Nouns in -ity are supposed
to convey a more scientific register than their alleged variants in -ness.
Solidity and solidness are perfect examples of this dichotomy. Although
both terms are given the same definition in dictionaries (here “the
consistency of a solid”), solidity is preferably used in a scholarly or
64
educated context. Finally, there is a good many examples of pairs in
-ity and -ness with flagrant semantic differences. Additionally, lexicalisation is much more common with -ity than with -ness suffixations.
For instance, whilst gravity (16th) and graveness (id.) can be held to
be interchangeable in the sense of “solemn attitude”, the former noun
is the only one apt to denote the fundamental physical force of mutual
attraction of masses (first recorded in this s. in: 1622, cf. first par. of
§3.5 above), a meaning where -ity is this time inseparable. Historically,
the publicity/publicness pair has run a similar course in this process of
semantic differentiation. The former noun – which now only relates to
information meant to promote a person or a product – was originally
adopted in this sense from French in 1791, according to OEtymD8, nearly two centuries after the coinage of its homographic form (1609 < public + -ity) and that of its synonymous variant publicness (1605) which
both meant “the quality or state of being public”. Endowed with a new
semantic content in the late 18th century publicity eventually stopped
being synonymous with publicness.
As illustrated below, quite a few other nouns in -ity show demotivation relative to the deriving form that could be ascribed to them.
(4)
commodity (15th < L = “article of trade”) ≠ commodiousness (16th = “commodious state or quality”), fatality (15th < L “death caused by violence” or “feeling
of having no control over events”) ≠ fatalness (18th “quality of being fatal”),
formality (16th < L “an established act or procedure” + syn with formalness) ≠
formalness (17th = adherence to forms and ceremonies”), generality (15th < L
“statement or fact which is general rather than specific”) ≠ generalness (16th =
“condition or quality of being general”, “commonness”), humanity (14th < L
“quality of being humane” or “all human beings collectively”) ≠ humanness
(17th = “quality of being human” < adj.), locality (17th < L “a particular place or
area”) ≠ localness (18th = “quality or state of being local” < adj.), nativity (13th
< L “event of being born”, “the birth of Christ”) ≠ nativeness (16th = quality
of being connected with a place by birth or origin”, “Christmas”), opportunity
(14th < L) ≠ opportuness (18th = ‘timely convenience’), personality (15th < L
“characteristics proper to an individual” or “a famous well-known person”)) ≠
personalness (19th = “that which is personal”), speciality (15th < L and its var.
specialty, 14th < L “expertise in” or “a special product”) ≠ specialness (16th = ‘a
distinguishing trait’)9.
8
9
OED gives 1826 as the date of earliest recorded use for this noun.
Similarly (with -ty): casualty ≠ casualness.
65
To lay this issue to rest, Plag’s own conclusions on both suffixes
(2003: 83) may safely be adopted: “-ness formations tend to denote an
embodied attitude, property or trait whereas -ity formations refer to an
abstract or concrete entity.”
In terms of contemporary productivity, neologisms in -ity often
pertain to specialist language as shown by the following words, all constructed after World War II with scientific prefixes or initial combining
forms: bioavailability (1961), biocompatibility (1968), biodegradability (1960), biodiversity (1985), histocompatibility (1948) hypervelocity
(1955), microgravity (1975), neurotoxicity (1949), etc. The noun suffix
-ity is however still potentially active in less involved lexical fields as
attested by the ensuing examples, coined in the 20th century: complementarity (1911), expressivity (1934), selectivity (1903), wearability
(1927), wettability (1913).
Besides their capacity to form adjectives when they have no recognisable base in synchrony (charitable <~ charity, etc.), nouns in -ity
(whether or not the latter formative be attached to a transparent base)
have narrow affixation possibilities, being limited to associating with
(a) ‑arian (nominal and adjectival), a combination which is still active,
including in the formation of humorous neologisms (majoritarian, brutalitarian, celebritarian; (b) the verb suffixes -ate and -ise, a process
which is still productive as attested by some of the ensuing examples:
< n. in -ity with an opaque stem: capacitate (17th < capacity), commoditise (1979 < commodity = -ify), gravitate (17th <~ gravity <≠ grave),
necessitate (id. <~ necessity), prioritise (1954 < priority <≠ prior),
quantitate (19th < quantity), securitise (1981 < security, stock exchange,
dem. <≠ secure), velocitise (neologism The Word Spy); < n. in ‑ity with
a transparent base: facilitate (16th < facility < L <~ facile), mediocritise
(1972 < mediocrity < L <~ mediocre). One solitary case of association
between -ity and the noun suffix -ant has emerged from the Corpus:
annuitant < annuity (vs. < annuitise in OED)10. In all the previous configurations, suffixes hook on to -ity nouns only further to deletion of -y.
The adjectives futuritial, gentilitial, natalitial/ous are complete oddities
which, with the possible exception of gentilitial, are apparently as good
as dead.
10
66
Incapacitant (1961) was derived from incapacitate.
4. S-1 suffixes indicative of smaller
word populations
4.1 -ify
Described in dictionaries as variants of the affix -fy (< OF, of L origin) meaning “make, cause to be, render”, -ify and its allomorph -efy
(henceforth -(e/i)fy) are stress-imposing, whether separable (165 items)
or bound (95 items). The rule which places primary stress before the
affix has no exception.
Despite having yielded a rather weak population (250 items in
all), ‑(e/i)fy is, after -ise, the second most productive suffix in the formation of verbal neologisms.
In comparison with -ise (cf. §13.2), -(e/i)fy covers a more restricted semantic field, coming into competition with its rival affix in the
senses “render or convert into”, to express the act of making someone
adopt a culture, a social trend or a political stance ((de)Nazify, dorkify,
Frenchify, Russify, yuppify, etc.). In scientific language -(e/i)fy is also
used to qualify a chemical or physical alteration (alkalify, gasify, etc.),
in which case it is also in competition with -ise and sometimes -ate (cf.
(2), same ch.).
Making use of Plag’s classifications (1999 & 2002), it is possible to establish discrimination rules between -(e/i)fy and -ise. Thus,
one-syllable bases are normally made into verbs with -(e/i)fy as are
two-syllable bases in -y or -i, as illustrated below:
(1)
-(e/i)fy instead of -ise
a.
basify, brutify, (de/mis/re)classify, coalify, codify, damnify, densify, domify,
duncify, falsify, fishify, Frenchify, gasify, kitschify, mattify, mythify, nullify,
pinkify, planify, preachify, pulpify (re)purify, rarify, scarify, speechify, suavify, tonify, (pre)typify, verbify, versify, webify, (de)zincify, etc.; exc.: stylise
b.
beautify, citify, countrify, daintify, dandify, fancify, gentrify, (dis/un)glorify, jellify, jollify, ladify, mummify, (de)Nazify, prettify, rubify, storify, tackify,
tipsify, ugifly, (de)wikify,yuppify, zombify, etc. (cp. bases of three syl.: melodise < melody, notarise < notary, strategise < strategy, etc.)
Nouns and adjectives with an inseparable prefix, a class not mentioned
by Plag (ibid.), are also apt to verbalise with -ify: compactify, complexify, correctify, (sub)diversify, exemplify, intensify, objectify, subjectify
Verbs of (1.b) are described in D.com and OED as resulting from
a mere addition of the basic suffix form -fy to the base, with the orthographic adjustment y > i for those in -y (nazi + -fy, dandy + -fy, etc.)1.
Otherwise, verbalisation with -fy is apparently systematic when a free
base ends with a digraph (e.g. argufy (< argu(e) + -fy, tagged as chiefly South Midland and Southern US in D.com and colloquial in OED),
Cockneyfy, Disneyfy (1965), Yankeefy, cp. Turkify from Turk, OED, not
listed in the Corpus). Satisfy is the only verb containing the basic affix
form -fy which has no transparent base (from L satis = “enough”).
On examination of the remainder of authentic suffixed verbs in
‑(e/i)fy, it is noticeable that, contrary to Plag’s observations, some have
been derived from three-syllable bases, most particularly when the latter refer to chemical elements (a) -i/y + -fy (concatenation): alkalify
< alkali, mercurify < mercury; (b) affix-replacement or truncation of
a neo-classical ending (cf. §0(6): ammonify < ammoni(a), silicify <
silici(um), syllabify <~ syllab(ic)). Apart from ammonia and silicium,
the aforementioned bases can, together with other words, alternately be
affixed with rival verb suffixes -ise and -ate as shown in the inventory
below:
(2)
Variants in -(e/i)fy /-ise / -ate
a.< trisyllabic bases: al'kalify (19th < alkali + -fy) / 'alkalise (17th < id.),
ˌdia'bolify (r.) / di'abolise (18th; both < L < Gk, noth <~ diabol(ic)), his'tor­
ify (r. < L <~ histor(ic) = his'toricise (19th < historic), mer'curify (17th <
mercur(y) + -fy) / 'mercurise (date? < mercur(y) + -ise) / 'mercurate (1922
< mercur(y) + -ate), syllabify (<~ syllab(ic), act. a BF < syllabification) /
syllabicate (<~ syllabic, act. a BF < syllabication / syllabise (< Med. L <~
syllab(ic));
b.< dissylabic bases: 'amplify (14th < L <~ ample) / am'plificate (obs. 18th < L
<~ amplify + -c- + -ate.), 'Anglify (18th < Angl(e) + -ify vs. post-classical L
1
With the odd exception of prettify, given as resulting from attachment of -ify
further to truncation of the -y of the base (prett(y) + -ify) in D.com vs. < pretty
+ -fy in OED.
68
stem + -fy in OED) / 'Anglicise (18th < Anglic), Russify (1824 < Russ(ian) +
-ify) / Russianise (1799 < Russian + -ise).
E'therify (< ether = “convert into an ether”), i'conify (1986 < icon, computing = “make into an icon”), metrify (< F < L “compose in verse”) and
terrify (< L = “scare”) have different meanings from respectively 'etherise (< 'ether = “an(a)esthetise with ether”), 'iconise (< icon = “form an
image or likeness of ”), 'metricise (< metric = “express in terms of the
metric system”) and terrorise (in the specialised s. of “to produce fear
by acts of terrorism”).
(1) and (2) suffice to account for 75% of suffixations with -(e/i)fy
to a recognisable base, either by juxtaposition or by substitution.
There is no case in which -(e/i)fy concatenates to another affix
(cf. opsonify (< opson(in) + -ify)2, Russify (< Russ(ian) + -ify).
Working within the framework of a renovated version of Optimality Theory, Raffelsiefen (2004) has argued that -ify is not actually
stress-imposing. According to this author, the proparoxytone pattern of
verbs in -ify of more than three syllables results from source words with
identical stress, mostly from -ity nouns: fluidify < fluidity rather than
fluid, solemnify < solemnity rather than solemn, solidify < solidity rather than solid, etc. True enough, 25 verbs in -ify denote a paradigmatic
relation with nouns in -ity, to be ordered along the -ity > -ify axis since
nouns in ‑ity are normally deadjectival whereas -(e/i)fy is either denominal or deadjectival. True again, this derivation is possibly attested in
at least one example (commodify, 1982, MWD < commodity?) of the
inventory below:
(3)
acidity/acidify and sim. alacrity/ify, capacity/ify, commodity /ify, deity/ify, divinity/
ify, entity/ify, eternity/ify, fecundity/ ify, fluidity/ify, humanity/ify, humidity/ify, identity/ify, indemnity/ify, indignity/ify, malignity/ify, nobility/ify, opacity/ify, quantity/
ify, rancidity/ify, rigidity/ify, sanctity/ ify, solemnity/ify, solidity/ify, unity/ify.
Raffelsiefen similarly accounts for Trisyllabic Shortening in three-syllable verbs in -ify (in which stress positioning is no issue) such as typify by the existence of typical (as opposed to speechify, stonify, etc.
which have no possible paradigmatic forms in -ical or -ity). However,
2
Besides, *opsoninify was hardly likely to have been formed, given the identical
consecutive onsets it would have had.
69
Raffelsiefen’s system still fails to account for the S-1 stress of such
verbs in -ify with no paradigmatic antepenult input such as bourgeoisify3, es'terify (1907 < 'ester), mer'curify (< 'mercury + -fy), i'conify (1986
< 'icon), ob'jectify ( in the s. “to treat someone as an object” < 'object
n. + -ify, no semantic relation to the v. ob'ject or the adj./n. ob'jective),
op'sonify (post 1905 < 'opson(in) + -ify), per'sonify (< 'person + -ify),
u'niquify (late 20th < 'uniq, a “Unix” utility, Urban D).
Despite the merits and elegance of such attempts, it seems that
the evidence adduced is not enough to relegate -ify to stress-neutral status. Finally, the inexistence of *randomify (cp. randomise), *privatify
(cp. privatise), etc., can adequately be dealt with by resorting to the
distributional principles set out in (1) and (2) above.
To conclude on paradigmatic pairs in -ity/-ify, it must be noted
that 6 of the verbs listed in (3) above have a rival form in -ise or in
-ate: acidify/ise, divinify/ise, exemplify/icise, fecundify/ate, fluidify/ise,
solemnify/ise.
Whether separable or bound, -(e/i)fy can combine with (a) the
adjectival suffix -able (acidifiable, identifiable, 46 items + 16 antonyms
in non-, un-, etc. cf. §12); (b) the agent suffix -er (humidifier, pacifier,
70 items, cf. §9(1))4; (c) the noun suffix -ation, with the compulsory insertion of a linking -c- (cf. §2.3.1 ii, from OF -fication, from L -ficātiō:
identification, stratification, versification, 160 items).
The alternative stress-patterns 'identifiable/iˌdenti'fiable, 'ver­
sifiable/ˌversi'fiable, etc. will be discussed in §12.3.
4.2 -ible/-igible
Initially described by Duchet (1991: 18) as two distinct types of
stress-imposing affixes placing stress one syllable back (S-1), -ible and
3
4
70
In American English, bourgeoisify can be analysed as a strong-preservation derivative since, in this dialect, the standard stress of bourgeois is final.
The only noun in -ifiant listed in the Corpus is signifiant (syn. with signifier,
in linguistics). Some synonyms in -ify + -ant of nouns in -ify + -er are found in
Web pages, e.g. an emulsifiant, a detoxifiant.
-igible (cf. §12 for etymology) may be treated as such even though the
latter occurs in only 7 items (11 if formations with a separable prefix
are included): (in)corrigible (<~ correct), dirigible (<~ direct), (in/re)
eligible (<~ elect), erigible (<~ erect), exigible (< F, sync. linkable to
v. exact?), (un)intelligible <≠ intellect), negligible (<~ neglect). The
only bicategorial word in the preceding inventory, dirigible, is generally
stressed [0100] when it is a noun.
The fact that a majority of words in -ible are deverbal suffixations (or adjectives parseable as such) preserving the stress of their base
(deductible <~ deduct, discernible <~ discern, repressible < repress,
suppressible < suppress, etc.) may make it tempting to confer upon -ible
neutral suffix status. However treating ‑ible as strictly stress-imposing,
contrary to its much more common variant -able (cf. §12), remains more
economical as lexical stress also falls one syllable back in denominal or
deadjectival derivatives ac'cessible (<~ 'access), de'fectible (<~ 'defect,
n.), i'rascible (<~ ire), per'fectible (<~ adj. 'perfect) or in words with
no transparent deriving form: com'patible, co'mestible (+ n.), in'delible,
os'tensible, sus'ceptible. Besides the 11 -igible words mentioned above,
the Corpus lists about 140 -ible words, most of them adjectives (notable
exceptions: crucible, mandible). All these words are indeed stressed on
the syllable preceding -ible.
The distribution rules, respective productivity and combinatorial
properties of -able and -ible will be dealt with in §12.
4.3 -icide
This sequence (from L -cīdium = ‘act of killing’) initially denoted a
human being who had made himself guilty of a taboo crime (matricide,
parricide, regicide, etc.). Later on, it became combinable with all sorts
of morphemic elements, transparent or not, in the sense of “agent destined to destroy noxious species” (insecticide, rodenticide, etc.), but also
in a jocular sense (cowicide, vampiricide, both from Web pages, etc.).
Nouns constructed with -icide are always stressed on the syllable
preceding this sequence (S-1). The linking -i- characteristic of Latin
71
constructions with combining forms (matricide, etc.) is indissociable
from the affix -cide, even when it aggregates to non-classical bases
(parenticide, weedicide, etc.). The Corpus lists about 35 constructions
made up of a transparent base + -icide (aborticide, acaricide, am(o)ebicide, bactericide, germicide, infanticide, liberticide, microbicide,
parasiticide, etc., some of the latter bases being truncated in compliance with general affix-replacement rules or deletion of neo-classical
endings, cf. §0(4b) and (6), e.g. acaricide, 19th < acar(us), + -icide, liberticide, 18th < libert(y) + -icide) and about as many nouns in which it is
associated with a bound morpheme, generally a neoclassical combining
form (ceticide = “destruction of cetaceans”, formicide = “destruction of
ants”, genocide, nematicide, vermicide, etc.).
It is worth noting than more than half of the words in both classes
have been coined in the 20th and 21st Centuries. Whereas few speakers
are apt to make common usage of learned constructions of the formicide,
nematicide kind, it is nonetheless undeniable that this affixal sequence
has entered everyday vocabulary thanks to transparent colloquial coinages such as dogicide (from Web pages), wificide (Urban D.), etc.
Adjectives are freely formed from transparently suffixed or
bound-stem -icide nouns by addition of the suffix -al: bactericidal,
parasiticidal, genocidal, homicidal, suicidal, etc. The stress pattern of
these adjectives will be examined in §15.5.1.
4.4 -meter
Defined in some dictionaries as a suffix and in others as a combining
form, the latter definition being more adequate for this element, the sequence -meter (< L -metrum < Gk métron = measure) is used to indicate:
i. a measuring device: barometer, thermometer, etc.
ii. a verse having a specified number of feet: hexameter, pentameter,
etc.
iii. miscellaneous mathematical terms: diameter, parameter, perimeter,
etc.
72
Originally associated with neoclassical combining forms, with a
linking ‑o- when they are of Greek origin (barometer) and an -i- when
they are Neo-Latin (altimeter), -meter is now, like -icide, combinable
with free morphemes. A linking -o- or -i- is included in most such formations: acidimeter, alcoholometer, azotometer, calorimeter, colo(u)rimeter, dynamometer, fluorimeter, inclinometer, inductometer, intervalometer, speedometer, urinometer, vaporimeter, etc. (note however
volumeter).
Whether referring to measuring devices or prosodic feet, -meter implies S-1 stressing (mil(e)'ometer, spee'dometer, te'trameter, etc.).
This stress-placement rule is remarkably efficient: out of 350 compact
compounds constructed with this element, only one exception stands
out: 'taximeter (the former [1000] pattern of altimeter has now been
displaced by the regular variant in [0100]). It is only in non-compact
noun formations that -meter behaves like a component of a compound:
eˌlectric 'meter (cp. ˌelec'trometer, diff. s.), 'gas ˌmeter (cp. ga'someter,
diff. s.), 'parking ˌmeter, 'water ˌmeter).
Unlike -meter, the quasi-homographic combining form -metre,
representing the fundamental unit of length in the metric system, theoretically imposes initial stress: 'millimetre and, on the same model,
centimetre, decimetre, decametre, hectometre, kilometre. However,
kilometre is the only word of this class which has developed a variant
copying the -meter model (ki'lometre). Even more strikingly, this variant seems to have become more popular than the traditional pronunciation in Present-Day English. Whether this irregular stress pattern was
influenced by the multiplication of words coined with the combining
form -meter remains an open question. It is interesting to note that,
according to D.com, the alternative pronunciation with stress on the
second syllable was recorded in the United States before 1830. Such
confusion would be expected in American English which makes no
orthographic distinction between meter and metre.
Synchronically -meter, in the sense of “measuring instrument”,
can be inferred to derive nouns in -metry denoting the art, process, or
science of measuring indicated by the corresponding device. The element -metry can in turn be inferred to form adjectives in -ic (90 items)
and -ical (30 items). The less numerous adjectives formed with -ical
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all have a variant in -ic. As has been seen in §1.4.2, the -ic form is now
more commonly used.
With the proliferation of new technologies, neologisms in -meter/
‑metry are still likely to appear in English. An appreciable number of
such words have entered the lexicon over the last fifty years (cf. §14(2)).
4.5 -erie
As shown by Fudge (1984), this sequence, which denotes French loans,
entails S-1 stress: bijouterie, bizarrerie, brasserie, broderie, brusquerie, camaraderie, causerie, charcuterie, chinoiserie, coterie, diablerie,
gaucherie, gendarmerie, grotesquerie, jacquerie, lingerie, marqueterie,
menagerie, papeterie, parqueterie, passementerie, patisserie, reverie,
rotisserie. Though 100% regular in terms of stress-assignment, the -erie
ending is representative of a very marginal class in terms of usage, as is
to be expected from a family of loans.
A bound ending in the majority of words in which it appears, -erie
can also be linked, semantically, to nouns and adjectives which, though
absorbed into the English Lexicon, still carry a distinctive French touch
in their connotation and/or their pronunciation:
(1)
bizarrerie <~ bizarre, brusquerie <~ brusque, gaucherie <~ gauche, gendarm­
erie <~ gendarme, grotesquerie < grotesque, parqueterie < parquet.
All the adjectives in (4) have alternately produced nouns with the much
more common suffix -ness: bizarreness, brusqueness, gaucheness,
grotesqueness.
No suffixations can be made from words in -erie. This ending
must not be confused with the -ie variant of the informal suffix of endearment -y: dearie/deary, doggie/doggy, groupie/groupy, etc. (cf.
§8.2.5.1).
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5. Stress-bearing affixes
Separable suffixes or bound endings bearing stress are generally Latin­
ate loans (mainly French), or Neo-Greek combining forms.
The assignment of primary stress to the final syllable of a lexeme
is a characteristic feature of non-assimilation to the English phonol­
ogical system. This is why stress retraction is quite common in these
families of words, whether it stems from rhythmic imperatives, namely
the necessity of resorting to iambic regression (stress shift) to avoid a
stress clash (He’s ˌJapa'nese vs. a ˌJapanese 'car), or whether it is noted
in variants having adopted the fundamental tropism of English towards
earlier stress.
5.1 Affixes of French origin
As regards final affixes, French was for a long time the major source
of borrowings as it was for the English lexicon on the whole. However
French has gradually lost its pre-eminence to other languages, such as
German, Spanish or Yiddish which have had closer contacts with American English. It would however be wrong to assume that auto-stressed
suffixes borrowed from French are but scarce remnants of the past
doomed to extinction. Some of them are actually still quite dynamic,
with remarkable potential in the coining of neologisms.
5.1.1 -ee
An alteration of respectively masculine and feminine French past participles -é, -ée, this suffix was originally used chiefly in legal language,
in a passive sense, to indicate someone who was affected by an action
(assignee, grantee, vendee, etc.). As such it was correlative to the agent
suffix -or: assign(or/ee), grant(or/ee), vend(or/ee), etc. (74 pairs of this
class according to Barker 1998, henceforth Barker, p. 37). Under the influence of American English (H&P: 1697), it has extended to all lexical
fields, still with the passive sense (in association with transitive verbs) of
someone affected by an action (abductee, deportee, trainee, etc.) but also
with the active sense (in association with intransitive verbs) of someone
performing an action (e.g. escapee, from the intransitive use of the verb,
ie to escape from, returnee). In the light of Barker’s thorough study of this
suffix, -ee is categorically productive whatever the type of measurements
considered, including that of hapax legomena as advocated by Baayen
(1992, 1993) and by Baayen & Lieber (1991) and Baayen & Renouf
(1996). According to Barker (: 10), 96 nouns in -ee joined the lexicon in
the 20th century, most (as those below) being now listed in dictionaries:
(1)
appraisee (1946), attendee (1961), contactee (1960), counselee (1934), detainee (1928), evacuee (1934), inductee (1941), franchisee (1956), internee (1918),
muggee (1969 = “a victim of mugging”), parolee (1915), rescuee (1950), retiree (1935), selectee (1940), testee (1932), etc.
Fundamentally deverbal, the -ee suffix has occasionally attached to
nouns: asylee (first recorded in 1989, according to Barker: 9 vs. 1950
in OED < asylum), biographee (19th “subject of a biography” < bio­
graph(y) vs. either biograph, v. or biograph(y) in OED).
Whereas 105 nouns in -ee denoting someone affected by or performing an action are recorded in the Corpus, searches on the Internet
turn up many more words of this kind, attesting to this suffix’s unabating
productivity. Besides Barker, scholars have given many other examples
of recently coined nouns in -ee which, though not listed in dictionaries,
are apparently commonly used (blackmailee, congratulee, holdupee,
honoree, huggee, kidnapee, slanderee, etc. Bauer, 1983: 248). Even
deadjectival derivatives such as deadee seem now licensed (cited by
S. Mühleisen 2010: 115 from Barnhart et al, 1990: 152).
When combining with a verb in -ate -ee entails the elision of the
verb ending: amputee1 (1910) < amputate, congratulee < congratulate,
1Besides, *amputatee would have resulted in identical onsets in its last two syllables.
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evacuee < evacuate (1934), nominate < nominee, etc. However, this
“truncation rule” referred to in Aronoff 1976 is invalidated in such derivations as dedicatee < dedicate, educatee < educatee, where removal of
the -ate ending would make the suffixed form incomprehensible (*dedicee, *educee) since a graphic c implies a realisation in [s] before the
graphic vowels e/i/y.
Whether the suffix -ee is now chiefly an American idiosyncrasy (abductee, contactee, standee, etc.) or has remained a productive
word-formation operator in all dialects of English, most of the nouns
which it has yielded are currently used on both sides of the Atlantic and
in other English-speaking areas.
Nouns formed from the attachment of -ee to a verb with an inseparable prefix, which as such requires stress on the stem (cf. §0.2, iii.), often violate the basic phonotactic characteristic of the English language
disallowing stress adjacency in words which are neither compounds
('bootˌlegger, etc.) nor verbs with a separable prefix (ˌre'make, etc.):
e.g. apˌpoin'tee, deˌpor'tee, esˌca'pee, paˌro'lee, reˌti'ree, reˌmit'tee,
seˌlec'tee. However, all words of this type have a variant amenable to
canonical rhythmic alternation (ˌappoin'tee, ˌdepor'tee, etc.).
Noted with a penultimate pattern as its first pronunciation in EPD
and LPD, em'ployee (+ [201]) has been cited (Duchet, 1991: 52–54) as a
case of conflict between stress preservation and -ee’s auto-stressing rule
resolved in favour of the former realisation (em'ployee < employ, on the
model of em'ployer). Yet, besides retiree, stressed either [201] or [010]
there are no other examples of deverbal derivation in -ee confirming
this evolution.
The suffix -ee is marginally used with another signification,
namely to indicate a diminutive form (mostly attached to nouns), in
which case it can be considered as a variant of -ie (cf. §8.2.5.1), even
though the origin of this synonymy remains unexplained in dictionaries:
bootee, coatee, goatee, settee (prob. < settle), townee (a var. of townie),
vestee, etc.
The only somewhat obscure deverbal nouns in -ee are committee
(in the now rare legal s. of “someone to whom a person or estate is committed” < commit ≠ com'mittee ≈ “commission”, in the s. of “a group of
representatives or delegates”), recognisee (= “a person in whose favour
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a recognisance is made” < recognise), referee (sporting use < refer, a
referee is a person someone refers to for arbitration; this sense was first
recorded in the mid-19th century).
When -ee is a bound ending instead of a separable suffix, autostressing is hardly an iron-clad rule, even if many variants are re­
corded, attesting to a conflict between two antagonistic systems, namely
between adoption of the suffix’s stress-bearing pattern and assimilation
to what Guierre (1984: 26 & 80) named the Normal Stress Rule of En­
glish (initial stress in unaffixed dissyllables and antepenultimate stress
in unaffixed words of three syllables or more, henceforth NSR).
(2)
NSR: apogee, banshee (+ [01]), bawbee (+ [21]), bummaree (+ [201]), burgee
(+ [21]), calipee (+ [201]), Cherokee (+ [201]), chickadee (+ [201]), chickaree,
chutnee, cooee (+ [21]), coffee, congee, dungaree (+ [201]), epopee, filigree,
fricassee (+ [201]), fusee (US, GB = [01]), Galilee, geegee, kedgeree (+ [201]),
levee, lychee (+ [21]), jamboree (+ [201]), jubilee (+ [201]), mallee, manatee
(US, GB = [201]), ogee (+ [01]), pedigree, peewee, perigee, Pharisee, picotee
(US, GB = [201]), pongee (+ [01]), prithee (obscure compound, a corruption
of pray thee), puggaree, puttee (+ [21]), rupee (US, GB = [01]), Sadduccee,
shivaree (+ [201]), spondee, squeegee (+ [01]), suttee (+ [21]), tepee, trochee,
weewee, whoopee, yankee; [-1]: chimpanzee (GB, US = [010]), chincherinchee
(+ [2010]), mammee, rapparee, repartee, sangaree; [-10]: committee (≈ commission, cf. two par. above), Maharanee, parlyaree, shikaree (alt. spelling -i)
In British English, French loans in -ée have all yielded to Germanic retraction. The latter words tend to simplify the typically French ée spelling to -ee. In this configuration, the realisation in [eI] of the final digraph
is the only feature which remains to distinguish these words from those
in (2). Much more conservative in the treatment of French loans (cf.
§5.1.8 below, ga'rage, chau'ffeur, etc.), US English maintains the graphic
diacritic and, most of all, final stressing in words of this class:
(3)
-ée or -ee pronounced [eI]:
a.GB (+ alt. spelling ée) → NSR: bouchee, corvee, dragee, entree, frisee,
idee, lycee, matinee, melee, negligee, protegee, puree, soignee, soiree, toupee, exc.: fi'ancee
b.US → final stress: dragée, fiancée, idée, lycée, etc.
No other suffixation than nouns in -ism (absenteeism, amputeeism,
presenteeism, refugeeism) can be made from words in which -ee is a
78
separable suffix. Suffixations in -ist from such nouns are normally excluded by synonymy blocking (absentee > absenteeism / *absenteeist,
which is however acceptable as an adjective, e.g. […] “on foreign policy and its role – whether benign or sinister, interventionist or absenteeist – in the development of national states in the region”, DraceFrancis, 2013). It has been seen above that semi-obscure derivatives in
-ee are susceptible to noun-verb null derivation: n. referee > v. referee >
n. refereeing). Nouns in -ee with an obscure or opaque bound stem of
neoclassical origin are compatible with the adjectival suffixes -(e)al,
‑(e)an and -ic: apogeal/an/ic, Galilean, Pharisean/Pharisaic, spondaic,
trochaic.
The auto-stressed -ee suffix is susceptible to stress-shift: ˌabsentee
'landlord, ˌgoatee 'beard, ˌtrainee’s 'programme, ˌrefugee 'policy.
5.1.2 -eer
Introduced at the time of the Norman Conquest, the -ier suffix (from
L ‑arius) had versatile semantics, producing words which referred to
people and objects alike. Many of these nouns adopted from Old and
Middle French – which should be distinguished from those containing
the -ier variant of the -er suffix (clothier, furrier, glazier, etc., cf. §2(9) –
eventually became fully anglicised with early stress (barrier, courier,
courtier, soldier, etc.). Others maintained final stress while discarding
‑ier for its anglicised variant -eer (e.g. charioteer, 14th <~ chariot + -eer,
engineer, id. <~ engin(e) + -eer). From the late 16th century onwards,
a new group of French loans in -ier came into English, again with primary stress on the last syllable. Whilst this stress pattern has endured
for most of these loans, the -ier form has otherwise been supplanted
by its anglicised variant -eer, surviving only in a few words with its
original spelling (brigadier, grenadier, etc. cf. §2(8)). As seen in §2(7),
recent French loans in -ier are now realised as [I.eI] (hotelier, etc.), in an
attempt to imitate the modern French pronunciation, a radical change
which makes it now impossible for the -eer suffix to substitute with the
‑ier of these nouns.
After displacing -ier, -eer acquired a life of its own, tacking
on to noun bases to denote someone who is engaged in or somewhat
79
associated with a specific activity, often now with a pejorative connotation: auctioneer, balladeer, cameleer, fusileer (+ var. fusilier),
marketeer, mountaineer, muleteer, musketeer, mutineer, pamphleteer,
sonneteer, etc.
Although it has not yielded many words (about 50 in all, according to the Corpus), the stress-bearing -eer suffix was still productive in
the 20th century, at least until the mid-1960s, as attested by some of the
examples below:
(4)
conventioneer (1934), gadgeteer (1938), fictioneer (1923), missileer (1960),
orienteer (1965), profiteer (1912), puppeteer (1915), racketeer (1924), sloganeer (1922), summiteer (1957), weaponeer (1945).
-eer also contributes to the formation of verbs by null-conversion: conventioneer, electioneer, engineer, marketeer, mountaineer, orienteer,
profiteer, puppeteer, racketeer, scrutineer (17th for the n., 1930 for the
v.), sloganeer.
In synchronically underived words, -eer also bears primary
stress. When they have not been inherited from French, such words are
often loans from Dutch.
(5)
ambeer (< am(ber) + beer), bandoleer (< Sp. bandolera), buccaneer (formerly
buccanier < F), career (< MF + v. with a diff. s.), commandeer (v. < Du. <
F), compeer (< MF), domineer (v. < Du. < F), emeer/ameer (< Ar., a var. of
emir), fakeer (Ar., a var. of fakir), gazeteer (= “geographic dictionary”, formerly “someone who wrote a gazette”), laveer (obs. v. < Du.), myn/menheer
(= “Sir/s” in Du. and Afrikaans), pickeer/piqueer (v. < Du.), pioneer (< OF +
v.), sirkeer (“a species of Asiatic cuckoo”), tabasheer (< Per.), targeteer (< F
or It., “soldier armed with a sword and shield”, from the former s. of target =
“shield”), timoneer (< F, obs. = “helmsman”), veneer (< L < F + v.), volunteer
(< F + v.); exc.: 'reindeer (< O. Norse).
Whether bound or separable, -ion is seemingly the only affix to which
‑eer may attach: auctioneer, conventioneer, electioneer, fictioneer, fusioneer. Outside null-derivation verbs and the nouns in -ing they are apt
to produce (engineer > engineering, etc.), words in -eer (whether the latter formative be bound or separable) are compatible with the suffix ‑ism:
careerism, racketeerism, sloganeerism, volunteerism). Because of synonymy blocking, nominalisation with the -ist suffix is theoretically only
possible if the noun it attaches to does not denote a person: careerist.
80
As Raffelsiefen (2004) notes, -eer seldom attaches to bases with
final stress. Contrary to -ee suffixations, this does not result in possible
stress adjacency: ˌharpoo'neer (a var. of har'pooner < har'poon), ˌpetar'deer (< pe'tard, a former warfare device), ˌrouti'neer (< rou'tine). In
its former meaning (transparently derivable from ga'zette), ˌgazet'teer
underwent the same process2. The same phenomenon is observed in
nouns such as ˌbriga'dier (< F), relatable to bri'gade, and ˌgrena'dier
(id.), relatable to gre'nade.
Like the -ee suffix (trainee’s programme), -eer is susceptible to stress
shift (engineer’s training).
5.1.3 -ese
A rival suffix of -ian, -ic, -ish and -i (for Middle-East and some Far-East
countries or regions: Bangladeshi, Iraqi, Israeli, Kuwaiti, Pakistani,
Punjabi, Qatari, etc.), -ese attaches to name-places to denote the inhabitants and, if applicable, the language of certain countries and areas.
Dictionaries differ as to the origin of this suffix, some tracing it back to
Italian -ese (e.g. D.com) others to Old French -eis (Modern F -ais, -ois),
e.g. OED.
There is direct concatenation of this suffix to bases ending with
a consonant sound (Japanese < Japan, Milanese < Milan, Sudanese <
Sudan, Taiwanase < Taiwan, etc., exception Portuguese < Sp. <~ Portug(al) + -u + -ese, cp. Senegalese < Senegal) and truncation of bases
ending with a vowel sound, most often assimilable to a neoclassical
(or pseudo-classical) termination (Burmese < Burma, Genevese < Geneva, Genoese < Genoa, Maltese < Malta, Veronese < Verona, Viennese < Vienna, etc.). As regards the latter class, it appears that two-syllable deriving nouns sometimes entail the insertion of an epenthetic
consonant instead of deletion of the final vowel when suffixed with
-ese: Balinese, Congolese, Javanese, Togolese, cp. Burmese < Burma,
Chinese < China, Maltese < Malta. Truncation of the base also occurs
in Lebanese (< Leban(on) to avert repetition of identical onsets in
the last two syllables of the resultant suffixed form (*Lebanonese, cp.
2
Commandeer is demotivated ≠ command.
81
Ceylonese < Ceylon, Gabonese < Gabon), cf. last par. of §3.1 and 3rd
par. below §13(13).
Even though it was still active in the 20th century (Lebanese,
1920, Senegalese, id., Taiwanese, post-1949, Zairese, 1974), the
auto-stressed ‑ese suffix is only moderately used in comparison with the
overwhelmingly productive -ian suffix (present in nearly 350 nouns and
adjectives relating to past, present and fictitious areas, peoples and/or
languages, e.g. Canadian, Italian, cf. §15(3). In this respect, it should
be noted that a variant in -(e/i)an may coexist with (and eventually supplant) -ese: Genevese (now r. 17th = Genevan, 16th), Geno(v)ese (16th, id. =
Genoan, 17th), Havanese (date?; now r. = Havanan, date?), Tyrolese
(1809 = Tyrolean or -ian, 1805), Zairese (1974 = Zairian or -ean, 1972).
Indiscriminately nominal and adjectival, -ese is recorded in about
50 words relating to countries, regions, cities or languages. However, specialist works list a fair number of dialects and creoles constructed with
-ese which are not recorded in the Corpus: Liverpoolese, Norfolkese, Nottinghamese, Pitcairnese, etc. (see, among others, Hymes et al, 1971).
In its second sense, meant to denote (often patronisingly or facetiously) a specific jargon or mode of speech, -ese is also still active and
obviously quite productive: (from the Corpus) bureaucratese (1949,
MWD.), computerese (1960), educationese (1958), headlinese (1916);
from other sources: crosswordese (1981, The Word Spy), Internetese
(date?, obviously a recent formation, id. and Urban D.).
Whether used in its first or second sense, the suffix -ese is stressed
in all the words it has yielded. However, like many words with final stress,
suffixed adjectives in -ese undergo stress shift when appearing in attributive position: ˌChinese 'chequers, ˌChinese 'gooseberry, ˌChinese 'restaurant, ˌJapanese 'lantern, ˌJapanese 'maple, ˌJapanese 'people, ˌMilanese
'cutlets, ˌViennese 'waltz, etc. When attaching to a finally-stressed noun,
the -ese suffix precludes, in the same manner as -eer (ˌharpoo'neer <
har'poon), stress adjacency, hence the retraction of the original iambic
pattern of the ensuing bases (ˌJapa'nese < Ja'pan, ˌNepa'lese < Ne'pal,
ˌTaiwa'nese < Tai'wan, ˌVietna'mese < Viet'nam)3.
3
82
In North American and even in some British dictionaries (e.g. EPD, LPD), Taiwan and Vietnam are, however, noted with two consecutive stresses: ˌTai'wan,
ˌViet'nam.
Although no example of this kind is recorded in the Corpus,
searches on the Internet show that the rival noun suffixes -ness and -ity
freely attach to geographic adjectives constructed with -ese: Chineseness, Japaneseness, Portugueseness, Taiwaneseness, etc., Chinesity,
Japanesity, Portuguesity, Taiwanesity. The suffixation in -ity is obviously less often used.
Contrary to adjectival and nominal constructions in -ian and -ish
(Canadianise, Egyptianise, Grecianise, Indianise, Italianise, Norwegianise, Prussianise, Russianise (+ var. Russify), etc. Irishise, Swedishise), words affixed with -ese cannot derive a verb in -ise in the sense of
submitting to assimilation ethnic and/or cultural groups into a nation’s
majority (or official) culture. For countries or areas which are adject­
ivised and nominalised with -ese, this kind of verbalisation is made
from concatenation of the -ise suffix to the geographic entity’s name:
Japanise (19th < Japan), Vietnamise (1957 < Vietnam), Taiwanise, etc.4
Like Lebanese (cf. 2nd par. in §5.1.3 above), truncation of the ending
of the base in Lebanise (< Lebanon) results from the necessity to avert
identical onsets in the last two syllables of the suffixed form (*Lebanonise, cf. 3rd par.below §13(13)).
There are few synchronically indecomposable words in -ese. None
refers to people or languages linked to a specific area: ˌPelopon'nese
(also -'nesus), auslese (G word = [10]), (arch)diocese [(2)100]), chersonese (< L = “peninsula”) and manganese. The last two nouns fluctuate between [100] and [201] (by analogy with the auto-stressed suffix
-ese?).
Obese, which is analysable as an adjective with an inseparable
prefix, is nominalised by -ity or by -ness: obesity/obeseness. Diocese is
adjectivised with -an (diocesan).
5.1.4 -esce
Despite having produced slightly less than 30 verbs, this auto-stressed
affix (from L -ēscere) may not be extinct, as evidenced by the
4
An affix-replacement process may alternately be postulated in this context:
Japanise < Japan(ese) + -ise), etc.
83
back-formation tumesce (< tumescent) which appeared in the mid1960s. As attested by the inventory below, back-formation is actually a
common process in the constitution of such verbs:
(6)
real suffixed forms: phosphoresce (< phosphor(us) + -esce), BFs: adolesce
(< adolescent), defervesce (< defervescence vs. < L in OED), effloresce (< efflorescent, id.), fluoresce (< fluorescence), incandesce (< incandescent vs. <
L in OED), iridesce (< iridescent), luminesce (< luminescent), opalesce (<
opalescent vs. < opal, after opalescence, opalescent, in OED), quiesce (< quiescent vs. < L in OED), tumesce (< tumescent); directly < L: accresce (r.),
acquiesce, coalesce, concresce, convalesce, deliquesce, effervesce, effloresce,
evanesce, frondesce, intumesce, obsolesce, putresce (r. = “putrefy”), recalesce,
recrudesce, rejuvenesce, turgesce; Latinesce is a noun referring to an artificial
language based on Latin).
Besides the only authentic suffixation (further to truncation of the
neoclassical ending -us) attested in the Corpus (phophoresce < phosphor(us) + ‑esce), some of these verbs could synchronically be postulated to derive from adjectives further to truncation of their ending: obsolesce (<~ obsol(ete) + -esce), putresce (<~ putr(id) + -esce), turgesce
(<~ turg(id) + -esce).
Even though many -esce verbs are the product of back-formations from words affixed with -ent (n. or adj.) or -ence, the opposite
derivational axis, namely esce > -escent, -escence (or even -escency),
is attested in several examples. Whatever word-formation process they
have been subject to, namely whether they actually derive from a verb
in -esce or from another base (e.g. alkalescent < alkal(i)), or are synchronically interpretable as such, or have seemingly no transparent
base, nouns and/or adjectives in -escent, and nouns in -escence or ‑escency abide by the same stress-rule as that governing verbs in -esce (e.g.
ˌado'lescent, ˌado'lesce). Historically, both syntactic category inputs/
outputs (adj. > n. and n. > adj) are recorded for words in -escent and in
-escence/-escency (e.g. alkalescent > alkalescence vs. efflorescence >
efflorescent). Synchronically speaking however, such items are better
analysed as denotative of an adj. > n. derivational pattern (cf. §11.4).
(7)
a. -items sync. analysable as suffixed forms
from -esce verbs: acquiescent/ence, adolescent/ence/ency coalescent/ent,
defervescence/ent deliquescent/ence, effervescence/ent, efflorescence/ent,
84
evanescent/ence fluorescence/ent, incandescent/ence, iridiscent/ence, luminescent/ence, obsolescent/ence/ency, opalescent/ence, phosphorescent/
ence, putrescent/ence/ency, quiescent/ence/ency, recrudescent/ence, reju­
venescent/ence, senescent/ ence, tumescent/ent, turgescent; from other bases: alkalescent/ence/ency (< alkal(i) + ‑escent), viridescent/ence (<~ virid
+ -escent);
b. items with an obscure or opaque stem:
albescent/ence, arborescent/ence, erubescent/ence, excrescent/ence, (in)florescent/ence, frutescent/ence, juvenescent/ence, pubescent/ence/ency, rubescent/ence, vitrescent/ence;
c.
other -Vscent items: dehiscent/ence (<~ dehisce), reminiscence/ent (<~
reminisce, act. a BF < reminiscence), renascent/ence (< L); (exc. con'cupiscence/ent (< L), + var [2010]).
Apart from derivatives in -ent, -ence and -ency, -esce verbs produce
nominalisations in -ing, as most verbs are apt to do, and:
i. agent nouns in -er: acquiescer, coalescer, fluorescer;
ii. adjectives in -ible (and never in -able so as to maintain the sc = [s]
correlation before e, i, y): concrescible, effervescible, evanescible,
putrescible. If most of the preceding adjectives have actually been
taken from Latin, the -escible < -esce derivational pattern is historically confirmed in the case of effeverscible (< effervesce). Having
no corresponding -esce verb form, vitrescible is given in D.com as
the product of suffix substitution: < vitresc(ent) + -ible (vs. Latin
stem + -ible in OED);
iii. nouns of medical substances constructed with the scientific suffix
-in: (bacterio)fluorescin, putrescin.
5.1.5 -esque
A competitor of -ish and -like, the -esque adjectival suffix (via F <
It ‑isco, ult. of Gmc origin, cp -ish), generally attaches to a surname
with the meaning “in the style or manner of ” (mostly in relation
with an artist or an artistic school). Although it is at first sight representative of a lexical class with not so large a population, this suffix
(whose first attestations trace back to the Middle-Ages) has considerably gained in productivity since the 19th century. Potentially,
85
any name or pseudonym of a renowned artistic figure (or even of a
fictional character) seems capable of spawning an adjective of this
type, as confirmed by hundreds of examples collected from Internet
searches, which have not been recorded in dictionaries: Asimovesque,
Christiesque, Farmeresque, Faulkneresque, Flemingesque, Howardesque, Lovecraftesque, Maughamesque, Miltonesque, Osbornesque, Picassoesque, Poesque, Spielberesque, Warholesque, etc.
Contrary to the preceding examples, the ensuing adjectives, which
also appeared in the 20th century, have gained an entry in the Corpus:
Capraesque (< Frank Capra), Cezannesque, Chaplinesque (1921),
Daliesque (1941), Disneyesque (1939), Dylanesque, Felliniesque,
Gatsbyesque, Gauguinesque, Hemingwayesque (1942), Lincol­
nesque (1923), Monthy Pythonesque (1979), Pinteresque (1960),
Ramboesque (1985), Tolkienesque (1970).
The -esque suffix can also be used with inanimate nouns: bandwagonesque, gardenesque, statuesque, tabloidesque (1987), etc.
Semantically, -esque only partially overlaps with the -(e/i/u)an
suffix (Dantesque, Lincolnesque, Rubenesque, etc. vs. Dantean, Lincolnian (1910), Rubensian, etc.), the latter characterising anything which
has to do with the life, period, heritage or style of an artistic or historical
figure), the former focusing more exclusively on the style or manner of
an influential person.
There are very few -esque adjectives with no free transparent
base: burlesque (+ n. and v., < F < It.), gigantesque (< id. = “gigantic”),
grotesque (< id.), (Hispano-)Mau/Moresque (< id. = “Moorish”), picturesque (< id., dem. <≠ picture), picaresque (< Sp.), plateresque (<
id.), settecentesque (< It. settecento).
There is no exception to the auto-stressing rule of this adjectival
suffix, which is, like -ee, -eer and -ese, susceptible to stress shift in attributive position: a ˌpicturesque 'landscape).
The -esque suffix allows adverbialisation in -ly and nominalisation in -ness. Although the Corpus yields only examples of derivations from bases which are not constructed from a proper name
(grotesqueness, picturesqueness, sculpturesqueness, statuesqueness,
arabesquely, burlesquely, grotesquely. humoresquely. picturesquely,
sculpturesquely, statuesquely) searches on the Internet do turn up many
examples confirming there is no restriction to this derivational process
86
(Bunuelesqueness/ly, Chaplinesqueness/ly, Dantesqueness/ly, Hemingwayesqueness/ly, etc.).
5.1.6 -ette
This suffix began being used in the 19th century to form diminutives
or feminine nouns (diskette, kitchenette, suffragette, etc.). The sense
of imitation product dates back to the 1880s (flannelette, leatherette,
etc.). The adoption of -ette was so successful that, as a diminutive,
it gradually superseded its rival suffix -et, which had been borrowed
from the masculine form of the same French affix (-et/-ette) in the
wake of the Norman Conquest. Contrary to -ette, -et became fully
anglicised with time, most relevant nouns taking stress on the first
syllable. The -et suffix remained productive until the 19th century, essentially to form nouns of multiples perpetuating the doublet/triplet
formations: quadruplet, quintuplet, sextuplet, octuplet. Semantically
and/or formally, -et is now only recognizable in about forty words,
most of them dated or obsolete (baronet, crownet, cushionet, doublet,
feveret, floweret, gablet, leaflet, lionet, moonlet, nymphet, orphanet,
pillaret, salmonet, snippet, triplet, whiffet, etc.). Dozens of other
nouns in -et have now an opaque or misleading stem: armet, banneret, bassinet, blushet, chewet, closet, dragonet, drugget, facet, freshet,
gorget, hatchet, locket, pocket, signet, etc.
The -ette suffix is still productive as attested by recent formations such as bachelorette (1935), farmerette (1918), majorette (1941),
ladette (1995), luncheonette (1924), roomette (1937), usherette (1925)
(all recorded in the Corpus, examples from other sources: punkette
(1974, OED), smurfette (1981, Smurfs comic books and cartoons),
rockette (date? Prob. from the 1960s < rock, Urban D.), yobette (date?
< yob, id.), yuppette (post-1984 < yupp(ie), id.).
As all other auto-stressed suffixes or French stock, -ette is susceptible to stress shift: a ˌbachelorette 'party.
Other originally French affixes ending in e + double consonant
+ e are found in English nouns with final stress. However, few of them
could synchronically be interpreted as suffixed forms:
87
(8)-elle: aquarelle, bagatelle, chanterelle, jargonelle, membranelle, mirabelle, nacelle, nouvelle, organelle, quenelle, etc.; -enne: cayenne, Cheyenne (< F Canadian), comedienne, cracovienne, doyenne, equestrienne, julienne, Parisienne,
sicilienne, tragedienne, tyrolienne, varsovienne; -esse: allegresse, comtesse,
finesse, largesse, Lyonesse, noblesse, politesse, princesse, richesse, tendresse
Even though only one pertinent example has been extracted from the
Corpus, transparently suffixed nouns in -ette are theoretically compatible with the suffix -ism: suffragettism (< suffragette 1906 < suffrage
+ ‑ette). Nonce words of this kind can be found on the Internet (e.g.
bachelloretism, ladettism). Some nouns in -ette with no transparent
base have produced agent nouns: silhouettist, vignettist/er.
5.1.7 -oon
This affix was formerly adapted from French borrowings in -on bearing
final stress and later on from other Romance languages, chiefly Spanish. In Old French, the -on affix generally denoted small size whilst in
Spanish the cognate -on form has no definite meaning.
-oon is also said to combine with native English words, the example of spittoon being inevitably mentioned in dictionaries dealing
with this affix (D.com and Infoplease.com, actually the only dictionaries accessible from the OL search engine in which an entry has been
dedicated to -oon). The fact is that spittoon (1840, orig. an Americanism), is the only word that can claim this suffixation process. Except
for blends like octaroon/octoroon (19th, Americanism < octo- + (qua)
droon), rockoon (1953 < rock(et) + (ball)oon) and tenoroon (< tenor +
(bass)oon), all other words containing the stressed ending -oon are
former loans:
(9)
88
Etymologies of -oon words
a. French loans: baboon, balloon, (contra)bassoon, batoon, bradoon/bridoon,
buffoon, cantoon, cardoon, cartoon, crampoon, dragoon, ducatoon, festoon,
gaboon (“African wood and tree”,1910 < Gabon), gadroon/godroon, galloon, gossoon (< F garçon), harpoon, jargoon (< F < It.), lampoon, lardoon,
macaroon, maroon, musketoon, pantaloon, patroon (< Du. < F), platoon,
poltroon, pontoon, pulpatoon, rigadoon, saloon, shaloon, spadroon, spontoon, tampoon, testoon, Walloon;
b. Spanish and Portuguese loans: barracoon, doubloon, malacotoon/ melicotoon (now melocoton), monsoon (ult. < Ar.), patacoon, picaroon, quadroon,
quarteroon, quintroon, ramoon, rat(t)oon, vinegarroon (< Mexican Sp.);
c. Italian and Latin loans: blatteroon (obs. < L), frigatoon (< It.), lagoon (id.).
Some loans of French origin have yielded a more common variant in
-on batoon/baton, crampoon/crampon, tampoon/tampon).
Even though it is not productive as a separable suffix, the -oon
sequence has continued to adapt loans of various origins, while still
retaining final stress:
(10)
cacoon (prob. < an African lang.), Cameroon, ceroon (prob. < Chin.), dahoon
(< Americanism, origin uncertain), kokoon (< an African lang.), monsoon (<
Por. < Ar.), Pashtoon (spelling var. Pashtun, syn. Pathan <~ Pashto), puccoon
(< Virginia Alg.), rac(c)oon (< id.), sashoon (obs. etym. uncertain), saskatoon
(< Cree), simoon (< Ar.), tycoon (< Jap.), typhoon (< dial. Chin.), etc.
Words which contain this bound ending combine quite freely with
nominal or adjectival suffixes: buffoonism, balloonist/er, bassoonist,
cartoonist, cocooner, harpooner/eer, lampoonist/er, ratooner, saloonist, baboonery, buffoonery, festoonery, poltroonery, dragoonade, patroonship, buffoonly, poltroonish, monsoonal. Verbalisation from -oon
nouns is achieved by null-conversion: cartoon, cocoon, festoon, harpoon, lampoon. Although it originates from the French noun marron
(or Nègre marron), referring to runaway slaves in Guyana or in the West
Indies, the verb maroon has seemingly a different history from that of
the homographic noun and adjective (from marron, literally “chestnut”,
in French), being said to be an alteration of Spanish cimmaron (= “untamed”).
The -oon ending is morphologically different from the dissyllabic
‑zoon combining form used to name a member of an animal class in
-zoa. This combining form is realised as ['zəʊɒn, -ən] and places primary stress on the first of its two vowels (model: ˌecto'zoon): epizoon,
entozoon, leucocytozoon, metazoon, polyzoon, protozoon, ptychozoon,
spermatozoon, etc. (35 items cf. §5.4.6). Also of Greek origin, Laocoon
(legendary Trojan priest) is stressed as follows [leIˈɒk.əʊ.ɒn].
Presumably under the influence of the -oon ending, words in
-oo – which are generally loans, colloquialisms, baby talk adaptations
or onomatopoeic formations – also tend to have final stress: ballyhoo
89
(+ [100]), bamboo, Barcoo, boohoo, buckaroo, buroo, cockatoo
(+ [100]), didgeroo, halloo, hullaballoo (+ [1000]), jackaroo, jillaroo,
kangaroo, karroo, kazoo, packapoo, parleyvoo, peekaboo, potoroo,
shampoo, skidoo, taboo, tattoo, wallaroo, yahoo (+ [10]), yoohoo. However, as for unsuffixed words in -ee (cf. (2) above), there is no absolute
rule here as shown by the following words which take initial stress:
baboo, boo-boo, bugaboo, Hindoo (+ spelling var. Hindu), hoodoo, burgoo (+ [01]), choo-choo, cuckoo, igloo, koodoo (+ spelling var. kudu),
Pashtoo (+ spelling var. Pashtu), voodoo.
A new suffix in -oo, -eroo, has appeared in English which D.com
defines as follows: “a suffix that creates familiar, usually jocular variations of semantically more neutral nouns; normally added to monosyllabic bases, or merged with bases ending in -er: flopperoo; smackeroo;
switcheroo […] of unclear origin, perhaps extracted from buckaroo”.
The Corpus lists a few words of this type: floperoo (1936 < flop +
-eroo) and similarly piperoo (1939 < pip), smackeroo (1942 < smack),
socceroo (1973 < soccer), sockeroo (1942 < sock), stinkeroo (1934 <
stink(er) + -eroo), switcheroo (1933 < switch). However wanderoo (alt.
spelling ouanderoo) is the name of a monkey (from Sinhalese wanduru). Jackaroo and Jillaroo are originally blends of “Jack/Jill” + (kang)
aroo (19th, Australian E). The -eroo suffix always takes primary stress
on the last syllable.
Like other classes of words with final stress, those in -oo are susceptible to stress shift: ˌbamboo 'furniture, ˌkangaroo 'court, etc.
Verbs are created from nouns in -oo by null-conversion: shampoo, tattoo. Underived words in -oo combine with the suffixes -ism, -ist
and ‑er: Hindooism (+ spelling var. Hinduism), voodooism, yahooism,
tattooist, voodooist, shampoo(er/ist).
5.1.8 Stress-bearing French affixes indicative of marginal classes
Most words in -aire, -aise, -eur, -eux, -euse, -oir(e), -Vche, -Vste denote
a French loan and as such generally receive final primary stress:
(11)
90
-aire: commissionaire, concessionaire, debo(n)naire (+ debonair), doctrinaire,
extraordinaire, laissez-faire, (multi) millionaire, questionnaire, savoir-faire,
secretaire, solitaire, zillionaire, etc. (30 items); -aise: bearnaise, bolognaise,
bordelaise, hollandaise, liaise, lyonnaise, malaise, Marseillaise, mayonnaise,
polonaise; -eur: connoisseur, entrepreneur, litterateur, provocateur, saboteur
(75 items); ‑euse: accoucheuse, berceuse, causeuse, chanteuse, charmeuse,
chartreuse, chauffeuse, coiffeuse, couveuse, danseuse, diseuse, masseuse, mitrailleuse, poseuse, religieuse, virgouleuse; -eux: Bayeux, chartreux, clarenceux, dangereux, devereux; -oir(e): abattoir, abreuvoir, couloir, devoir, montoir,
mouchoir, peignoir, pissoir, presentoir, remontoir, sautoir, tamanoir, trottoir,
voussoir, armoire, baignoire, balancoire, bête noire, conservatoire, directoire,
escargatoire, escritoire, grimoire, pourboire, repertoire, scrutoire; -Vche: affiche, apache, babiche, barouche, berdache, bobeche, brioche, caleche, cartouche, chichevache, cliche, pastiche, pistache (60 items); ‑Vste: arriviste, artiste,
Batiste, celeste, cineaste, dirigiste, langouste, modiste, off-piste, riposte, urbaniste
Words in -Vche and -Vste can also denote loans originating from other
Romance languages, chiefly Spanish or Italian, in which case the vowel
also bears primary stress but in penultimate instead of final position
since the -che sequence is then realised as a full syllable: Cam'peche
(city in Mexico), ce'viche, etc. Stress is also penultimate in French loans
in which -che is originally spelled with an acute accent (re'cherché).
When the -che sequence denotes a Greek word, the ending is realised
as [ki] and primary stress depends on the structure of the penultimate
syllable: sy'nechdoche (no penult C2 → S-2) vs. cy'nanche (penult C2 →
S-1), cf. §16.
Words which have become common in English tend to yield to
Germanic retraction: ˌmayon'naise + [100]), 'amateur (+ [201]), 'arbitrageur (+ [2001]), 'boudoir (no stress var.), 'memoirs (id.), 'reservoir
(id.), 'grandeur (id.),ˌsabo'teur (+ [100]), 'avalanche (no stress var.). In
this context, American English proves to be pretty conservative, maintaining final stress on certain French loans which are now principally
pronounced with early stress in British English (café, chauffeur, coiffeur, garage, etc.).
The affix -aire is the only element among those listed in (11)
which can function as a real suffix. In accordance with the rightmost
affix rule (cf. §0(2)), its stress assignment neutralises the very powerful
-ION generalisation (billionaire, millionaire).
The last affix functioning like a French loan is -ade.
91
(12)
accolade (+ [100]), ambuscade, arcade, aubade, ballade, balustrade, barricade, blockade, brigade, brocade, cannonade, cascade, cavalcade, chamade,
charade, cockade, colonnade, crusade, defilade, dragonade, enfilade, escal­
ade, escapade, esplanade, estrade, façade, fanfaronade, fusillade, gallopade,
gasconade, glissade, grenade, harlequinade, lemonade, limeade, marinade,
masquerade, orangeade, palisade, parade, pasquinade, piperade, pomade,
promenade, r(h)odomontade, roulade, saccade, serenade, stockade, tapenade,
tamponade, tirade (+ [10]). Exc.: decade (+ [01]), comrade, marmalade, renegade.
Even though they coincide with (12), verbs such as abrade, degrade,
evade, invade, dissuade, persuade, pervade, etc. are actually governed
by the rule of inseparable prefixes (cf. §0.2, iii.). Similarly, noun compounds are not pertinent to the application of (12), whether they are
formed on free morphemes ('nightshade, 'sunshade, 'switchblade, etc.)
or with the combining form -grade (< L gradus = “step”): 'centigrade,
'digitigrade, 'gravigrade, 'laterigrade, 'palmigrade, 'plantigrade, 'retrograde, 'saltigrade, 'tardigrade, etc.
As shown by (12), -ade can synchronically be treated as a real
suffix, attaching to bases of native and foreign stock alike: blockade
(+ v. < v. block + -ade), gallopade (directly taken from F <~ gallop,
in the s. of “a sidelong or curveting kind of gallop”, OED), Harlequi­
nade (id.), stockade (id.). In Present-Day English, the -ade suffix has
remained productive only in the naming of new types of soft drinks
made from fruit (orig. citrus). Thus, besides the: traditional lemonade
(17th), limeade (19th), and orangeade (18th), other beverages in -ade have
appeared in recent English vocabulary: Gatorade (trademark, from the
Corpus) + Powerade (id., Urban D.) and (from Internet pages): cantaloupeade, grapefruitade, pinappleade, watermelonade.
A new combining form, -cade, has also appeared in Contemporary English, born of an extraction from cavalcade (via MF from It.),
to describe a specific kind of parade or procession. Thus, -cade has
enriched the English lexicon with aquacade (1937), motorcade (1910),
tractorcade (1977, listed in OED) and a few more items of this kind
which have not yet found a place in dictionaries (bicyclecade, helicoptercade, motorcyclecade, scootercade, truckcade). This element will be
taken up in §7.
92
5.2 Stress-bearing affixes from Latin or Romance
languages other than French
5.2.1 -ana
This suffix (from the L neutral pl. of -ānus) is used to form collective
nouns denoting objects, writings, or other memorabilia associated with
a person, place or period. As such, this suffix, first recorded in the early
18th century, has potentially limitless productivity. Indeed, besides the
mass nouns formed in this manner recorded in the Corpus (e.g. Africana, Americana, Australiana, Canadiana, Dickensiana, Disneyana,
Edwardian, Frostiana, Librariana, Railroadiana, Railwayana, Shakes­
peareana, Victoriana, Walpoliania, Wolfeana), hundreds of similar formations can be found in Internet pages: Bradburyania, Churchilliana,
Elizabethiana, Faulkneriana, Gulliveriana, Hemingwayiana, Johnsoniana, Kennedyana, Lovecraftiana, Miltoniana, Poeiana, Steinbeckiana,
Vidaliana (< (Gore) Vidal), etc. This suffix is also commonly used in
the titles of musical works meant to pay a tribute to a famous composer
or performer: Motzartiana, Purcelliana, Straussiana, Telemanniana,
Vivaldiana, etc.
As nouns of this model were originally linked to an adjective in
‑(e/i)an, each avatar of the underlying adjectival suffix -an (ie -ean and
-ian) is supposedly maintained in the nominal formation: Africana <
African (-ana < -an), Forteana < Fortean (-eana < -ean), Dickensiana
< Dickens (-iana < -ian). As has been mentioned above, -ian has now
all but ousted its basic suffix form -an as well as its rival variant -ean,
which is why, given the immense number of adjectives in -ian, most
dictionaries now list the suffix with an i in brackets: -(i)ana.
Searches on the Internet indicate that proper names which do not
allow adjectivisation with -(e/i)an, always make use of the variant -iana,
which then attaches to the entity’s noun form directly (Irelandiana, Israeliana, etc.). These derivational processes mirror those described for
the -ise verbalisation of demonymic entities: Prussian > Prussianise,
Serbian > Serbianise vs. Japan > Japanise, Vietnam > Vietnamise (cf.
§5.1.3 above).
93
There is no exception to the penultimate primary-stress assignment in nouns of this class (Victoriana: [vɪk.ˌtɔ:.riˈa:.nə]).
5.2.2 -aster
Taken from Latin; this now unproductive stress-bearing suffix used to
append to nouns with the meaning “petty, sham, inadequate”. Most of the
words it has contributed to forming are labelled as obsolete or archaic in
dictionaries. The only relevant items still recorded in the Corpus are:
(13)
criticaster (< critic + -aster), hereticaster (obs. < heretic), mathematicaster (r. <
mathematic), musicaster (r. < music), politicaster (now lit. < politic), witticaster (r. < wit or witty, after criticaster) + < L grammaticaster (<~ grammatic(al)),
medicaster (r. <~ medic(al)), logicaster (obs. <~ logic), philosophaster (r. <~
philosoph(y)), poetaster (<~ poet), rhetoricaster (obs. <~ rhetoric), theologaster (<~ theolog(y))
This obsolete suffix should naturally be distinguished from the second
component of compound nouns -caster which, by imitation of broadcaster, is actively used to name journalists involved in radio and television shows: gossipcaster, narrowcaster (1930), newscaster (id.), sportscaster, telecaster (1940).
5.2.3 -ista
Spanish has bequeathed to English, the -ista suffix, a cognate of -ist.
Originally restricted to denote a follower of an ideology in Latin-American politics (latifundista, Peronista, Sandinista, Somosista, Trujillista,
Zapatista, etc.), this suffix has recently extended its usage by combining
with native bases: freedomista, fashionista (1992).
5.2.4 -ola
Originally a trademark suffix probably patterned on Pianola, proprietary name of a player-piano marketed in 1898 (OED), e.g.: (from the
94
Corpus) Crayola, Motorola, Moviola 1923, Shinola 1903, now used as
a euphemism for “shit”, Victrola (1905) + (from OED): Editola 1935),
-ola took on a new jocular sense in American English with the creation
of payola (1937), boffola (1946 < boff) and crapola (date?). Although
of limited productivity, this stress-bearing suffix has since then, by extraction from payola (1937), spawned words connected with the sense
of bribery in return for promoting a product (from the Corpus: plugola,
1959; (from other sources) cashola, Urban D., playola, given in D.com
as an example of this use together with payola but not listed therein
under a specific entry).
5.2.5 -(r)ati
Patterned on the term literati, adopted in the Early 17th century to designate Men of letters or of the learned class (OED, no dictionary of
the Corpus has dedicated an entry to this formative), -ati has become
a fashionable stress-bearing suffix combining with transparent bases,
occasionally truncated in the process, to describe members of elite
cultural circles. Most terms of this kind have been coined since the
Mid-20th century. Those recorded in the Corpus are: belligerati (20th <
belliger(ent) + -ati, etymological data provided by Collins D, not listed
in D.com, MWD or OED), chatterati (20th < chatter + -ati, id.), culturati
(19th < culture), glitterati (1956 < glitter) (examples from other sources:
niggerati (1932, now historical, OED), geekerati (The Word Spy), linkerati (Urban D.), cinerati (Web pages), journarati (id.).
Although it is stipulated in the OED entry dedicated to -ati that
it is “appended to words ending in -er (or a phonetically similar sequence)”, the -erati entry has been included in the same dictionary with
the comment that “it is sometimes difficult to determine whether a particular example is formed on a noun or verb stem + -erati or an agent
noun in -er + -ati. It is however obvious that the element -rati is to be
held as a functional variant of -ati has shown by some of the examples given in the preceding paragraph: cinerati (obviously < cine(ma) +
-rati), journarati (prob. < journa(lism) + -rati), and further by Mediarati, given in OED in the first sentence illustrating its -ati entry: […] “A
reception afterwards joined the Mediarati” […].
95
5.3 Germanic stress-bearing suffixes
As is well known, Germanic affixes are synonymous with stress neutrality (-doom, -ful, -hood, -kin, -less, -ling, -ness, -ship, etc., cf. however
§15(43)). The only suffixes violating this principle are -self/selves and
-teen, which are actually double exceptions to the fundamental rules
of the English accentuation system since one-syllable consonant-initial
affixes, whether of Germanic or other origin (cf. Latinate -cy, -ment, -ry,
etc.), are supposed to be neutral. In their respective linguistic function,
intensive and reflexive forms of the personal pronouns for -self/selves,
and indicator of cardinal numbers from thirteen to nineteen for -teen,
both are denotative of a closed class:
i. pronoun reflexives/intensifiers -self/selves: himself, hisself (non-standard), itself, meself (non-standard or dialectal), myself, oneself, ourself/
selves, themselves, thyself (obs.), yourself/selves;
ii. numerals in -teen: eighteen, fifteen, fourteen, nineteen, seventeen,
sixteen, thirteen.
The nouns self and teen (a shortening of teenager) have however
spawned non'self (19th, n. used in Immunology), 'notself (r. = “negative
of self ”), pre'teen (1927, n. and adj.), post'teen (date? n. and adj.),
ˌsub'teen (1917, n. and adj.). The only real exception to the closed-class
characteristic of -self and -teen, umpteen – whose first known use dates
back to 1918 – apparently resulted from a blend of umpty (= “such and
such”) and -teen (the same etymology is given in D.com, MWD. and
OED).
In attributive position, numerals in -teen tend to yield to stress
shift: They were four'teen vs. There were ˌfourteen 'people.
The auto-stressing of the ending -oon and of the suffixes -ee, -eer
and -teen have led Lionel Guierre (1984: 59) and his followers to subscribe to a general graphic rule placing stress on geminate vowels in
final or prefinal position (bam'boo, bam'boozle, etc.). However, as seen
above, this generalisation is not so effective as far as unsuffixed -ee and
-oo words are concerned. Furthermore, the -aaC0 sequence5, which is
5
96
The -ii- and -uu- sequences are always denotative of the -ION V/V structure.
always denotative of a loan, is not either systematically stressed: 'advocaat (< Du.), 'Afrikaans (< id.), ba'zaar (< Per.), 'Canaan (< O. Heb.),
‘Isaac (< id.), 'Kirkegaard (Da. name), 'Kursaal (+ [01] < G), sa'laam
(< Ar.), etc.
Still, other words in -een, whether taken from Irish (most such
items being adaptations of nouns originally constructed with the dim­
inutive suffix -in), or from other languages (mainly French), are also
characterised by final stress
(14)
Other words in -een
a.Irish: Aileen (= Helen), Carleen (= Caroline), C/Kathleen (= C/Katherine),
Laureen (= Laura), Maureen (= Mary), Noreen (+ [10] = Nora), boreen (=
“a road or a lane”, dim. of bóthar = “road”), colleen (+ [10], dim. of caile =
“girl”), Doreen (+ [10]), dudeen (= “a tobacco pipe, dim. of dúd), gombeen
(= “exorbitant interest”, dim. of < gamba), jackeen (= “a low-class Dubliner” < Jack + -een, from Ir. dim. -in), Killeen (city), pot(h)een (= “illicitly
distilled whisky”, dim. of pota), shebeen (= “a place where liquor is sold
illegally < síbín), spalpeen (= “a rascal”, orig. formed with Ir. dim. ‑in),
squireen (< squire + -een, from Ir. dim. -in)
b.French: baleen, canteen, careen, dasheen (= “taro plant” < de Chine), lateen,
palenkeen (+ var. palanquin), ratteen (obs. = “ratiné”), shagreen, tureen (<
terrine)
c.words of other origins: Aberdeen (+ [100), Fedayeen (< Ar. fedai), fillipeen
(< Du. or G), Halloween (< (All)hallow(s) + e(v)en), mangosteen (< Du. <
Malay), moreen (perhaps < moire + velveteen), mojahe/hideen (1921 < Ar.),
nankeen (< Nanking), pistareen (Americanism, perhaps < peseta), sateen
(var. of satin by association with velveteen), wekeen (= “meadow pipit”, provincial E), yestreen (< yester + even)
The only noun given as an authentic suffixed form in dictionaries is
velveteen, in which -een is defined as a variant of -ine. However, this
suffixal variation is obviously extinct as no other identical example is
apparently attested, except in words coined by association with this
noun such as mo(i)reen and sateen.
The ensuing words are not stressed on the final syllable: 'ayegreen
(= evergreen), 'car(r)ag(h)een (< Ir.), ma'vourneen (id.), 'mangosteen (<
Du. < Malay), mondegreen (1954), sengreen (= evergreen).
97
5.4 Neoclassical affixes and combining forms
Final elements of learned constructions bearing primary stress are
chiefly linked to medical terminology which has been enriched by dozens of new names of diseases in recent decades. In this respect, four
auto-stressed affixes, -iasis, -itis, -oma and -osis, have been showing
unfaltering productivity.
5.4.1 -iasis, -itis, -oma, -osis
Out of 2,100 words in -is listed in the Corpus, about 42% are nouns
affixed with
i.-iasis (< L < Gk), which characterises infectious or compulsive diseases: [-100] am(o)ebiasis, elephantiasis, satyriasis, t(a)eniasis,
etc. (85 items);
ii. -itis (< Neo-L -ītis < Gk), used in the naming of inflammatory affections: [-10] adrenalitis, appendicitis, prostatitis, retinitis, etc. (290
items);
iii. -osis (< Gk), which denotes pathologies, disorders or abnormal conditions of all kinds: [-10] acidosis, aluminosis, bacteriosis, hallucinosis, etc. (480 items).
Finally -oma (extracted from words such as carcinoma or sarcoma or <
Gk ōma) is used in the naming of tumours → [-10]: cystoma, embryoma, fibroma, lymphoma, etc. (280 items).
The large populations indicated for each class partly result from
the great number of compounds constructed on pre-existing nouns in
-iasis, -itis, -osis or -oma (e.g. -lithiasis, -arthritis, -carditis, -dermatitis, ‑mycosis, -ptosis, -blastoma, -sarcoma).
Whereas -iasis, -itis, -osis and -oma are bound endings associ­
ated with combining forms in most pertinent words, real suffixed forms
are not exceptional in this context (e.g. amebiasis, 1905 < ameb(a) +
-iasis, prostatis < prostat(e) + -itis, hallucinosis 1905 < hallucin(ation)
+ -osis, epithelioma < epitheli(um) + -oma, etc.). Unsurprisingly, most
98
of these suffixations are hard to identify by those untrained in specialist
terminology.
Of the four affixed forms listed in (16), -osis is the only one attested in combinations which are not semantically linked to pathological
conditions: ‑biosis (“form of life”, 22 items), -cenosis (“act of sharing or
having in common”, 2), -gnosis (“knowledge”, 20), -morphosis (“form
or mutation”, 15), -osmosis (10). Remarkably, the -morphosis combining form sequence, which traditionally had antepenultimate stressing
( 'morphosis) has engendered a variant conforming to the penultimate
pattern of medical terms in -osis (mor'phosis). Apodosis ([0100], a term
used in Logic and Grammar) seems to be the only word in -osis with antepenultimate stressing which has not been affected by stress variation.
Learned words in -iasis, -itis, -osis produce suffixed adjectives in
-ic, with truncation of the final element -is (e.g. arthritic <~ arthrit(is)).
Suffixations from bases in -iasis and -osis entail the s > t alternation described in §1.3 (psychotic < psychosis symbiotic < symbiosis, trichiatic
(from the Web) <~ trichiasis, etc.). The insertion of a t in adjective derivatives from nouns of diseases in -oma, formed with -ous and sometimes,
alternately, -ic (atheromatous/-tic <~ atheroma) stems from the same
morphophonological rule inherited from ancient Greek (cf. also §§13.2
and 15(33'b)). Similarly the alternative plural form of tumours in -oma is
-omata (sarcoma > sarcomas or sarcomata, cf. 2nd par. of §6).
Another much less productive auto-stressed affix, -'agra, denoting
pain or inflammation (orig. in connection with gout or gout-like affections
but now with the extended sense of “pain, inflammation”), is only found
in combination with bound stems of neoclassical origin: chi'ragra, go'nagra, me'lagra, men'tagra ˌo'magra, ophthal'magra, po'dagra, etc. 6
5.4.2 -hedrMeaning “face or side”, the combining form -hedron (< Gk -edron,
neuter of -edros), chiefly used to denote geometric figures, always
takes primary stress on the first syllable. All other words containing the
6
Although is has no semantic relation with this family of words, the drug brand
Viagra is stressed in the same manner: [010].
99
sequence -hedr-, whether followed by a bound ending (cathedral) or a
suffix attached further to truncation of the neoclassical ending -on, cf.
§0(6) (decahedral < decahedr(on)), take stress on the same syllable: anhedral, cathedral, decahedron, decahedral, dodecahedron, dodecahe­
dral, hexahedron, hexahedral, pentahedron, pentahedral, pentahedrous, polyhedron, polyhedral, polyhedrous, etc. (75 items)
Nouns constructed with -hedron chiefly yield adjectival derivatives in ‑al and, marginally, in -ous. A few nouns in -hedrism are also
recorded (hemihedrism, holohedrism, tetartohedrism).
As in other words of Greek origin (e.g. criterion, phenomenon),
the plural form oscillates between -s and -a: hexahedr(ons/a), polyhedr(ons/a) (cf. §6).
5.4.3 -mycin and -mycete
The combining form -myc(o)- (from Gk mukēs, meaning “mushroom,
fungus”) is always stressed on the first syllable in the final element
‑mycin (denotative of “fungal derivatives used as antibiotics”): aureomycin, bleomycin, carbomycin, dactinomycin, declomycin, erythromycin, mycomycin, neomycin, oligomycin, paromomycin, puromycin,
spectinomycin, streptomycin, terramycin, etc. (50 items7).
Derived from the same Greek root, the final element -mycete
(used in fungus taxonomy) is also auto-stressed even though it indifferently allows penultimate or final stress: actinomycete, blastomycete,
discomycete, gastromycete, myxomycete, etc. (15 items).
The -mycete combining form generates suffixed adjectives in -ic
and/or in -ous (cf. 4th par. below §15(33): blastomycetic, phycomycetous
schizomycetic/ous, etc.
5.4.4 -rama
Defined as a suffix, originally abstracted from panorama (1824) ult. <
Gk horama = “sight”, in OEtymD (etymological notice reproduced in
7
100
Dozens of other words in -mycin are listed in specialist databases.
extenso in D.com) and as a combining form shortened from -orama
(1896), originally after French -rama in OED, this element has become a
productive auto-stressed (= '-rama) formative meaning “spectacular display of ”. This final element indifferently associates with free morphemes,
either with shortening of the base (e.g. futurama < futu(re), 1939 + -rama,
glamorama < glamo(ur) + -rama) or with insertion of a linking -o- (e.g.
craporama), and neoclassical combining forms: Cinerama (1951), cosmorama, cyclorama, futurama, marinorama, panorama, polyorama
(from the Corpus) + craporama (Urban D.), dollarama (id.), dramarama
(id.) glamorama (id.), folklorama (Internet pages), technirama (id.).
Whether the first element is recognisable (e.g. cosmorama) or
not (e.g. panorama), nouns in -rama are apt to form adjectives in -ic:
cosmoramic, cycloramic, panoramic.
5.4.5 -rrh(o)ea
This combining form (< New L < Gk rhoia = “a flowing”) indicates a
pathological flow or discharge. As seen in §2(2), it always takes primary
stress (amenorrh(o)ea, diarrh(o)ea, logorrh(o)ea, etc. 25 items). This
combining form yields adjectives in -ic or in -al: amenorrh(o)eal/ic,
diarrh(o)eal/ic, dysmenorrh(o)eic, gonorrh(o)eal/ic, etc.
5.4.6 -zo(on, a, -an, -oid)
The -zoon combining form (< Gk zōion = “animal”, cf. initial CF zoo= “living being, animal”: zoology, etc.) indicates a specific animal or
organism in scientific terminology, whereas its Greek plural form -zoa
is used in the naming of zoological classes. Nouns in -zoan (e.g. Actinozoan) – which alternately function as adjectives – designate “groups
or subgroups of taxonomic classes in -zoa”.
As seen in this chapter (2nd par. below (10)), primary stress falls
on the first syllable of these elements (protozoon, protozoa, protozoan,
etc. 35 items8.
8
Again, many more items of this class are listed in specialist databases.
101
Nouns in -zoid which have been formed from nouns in -zoon
further to truncation of the neoclassical ending -on (< -zo(on) + -id,
cf. §0(6)), denote “gametes”: antherozoid [ˌæn.θə.rəˈzəʊ.ɪd], sperma­
tozoid [ˌspɜː.mə.təʊ.ˈzəʊ.ɪd] or [02010], etc. In this class of combiningform compounds, the dissyllabic element -zoid bears primary stress
on its first syllable further to strong preservation of the underlying base
(-ˈzoon > ˈzoid) and must not be confused with the separable or bound
adjective and/or noun affix -oid (cf. §15), in which oi is a vowel digraph
and thus always monosyllabic: quartzoid (< quartz + oid), schizoid
(1925 < CF schiz- + -oid), trapezoid (< Neo-L <~ trapez(ium) + -oid),
etc.
Nouns in -zoa or -zoon can also derive adjectives in ic or -al:
actinozoal (= -zoan) < Actinozoa, ectozoic < Ectozoon, entozoal/zoic <
Entozoon, epizoic/zoal < Epizoon heliozoic (= -zoan) < Heliozoa, malacozoic < Malacozoa, protozoal/zoic (= -zoan) < Protozoa, etc. A few
nouns in -ism are also attested (epizoism, hylozoism).
The -zoic composite combining form (adjective and noun),
is also indicative of a geological era: Arch(a)eozoic, Azoic, C(a)enozoic, Eozoic, Hypozoic, Mesozoic, Neozoic, Paleozoic, Proterozoic,
Psychozoic.
102
Part II
Neutral suffixes
6. Grammatical suffixes
Commonly held as a non-inflectional language, Present-Day English
comprises only seven grammatical suffixes. Despite different etymologies, three of them have the same graphic form:
i.the s morpheme, which is used to form
a. the plural of most nouns (from OE -as, plural nominative and
accusative ending of some masculine nouns),
b. the third person singular of the indicative active present tense
(from OE (northern dialect) -es, -s, originally the ending of the
second person singular),
c. the possessive form of some singular nouns and plurals which
do not end in s (assimilated contraction from ME -es, from OE,
masculine and neuter genitive singular).
This suffix adds a syllable to the base to which it appends when
the latter ends with a sibilant: rose > roses, batch > batches,
lodge > lodges, etc.;
ii.the -ed morpheme (< OE -ed, -ad, -od), which forms the past tense
and past participle of weak verbs. This suffix adds a syllable to the
base when the latter ends with an alveolar stop: load > loaded, anticipate > anticipated, etc.;
iii.the -ing morpheme (< OE -ende), which forms the present participle
of verbs.
iv.the -er (< OE -ra, -re) and -est (< OE -est, -ost) morphemes, which
form the comparative and superlative degrees of one-syllable and
some two-syllable adjectives (in general rule those in -er, -le, -ly, -ow
and -y: cleverer/est, gentler/est, costlier/est, narrower/est, happier/
est, etc.), although variation frequently occurs: more clever/cleverer,
gentler/more gentle, etc.) and adverbs.
With nouns of classical origin in -a, -on, -um and -us, classical plural forms are often used: formula > formulae, criterion > criteria,
phenomenon > phenomena, forum > fora, cactus > cacti, corpus >
corpora, genus > genera, opus > opera, serum > sera. These plural
forms nearly always allow a normative variant in -s: formulas, criterions, phenomenons, forums, cactuses, corpuses, genuses, serums, etc.
Names of tumours in -oma pluralise either normatively (sarcomas, melanomas, etc.) or in conformity with ancient Greek rules, inserting a t
between the affix and the classical plural in -a (sarcomata, melanomata,
etc., cf. charismatic <~ charisma, cinematic < cinema, sarcomatous <~
sarcoma, etc., cf. §§1.3 & 15(32'b.)).
Learned nouns in -e/i/u/yx (of Latin origin ≠ monosyllabic noun
and/or verb or polysyllabic words with an insepeparable prefix: affix, annex, complex, fix, multiplex, prefix, reflex, sex, suffix) and feminine words
affixed with -trix (cf. §10.2.3) pluralise in -ices: aruspex > aruspices,
auspex >auspices, calix > calices, cicatrix > cicatrices, codex > codices,
cortex > cortices, cylix > cylices, hallux > halluces, matrix > matrices,
pontifex > pontifices, varix > varices, aviatrix > aviatrices, etc. Appendix, calyx, cervix, helix, index, latex, radix, vertex and vortex pluralise
likewise (appendices, calyces, cervices, helices, indices, lattices, radices,
vertices, vortices) or normatively (appendixes, cervixes, helixes, indexes,
latexes, radixes, vertexes, vortexes). Crucifix, narthex, oryx (“a variety of
antelope”) and ph(o)enix are only recorded with a normative plural: crucifixes, nartexes, ph(o)enixes. Like most minerals, onyx, sardonyx and silex are uncountable. Learned nouns in -ax and -ox pluralise normatively:
climaxes, equinoxes, parallaxes, syntaxes, thoraxes (+ thoraces), xeroxes.
Apteryx and coccyx make their plural with another classical
form (> apteryges, coccyges) which is also used for learned words in
‑Vnx: larynges (< larynx + larynxes), meninges (< meninx), phalanges
(< phalanx + phalanxes), pharynges (< pharynx + phrarynxes), salpinges (< salpinx), and syringes (< syrinx + syrinxes).
In relatively commonly used words in -us or -um, only the regular English plural is sanctioned: bonuses/*boni, campuses/*campi,
geniuses (genii is used for the plural of a “guiding spirit” or a “jinn”),
museums/ *musea, viruses/*viri, etc. (as indicated by its initial w, walrus
(> walruses), is not a Latin word). Pseudo-Latin words, which have
often been coined humorously in learned circles, are generally uncountable: bunkum (orig. < Buncombe, a county in N. Carolina), hocus pocus, hokum (1917). Those which are countable pluralise normatively
(conundrums, omnium-gatherums).
106
Two relatively common words in -um still form their plural with
-a: medium > media (in the s. of “way or art used for communication”,
cp. medium, “someone who claims to be able to communicate with the
dead” > mediums) and datum > data.
Abstract nouns in -is (generally from Latin, ultimately from
Greek) pluralise with a graphic (is > es) and phonetic ([1s] > [i:z]) transformation: analysis > analyses, basis > bases, crisis > crises, thesis >
thesis, etc., cp. ibis (“bird”) > ibises, iris (“flower” or “coloured part
of the eye”) > irises + less com. irides, pelvis > pelvises + less com.
pelves, penis > penises, pubis > pubises (+ pubes), rachis > rachises +
less com. rachides. Names of diseases in -is (-iasis, -itis, -osis) are normally uncountable (cystitis, gastritis, cirrhosis, etc., cf. §5.4.1). The
few which are not also pluralise with -es (neurosis > neuroses, psychosis > psychoses).
About the stress displacements induced by some neoclassical
plural forms (apteryx > apteryges, cicatrix > cicatrices, chrysalid >
chrysalides, corybant > corybantes, Cyclops > Cyclopes, ephemeris >
ephemerides, imbo > imbones, pontifex > pontifices, phalanx > phalanges), cf. §16.
The -ed and -ing suffixes are alternately lexical suffixes forming nouns or participial adjectives (expected results, the unexpected,
fighting spirit, warring factions, a building, a restructuring, an understanding, etc. cf. §8.2.1–2). When used to form adjectival compounds,
often in combination with a noun, -ed and -ing cannot be defined as
stress-neutral (long-legged, kind-hearted, longstanding, etc.). Such adjectives will be dealt with in §18.2.
107
7. Consonant-initial suffixes
7.1 General features
Except for -self and -teen (cf. §5.3), one-syllable consonant-initial suffixes, whether of Germanic or other origin, are stress neutral. Most of
them are also separable. Many free morphemes with an initial consonant are, by analogy, defined as suffixes in a number of dictionaries:
(1)-bore (twelve-bore shotgun), -born (French-born), -borne (airborne, mosquito-borne disease), -craft (s. of skill and ship: spacecraft, witchcraft), -bound
(homebound cf. §7.4.8.1), -fish (catfish, swordfish), -free (fancyfree, sugarfree), -land (Iceland, Sudetenland), -man (Frenchman, plainclothesman), ‑odd
(forty-odd):-prone (accident-prone, injury-prone), ‑proof(ed) (burglar-proof,
rainproof(ed)); -rich (calcium-rich, cholesterol-rich, oil-rich country), -speak
(Internetspeak, newspeak, oldspeak, peoplespeak), -time (Christmastime, daytime, springtime), -ware (agateware, brassware, chinaware, clayware, cookware, etc.; for new s. linked to computing, extracted from software (adware,
annoyware, etc., cf. §7.4.7.3), -wear (shoewear, sportswear).
The items in (1) would be more aptly described as final components of
compound words inasmuch as they do not, in any of the formations in
which they obtain, depart from their commonly understood meanings
as nouns or adjectives. Conversely, final elements such as -tide, -ways
or ‑wise (cf. §7.4.8.2) append to words with meanings which are synchronically different or even undeducible from that (or those) of the
homographic free morphemes tide, way and wise, and are as such best
handled when defined as combining forms or suffixes.
The -land and -man morphemes are two cases in point as they are
not always separable (e.g. England, Ireland, chapman, British English,
orig. an alteration of cheap + man) and often reduced1, a most uncommon feature in final components of compounds (e.g. the well-known
1
When indicative of a fabulous or legendary creature (bog(e)yman, sandman,
Abominable Snowman etc.), -man does not reduce.
breakfast, cupboard, forehead (now displaced by its spelling pronunciation var.), starboard). For the economy of the system, it may arguably
be more appropriate to keep them in the list of lexemes with high prod­
uctivity in the formation of compound words. This is for all purposes
the approach adopted in this book.
Whichever labels may be attached to the elements in (1) above
in various dictionaries, “free words used in compound words”, “combining forms” or “suffixes”, two-syllable words as those in (2) below all
bear secondary or even primary stress (-'friendly) in accordance with
compound-word stress rules (cf. §18.2) and should thus not be classed
as neutral consonant-initial suffixes:
(2)
-friendly (environment-friendly, ozone-friendly, cf. (9) below), -maker (proper or figurative: bedmaker, dressmaker, troublemaker cf. §7.3.1.9), -monger
(proper and figurative: fishmonger, ironmonger, scandalmonger, warmonger),
-ridden (bed-ridden, guilt-ridden, superstition-ridden), -stricken (grief-stricken, panic-stricken), -woman/-women (businesswoman, Englishwoman), -worthy (blameworthy, creditworthy, news-worthy, noteworthy, praiseworthy, (un)
trustworthy; this morpheme also refers to a boat, aircraft or vehicle “capable
(in other terms “worthy”) of being used safely in a given environment”: (un)
airworthy, crashworthy, flightworthy, roadworthy, (un)seaworthy, spaceworthy.
Once the items in (1) and (2) have been discarded, consonant-initial
suffixes recorded in English come down to the inventory below:
(3)
110
Consonant-initial separable suffixes
a.Germanic: -dom: gangsterdom < gangster; -fold: hundred-fold < hundred;
-ful: beautiful < beauty; -gate: Iraqgate < Iraq; -grave: landgrave < land;
-hood: adulthood < adult; -kin: ciderkin < cider; -less: penniless < penny;
-like: humanlike < human; -ling: princeling < prince, -ly (adj.): wizardly < wizard; -ly (adv.): bitterly < bitter; -meal: piecemeal < piece; -most:
lowermost < lower; -ness: barrenness < barren; -red: kindred < kind; -ric:
bishopric < bishop; -scape: riverscape < river; -ship: leadership < leader;
-some: frolicsome < frolic, -ster: fraudster < frauds -tide: Michaelmastide
< Michaelmas, -ton: singleton < single; -ward(s): heavenwards < heaven;
-ware (computing use): courseware < course; -ways: endways < end; -wise:
clockwise < clock; -wright: wag(g)onwright < wag(g)on
b. Latinate: -cade: tractorcade < tractor; -cy: colonelcy < colonel; -let: chainlet < chain, -mas: Michaelmas < Michael; -ment: assessment < assess; -mo:
sixteenmo < sixteen; -rel: wastrel < waste, -ry: chaplainry < chaplain; -ty:
sovereignty <~ sovereign
c. Other origins: -bot: annoybot < annoy; -fest: songfest < song; -nik: folknik
< folk
Most consonant-initial separable suffixes are of Germanic stock. Those
listed in (1b.), namely -cade, -cy, -let, -mas, -ment, -mo, -rel, -ry and -ty,
are indeed the only ones inherited from Latin or French.
Another striking feature emerging from the study of this type of
suffixes is that many of them are now archaic or unproductive, as the
next two sections below will show more precisely.
7.2 Consonant-initial suffixes of Latinate stock
in Present-Day English
7.2.1 -cade
As has been seen in §5.1.10, -cade is a relatively recent noun-forming
element, assimilable to a suffix, originally abstracted from the noun
cavalcade, with the meaning “procession of or demonstration with vehicles”: aquacade, mototorcade + (from Internet pages) bicyclecade,
helicoptercade, motorcyclecade, scootercade, tractorcade, truckcade.
All these words appeared in the 20th century, motorcade being the first
formation of this kind recorded in dictionaries (1910).
7.2.2 -cy
Representing French -cie and -tie (< L < Gk), this generally separable suffix, attested in barely a score of nouns, was chiefly employed
to denote a rank, function or dignity: abbotcy, abnormalcy, admiralcy, bankruptcy, baronetcy, brevetcy, captaincy, chaplaincy, chieftaincy,
colonelcy, cornetcy (obs.), corporalcy, generalcy, idiotcy (now idiocy),
lieutenantcy (less correct than lieutenancy, according to OED), normalcy, paramountcy, sergeantcy (now sergeancy), sycophantcy (now
sycophancy), viscountcy. On a synchronic plane, prophecy (< OF, cf.
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prophet) and secrecy (< obs. secre (= secret) + -cy vs. < secre or secret
+ -cy or -y, OED) can be held as transparent formations in which -cy
is inseparable. About agency (<~ agent), infancy (<~ infant), etc., cf.
-ancy, -ency, §11.4.
It may be assumed that this suffix is no longer active as the last
noun it has produced (viscountcy) dates from 1868. Other classes of
formerly more productive affixes, namely -acy, -ancy and -ency, have
come into English from the same etymological root that produced the
-cy suffix (cf. §§11.1 & 11.4).
7.2.3 -ment
Even if it has yielded no less than 700 deverbal nouns in the history of
the English language, appending indifferently to Germanic or Latinate
bases (acknowledgement, endowment, etc.), -ment (< F < L -mentum)
has no more contemporary word-creation potential, except in the coining of portmanteau nouns based on the truncation of entertainment:
(from the Corpus) docutainment (1978), edutainment (1983), infotainment (1980), irritainment (1993), militainment; (from other sources)
eatertainment (1992 OED), intertainment (= “Internet entertainment”,
Urban D.), promotainment (The Word Spy)). As seen in §2.3.6, -ation is
now the only Latinate suffix with high potential productivity in deverbal
nominalisation in order to denote an action or process or the result of
either, even though -ance is still marginally usable for this purpose.
The sequence -ment is also attested as a bound ending, mainly in words directly borrowed from Latin (chiefly from formations in
‑mentem/mentum): complement (n. and v.), compliment (id.), document
(id.), emolument, experiment (n. and v.), filament, firmament, implement
(n. and v.), instrument (id.), ligament, medicament, ornament (n. and v.),
parliament, predicament, regiment (n. and v.), supplement (id.), tenement, etc. (≈ 100 items).
In terms of stress-assignment, the -ment bound ending is subject
to the same rules as those governing -ate (cf. §13.1.1).
The separable suffix -ment is combinable with the -al adjectival
suffix: developmental, governmental. As is well-known, this combination raises a serious contradiction against level-ordering laws. Some
112
authors have thus attempted to demonstrate a lexical demotivation of
allegedly deverbal nouns in -ment licensing suffixation in -al. In this
perspective, Aronoff (1976: 53 ff) analyses the cases of departmental,
whose base department unambiguously shows demotivation relative
to the verb depart; governmental, which leads this author to postulate that government should not be held as a derivative from the verb
govern, inasmuch as this noun denotes a human agency rather than an
act of doing something2; and finally developmental which he is compelled to leave unexplained. Whilst it is true that etymological notices
merely link the noun government to Old French governement (15th
century), the first definition of this noun in dictionaries is nonetheless
“the act of governing; exercising authority”3. Although not evoked by
Aronoff, the noun environment (which has engendered the adjective
environmental) would have been more pertinent to the demonstration
he attempted as this noun denotes an abstract spatial notion instead of
an act of doing something (there are, as is often the case, discordant
etymologies in dictionaries about this noun; thus D.com and OEtymD
give it as derived in the early 17th century from the verb environ whereas OED indicates it was originally borrowed from Middle French, also
in the early 17th, and “in later use” formed from environ, v. + -ment).
Although in agreement with Aronoff”s demonstration of the
basic incompatibility of #-ment# + -al sequences, Giegerich (1999:
53–56) has been led to make the following statement “It might of
course be suggested that an appeal to the semantics of such formations is merely an attempt (which is successful in only two out of
the three counterexamples4) at rescuing a generalisation that is desirable but flawed” (ibid.:56). Whereas most -mental sequences are
indeed the product of the attachment of suffix -al to a base in which
-ment is a bound ending (firmamental, fragmental, fundamental, incremental, instrumental, ornamental, etc.), dismissing the #‑ment# +
2
3
4
In their approach based on word frequency, Hay and Baayen (2002) consider
that ‑ment is probably not parsed out in government since the latter form is
much more frequent than the verb govern, an analysis taken up by Plag &
Baayen (2009: 113).
The variant governance has seemingly become more popular in this sense.
Or arguably one of three counterexamples as established above with the case of
government.
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-al combination as ungrammatical is untenable, as shown by other
examples of the develop#ment# + -al and govern#ment# + -al kind
recorded in the Corpus: adjustmental, argumental, impedimental,
judg(e)mental, managemental. Besides, other derivations of this type
have appeared in the lexicon, as attested by the adjectives below, all
taken from official documents:
(4)
apportionmental […] specifically, the apportionmental formula approved by
the Supreme Court […], in A New Technique for the Apportionment of Governing Boards of State Bar Associations, 1987: 12, by Harold K. McGinnis;
appraisemental […] which appraisemental conditions, physical conditions,
extent of social adjustment, rehabilitative progress, and the like which are primarily used in connection with bail, pretrial or posttrial release proceeedings
[…] CHSB regulations, p. 2 <www.mass.gov/>, official site of the Government
of Massachusetts; assessmental: Canada Env Assessmental Agency (an official Canadian Agency), containmental: […] as requested by the county, to test
the effectiveness of the cleanup and containmental equipment and personnel
(Coastal Plan Policies Program of the San Luis Obispo County).
At last, other formations in -#ment# + -al such as discernmental,
employmental, held as ungrammatical by Aronoff (ibid.), Giegerich
(ibid.) and other authors since -al is theoretically precluded from attaching to #‑ment# when the base has final stress, are structurally no
more unlicensable than appraisemental, assessmental or containmental
exemplified in (4). The adjectives discernmental and employmental are
incidentally met with in respectable scholarly texts.
(4')
[…] I will argue that the programs usually supported by those in favor of prefe­
rential treatment (e.g., the setting of educational or employmental goals or quotas) are […], Sander H. Lee (1985). […] is that he demonstrates the complex
relationships between the deferential/discernmental and the strategic/volitional
domains of language. J. Culpeper, D. Z. Kádár (2010: 29).
Hay’s attempt to account for further affixation with -al of apparently
transparent suffixed forms in -ment according to the “relative infrequency” and “minimal decomposability” of such bases (2003: 174–182) is
obviously contradicted by examples such as assessment and management. To be fair to the latter author, she acknowledges in the same pages
of her book that “some instability” or even “arbitrariness” should be
114
expected in terms of “degree and internal structure” in the rules she
attempts to establish5.
In fact, nearly all the #ment# + -al nouns held as ungrammatical
by the authors referred to above can be found in Internet Pages from
fairly good-language sources. Incidentally, even though such data have
not been retained in the present book, Lowenstamm: (2010: 23–24) has
collected quite a few further examples of supposedly illicit -#ment# +
-al combinations, most often used adverbially, from native speakers’s
informal texts: attachmentally, accomplishmentally, adormentally,
amendmentally, defermental, deploymentally (e.g.: “On behalf of accomplishmentally-challenged Americans everywhere”, “What should
we do if Obama is elected and does not support Israel… deploymentally, financially or otherwise?”).
Besides -al, the bound ending -ment combines with the adjectival
suffixes -ary (elementary, complementary, etc.) and -ous (filamentous,
ligamentous, etc.), the deverbal noun suffix -ation (documentation, instrumentation, etc.), and the noun agents -er and -or (experimenter,
tormentor, etc.). It should finally be noted that the -ment bound ending
is propitious to noun > verb null-conversion complement, document,
experiment, etc. (cf. §19).
In British English, there is one exception to the stress preservation of verb bases suffixed with -ment: ad'vertisement (regular in US
English). Still in British English, the formerly used antepenultimate
pattern of chastisement has now been displaced by the stress-preserving
pronunciation chas'tisement (American English has initial stress for this
verb: 'chastise, hence 'chastisement).
7.2.4 -mo
Extracted from the final syllable of the Latin loan duodecimo (D.com)
or from classical Latin -mō, ablative of -mus (OED), the suffix -mo
appends to a cardinal number to indicate a book size resulting from
5Hay (ibid.: 173) assumes that, on account of the relative frequency of employment and employ, employmental is more likely to be formed than discernmental
or containmental (yet recorded in (4') above).
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folding a sheet of paper into a specified number of leaves or a book or
a page of such a size. A highly specialised suffix, -mo is attested in the
following words (by order of size): sixmo, twelvemo, sixteenmo, eighteenmo, twentymo, thirty-twomo, forty-eightmo, sixty-fourmo (all from
the Corpus). Corresponding Latin terms are alternately used in printing
and book-binding: sexto, octavo, duodecimo, sextodecimo, octodecimo,
vigesimo-quarto, trigesimo-segundo, quadragesimo-octavo, sexagesimo-quarto. Folio (folded once into two leaves) and quarto (folded twice
into four leaves) have no counterpart in -mo. This suffix is denotative of
a closed class.
7.2.5 -ry
This suffix can be described as a variant of -ery (taken from OF) attaching to bases of at least two syllables on condition their final syllable
does not bear primary stress: aldermanry, balladry, bigotry, captainry,
chapelry, charlatanry, citizenry, comicry, commandry, cousinry, cuckoldry, deaconry, demonry, devilry, heraldry, falconry, gallantry, highlandry, husbandry, landlordry, lieutenantry, mimicry, pageantry, papistry,
revelry, ribaldry, rivalry, sergeantry, sheriffry, tenantry, vassalry, warlockry, wizardry, etc. (150 items).
Although this suffix is graphically postconsonantic in most nouns
it has formed, etymological notices show that cases of direct suffixation
to a final silent e are also recorded: demagoguery (19th < demagogue
+ -ry), enginery (17th < engine + -ry, cp. machinery < machin(e) (with
final stress) + -ery, cf. §11.6).
The -ry suffix often rivalled -cy to indicate functions, dignities
and official charges with the extended sense, proper to -ery, of places
where these charges, functions, etc. were carried on. Although many
nouns in ‑ry are archaic, relating to medieval customs and usages, this
suffix is potentially active denominally, in the senses of “quality or condition” or “products or things collectively”: babbitry (1920 < Babbitt,
the eponymous hero of the Sinclair Lewis novel), circuitry (1946), gimmickry (1952).
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7.2.6 -trix
This suffix, used to feminise -(at)or agent nouns, will be dealt with in
§10.2.3.
7.2.7 -ty
This now unproductive suffix has already been dealt with in the chapter
on -ity (cf. §3.4).
7.2.8 Latinate suffixes used with native bases
7.2.8.1 -let
Even though it is mostly attested, as a separable suffix, in association
with Germanic bases (bonelet, booklet, brooklet, cloudlet, deerlet, droplet, eyelet, heartlet, hooklet, leaflet, piglet, pikelet, playlet, shrublet,
springlet, starlet, streamlet, wavelet, etc.), the -let diminutive suffix is
actually of Romance stock, an allomorph of et/-ette, borrowed from Old
French (cf. §5.1.6), which accounts for certain spelling variants such as
omelet/omelette. The suffix -let is also recorded in nearly 150 opaque or
demotivated noun formations (goblet, hamlet, mantlet, etc.). This suffix
was once particularly productive in its alternative sense (probably extracted from bracelet, 15th) denoting a piece of jewellery or an article
of clothing worn on a part of the body. No new item of this kind seems
to have been coined after the 19th century: anklet (19th), armlet (16th),
chainlet (19th), earlet (obs., 17th), frontlet (15th), necklet (17th), ringlet
(16th), wristlet (19th). However, D.com and OED record one contemporary coinage with this suffix: applet (1990) < app(lication) + -let), a
computing application program originally developed by Java. The truncation process undergone by the base (also attested in anklet (< ank(le)
+ -let, eaglet < aiglette <~ eag(le) + id.) is obviously due to the fact that
the -let suffix is supposed to append to one-syllable bases.
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7.2.8.2 -(e)rel
Always combined with words of Germanic stock (or sufficiently anglicised to be interpreted as such), the generally depreciative diminutive suffix -rel has also been inherited from Old French (more precisely
from the masculine and feminine diminutive suffixes -el/-elle) and is
now chiefly attested in archaic or demotivated formations: cockerel
(“a young domestic cock”), doggerel (dem. = “bad poetry meant to be
humorous”), dotterel (dial. GB = “a fool, a dupe” < dote + ‑rel), gangrel (dial. GB = “a vagabond” < OE gang(an) (= “go”) + -rel), hoggerel (dem. = “a sheep of the second year” < hog + -erel), mongrel (<
OE mong (= “mix”) + -rel), pickerel (= “a young pike” < pike + -rel),
wast(o)rel (< waste + -rel). This suffix is now extinct.
7.2.8.3 -mas
An alteration of mass (< post-classical L missa), a noun apparently
adopted in English before the Norman Conquest, the suffix -mas has
survived, in the sense of religious festival, in Candlemas, Christmas,
Hallowmas, Martinmas, Michaelmas and Martlemas. It is also extinct.
7.3 Consonant-initial suffixes of Germanic stock
7.3.1 Unproductive forms
Consonant-initial suffixes of Germanic origin which can be held as
extinct and even unintelligible or hardly identifiable today include
-grave (< MD, cf. Du. graaf and G Graf (= “Count”) = “a ruler in
medieval times”: landgrave, margrave, palsgrave, waldgrave), -lock
(from the OE noun suffix -lāc), which has only survived in wedlock6),
-meal (denoting a fixed period of time, akin to “meal, in the sense
of “occasion when a person eats”): dropmeal, piecemeal, troopmeal,
not to be confused with compounds in which -meal has its regular
6
118
Warlock was apparently not formed with this suffix.
lexical meanings (“flour” or “occasion when a person eats”): barleymeal, oatmeal, wholemeal, etc.), ‑red (hatred, gossipred, kindred),
-ric (bishopric, cf. §1.1) and -ton (a suffix with conflicting dictionary
etymologies, e.g.: extracted from surnames (OEtymD), a variant of
dialectal tone = “one” (D.com), a fanciful formation on simple, adj.
(OED): singleton, simpleton.
Many other Germanic consonant-initial suffixes are synchronically unproductive. A fair number of the words which contain them
have long lost any kind of semantic transparency. Thus, contrary to
the general adage about Germanic derivation being characterised by
straightforward parsability, some of the suffixes studied below are in
many examples inseparable.
7.3.1.1 -fold
This multiplicative suffix (from OE -feald: twofold, threefold, fourfold,
fivefold, sixfold… twentyfold… hundrefold, thousandfold, etc., to which
must be added manifold and multifold) has, as pointed out in OEtymD,
been “crowded out in English by Latinate double, triple, etc.” Being
indeed supplanted by its inseparable Latin competitors in -ble or -ple
(double, treble/triple, quadruple, multiple, etc.), -fold has chiefly survived in adverbial figurative senses (e.g. repaid tenfold). The words bifold, billfold, centrefold, gatefold, sheepfold are naturally compounds
in which -fold denotes its various senses as a noun: “a crease made by
folding”, “a pocket-size case” or “an enclosure for animals”.
Noticeably, the Corpus lists only one instance of adverbialisation from -fold adjectives: manifoldly; and only two nominalisations
in -ness: manifoldness and twofoldness. Internet searches turn up more
formations of both kinds.
7.3.1.2 -ful
Admittedly one of the most common native suffixes, -ful (from the adj.
full) licenses denominal, deadjectival as well as deverbal suffixation, a
morphosyntactic flexibility nonetheless subject to restrictions since -ful
attaches only to nouns or adjectives stressed on the final or the penult
(a principle seemingly contravened only by characterful,1901) and to
verbs stressed on the final.
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This suffix is obviously no longer active, which places it in sharp
contrast with its antonym -less (cf. §7.4.2 below). As a matter of fact,
more than 80% of the 450 adjectives in -ful delivered by the Corpus
are labelled in dictionaries as obsolete, archaic, rare or literary (e.g.
abuseful, affrightful, aidful, almightyful, amazeful, amendful, annoyful,
assistful, avengeful, aviseful, baleful, baneful, barful, bateful, battleful,
beamful, behooveful, beliefful, bitterful, blameful, causeful, chanceful,
changeful, characterful, chargeful, charmful, choiceful, complaintful, (dis)contentful, corruptful, crimeful, dangerful, dareful, darkful,
deathful, debateful, deedful, dernful, desertful, designful, desireful, despairful, despiteful, deviceful, devoutful, direful, dirgeful, discordful,
diseaseful, distractful, doleful, doomful, etc.). Another telling statistic
about this suffix is that 85% of adjectives in -ful entered the English
lexicon before the Renaissance.
Having engendered ten adjectives in the 19th century and barely two in the early 20th century, -ful has been unproductive for more
than a hundred years, being often supplanted in Present-Day usage by
adjectivisations in -ing (increasing, refreshing, resulting vs. increaseful, refreshful, resultful, etc.) or in -y (gloomy, healthy, lengthy, noisy,
risky, stealthy, wary vs. gloomful, healthful, lengthful, noiseful, riskful,
stealthful, waryful, etc.), or more marginally in -ish (mopish, spleenish
vs. mopeful, spleenful), in -ive (inventive, supportive vs. inventful, supportful) or in -ous (dangerous, desirous, grievous vs. dangerful, desireful, griefful):
(6)
Adjectives in -ful first recorded in the 19th century: colourful, effortful, forethoughtful, meaningful, purposeful, pushful, soulful, stressful, tactful, untruthful; 20th century: characterful (1901), insightful (1907)
-Ful also functions as a noun suffix (with the same origin as that of
the adjective suffix) in the sense “as much as can fill that named by
the base”: apronful, arm(s)ful, bagful, barnful, barrel(s)ful, barrowful,
basinful, basket(s)ful, bellyful, binful, boatful, bookful, bottleful, bowlful, boxful, breathful, brimful, bucket(s)ful, bushelful, etc., 100 items).
As an adjectival suffix, -ful freely combines with the adverbial -ly
and the nominal -ness (faithfully, faithfulness, etc.).
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7.3.1.3 -kin
This diminutive suffix, probably borrowed from Middle-Dutch (cf.
manikin = “little man”) is only recorded in about 30 nouns, most of
them being now obscure or opaque formations:
(7)
Corpus inventory
a. transparent formations: canikin (“a small can”), ciderkin, devilkin, ladykin,
lambkin, mousekin, pannikin (< pan + -i- + -kin), princekin, villakin
b. obscure, opaque or demotivated formations: bodkin (origin unknown), catkin (< Du.), dodkin (< MDu., cf. doit), fin(n)ikin (= “variety of pigeon” prob.
< finick), firkin (< prob. < MDu. = “half a kilderkin”), grimalkin (= “old cat”
< grey + Malkin < Mal (pet-form of Maud) + -kin), griskin (= “pork chop”
< grisle or grice + -kin), kilderkin < Du. = “obs. measure of capacity”), limpkin (= “a variety of wading bird” < limp + -kin, named thus because of its
jerky walk), malkin/mawkin (dial. GB = “slattern”, cf. grimalkin), manakin/
man(n)ikin (< Du.), munchkin (cf. next par.), mutchkin (< Sc. “liquid measure”), napkin (< OF nape = “tablecloth” + -kin), nipperkin (“a small cup”
< v. nip + -kin or < Du.), pipkin (“small pot” < pip(e) + -kin), pumpkin (< MF
pompom), rutterkin (obs. < rutter + -kin = “a beguiler”), slam(mer)kin (obs.
dial. E, of obscure orig. = “slut”), spillikin (a diminutive of spill or < Du.),
thumbkin (= “thumbscrew”).
Whether they be transparent or opaque formations, nouns in -kin are
clearly archaic or dialectal. Indeed, the last coinage with this suffix was
apparently Munchkin, one of the dwarflike people portrayed by L. Frank
Baum in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900).
7.3.1.4 -le
Though it has contributed to forming hundreds of nouns and verbs (dazzle, drizzle, gobble, goggle, etc. ≈ 300 words), this affix (< ME -len <
OE -lian) is chiefly a bound ending, except, with a higher or lesser degree of transparency in crumble (16th, rel. to but not der. from crumb),
curdle (16th freq. of < curd), draggle (16th freq. of drag), fondle (17th
freq. of fond), girdle (16th < n., c. 1000 < OE. <~ gird), handle (bef. 900
< hand), middle (act. not from mid), muddle (< mud), muffle (15th prob.
< MF moufle, <~ muff), nestle (c. 1300 < nest), scrapple (16th prob. a
dim. form of scrap), sniffle (19th imitative <~ sniff), snuffle (16th < Du.
<~ snuff), snuggle (17th < snug), stopple (18th < stop), trample (14th freq.
121
form of tramp), twangle (16th < twang), waggle (16th freq. of wag). The
last coinage of this type (sniffle) dates from 1819.
7.3.1.5 -ling
Another diminutive form with the sense “little” or “young”, this suffix
(cognate with German -ling) often has a depreciative connotation.
(8)
Corpus inventory
a. transparent formations: cageling, changeling, chickling, codling, courtling (=
“sycophantic courtier”), dearling, duckling, (y)eanling (< v. (y)ean), earthling
(cf. 1st par. below), faintling, firstling, fledgeling, fopling, fosterling, gnatling,
godling, Greekling (obs.), groundling, hatchling, hireling, kidling, kingling,
ladling, lordling, manling, nurseling, oakling, oysterling, popeling (= “deputy
or adherent of the pope”), porkling, princeling, seedling, shaveling (“ a man
shaved, especially a monk”, usually a contemptuous term), softling, squireling, starveling, tenderling, underling, weakling, weanling, wiseling (= “one
who pretends to be wise”), witherling, witling (“a pretender to wit”), wolfling
b.obscure, opaque or demotivated formations: airling (obs., “thoughtless, joyful person”), atheling (“Anglo-Saxon elder nobleman”), bitterling (“a cyniprid fish”), catling (“a surgical knife”), cockling (“a young cock”), darling
(alteration of dearling), easterling (now historical “a native of an Eastern
country, especially a Baltic merchant”), eightling (“a crystal compound made
up of eight individuals”), fingerling (“young or small fish”), fiveling (“crystal compound made up of five individuals”), gadling (“vagrant” <~ v. gad),
gosling/gesling (a metathesis of goose + -ling), grayling (“a fish related to the
trout”), greenling (“a variety of fish”), moonling (obs. = “lunatic”), mortling
(id. “wool from dead sheep”), ridgeling (“a colt with undescended testicles”),
rockling (“a variety of cod”), sharpling (“a scuttleback”), shearling (“a sheep
after shearing”), shor(e)ling (“skin of sheen after the fleece is shorn off”),
sibling (< OE sibling “relative, kinsman”), sterling (from the name of a silver
coin), timberling (“a young tree”), vetchling (“a variety of creeping plant”),
twinling (= “a twin lamb”), warling (arch. = “a contemptible or dislikable
person”), whitling (“a young bull-trout”), wordling (“a person interested in
the world and its enjoyments”).
(8b.) shows that this suffix was once very popular in dialectal fishnaming or in sheep husbandry. There are very few words in -ling which
cannot be labelled as obsolete or archaic. Whereas this suffix is obviously no longer productive, two old words constructed with it have been
revived in contemporary English: earthling (a dweller of subterranean
worlds in OE; the staple meaning of inhabitant of the Planet Earth in
122
science fiction was first used in a 1949 novel by Robert Heinlein) and
sibling which was reintroduced in anthropology in the early 20th century.
No less obsolete in its other function, -ling is also an adverb suffix (from OE lang = long) apt to denote a position, direction or state:
darkling, flatling, sideling. This usage is occasionally still met with in
poetry.
7.3.1.6 -ly
From the examination of the Corpus, it appears that the adjectival suffix
-ly (from OE -līc), which attaches to nouns with the meanings “every”
(when it qualifies units of time: hourly, monthly, yearly) or “being
like” is, in the latter sense, chiefly recorded in words labelled as obsolete, archaic, dialectal or literary in dictionaries (e.g. auntly, authorly,
bayardly, bishoply, botcherly, brokerly, chandlerly, cheerly, cousinly,
cuckoldly, cravenly, dancerly, daughterly, deathly, dinnerly, doctorly,
dotardly, dreadly, dulcetly, stately, featly, featurely, etc.).
-ly also occurs in deadjectival derivatives. Such formations
are mostly lexicalisations: cleanly (= “habitually clean” or “adroit”),
goodly (= “large in amount or degree”), kindly (= “pleasant”, as of the
climate” or “showing benevolence”), likely (= “seeming like truth or
expectation”), lonely (“solitary, without support or friends,” or “desolate, unfrequented”, of a place), lowly (“of a lower rank or extraction”),
onely (arch. = only), poorly (“in poor health”), sickly (“not healthy, often sick”), towardly (arch.: “docile” or propitious”), weakly (“sickly”).
This suffix is obviously no longer productive, short of taking
into account the various compounds constructed with -friendly (cf. (2)
above), which some dictionaries (e.g. Cambridge D., Macmillan D.)
define as a suffix in the senses of (a) “not harmful to” (environmentally-friendly detergent, ozone-friendly aerosols, dolphin-friendly tuna =
“caught without harming dolphins”); (b) = “suitable for particular people to use” (a family-friendly restaurant):
(9)
Compounds in -friendly: bicycle-friendly, computer-friendly, dolphin-friendly,
eco-friendly, environment-friendly, family-friendly, nature-friendly, ozone-friendly, pedestrian-friendly, tap-friendly, tooth-friendly, trade-friendly, trader-friendly,
user-(un)friendly
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The adjectival suffix -ly freely combines with the nominal -ness (dailiness, friendliness, etc.). Historically, standard adverbialisation of -ly
adjectives have existed as attested in such respectable generalist
dictionaries as MWD and Webster's D., in which the ensuing adverbs are
still listed: (sep.) -ly + -ly: cleanlily, disrulily, friendlily, godlily, livelily,
lovelily, lowlily, seemlily; (insep.) -ly + -ly: comelily, holily, homelily
(dem. <≠ home), jollily, sillily, statelily (dem. <≠ state), surlily, uglily.
However, as pointed out in Fowler 1985 (:337–338) adverbs in -lily are
now avoided as awkward. As has already been shown (cf. §3), identical
onsets in the last two syllables of a word, further to the attachment of a
suffix, are most often avoided.
7.3.1.7 -some
A competitor of -ful in the abstract sense “full of, abounding or brimming with”) or as a form of superlative meaning “very”, -some (< OE
-sum) is, after -ly, the third Germanic adjectival suffix which may be
considered as synchronically moribund. A great many of the 100 adjectives of this class are indeed labelled as archaic, obsolete, poetic or
dialectal in dictionaries (e.g. brightsome, bunglesome, chucklesome,
darksome, delightsome, dinsome, dolesome, drearisome, dullsome, eerisome, flavoursome, ful(l)some, furthersome, fusome, gainsome, galsome, gamesome, gaysome, gladsome, gleesome, gure/grewsome, etc.).
Last but not least, no coinage posterior to the 19th century can be found
in the Corpus. In this regard, it is worth noting that D.com makes no
reservation about this suffix’s synchronic status in its definition of it:
“a native English suffix formerly used in the formation of adjectives”
(emphasis added). In this last respect, however, Worldwidewords, also
accessible from OneLook, recounts a most interesting anecdote, showing how a contributor to the site, intrigued by a dozen occurrences of
the adjective problemsome in newspapers and magazines, finally traced
them all back to the same single source, a US Senator who had first
been quoted as using this term in The Washington News (<worldwidewords.com>, in a page created on 18 January 2003).
It is indisputable that language errors occasionally contribute to the introduction of neologisms (another famous example is the
much imitated misunderstimated malapropism, initially heard from
124
George W. Bush in a public speech he made in the year 2001), even if
the continued existence of such words is by essence most uncertain. It
is no less obvious that the adoption and popularisation of a well-formed
neologism such as problemsome may, by analogy, spur the creation of
new adjectives in -some (cf. -age in American English today, §11.2),
even though this suffix ceased to be productive nearly two centuries
ago. Finally, being a moribund or extinct lexical unit or class does not
necessarily entail permanent banishment from a language, as shown
by examples such as couth and sibling which were reintroduced into
Contemporary English after a long period of confinement in the netherworld of forgotten words.
Like -ful, -some also functions as a noun suffix (from the same etymology as that of the adjectival suffix). The association with numerals to
denote groups of people is also dated and seems to have chiefly survived
in humorous contexts: twosome, threesome, foursome, fivesome.
Like all adjective suffixes of Germanic origin, -some freely combines with the adverb-forming -ly and the nominal -ness: handsomeness/ly, lonesomeness/ly, etc.
-some is also a productive Neo-Greek final combining form, cf.
§7.6).
7.3.1.8 -tide
A former synonymous rival of “time” or “season”, -tide has survived in
this sense in nouns denoting a generally religious period in the calendar: Allhallowtide, Christmastide, Eastertide, Michaelmastide, noontide,
Passiontide, Shrovetide, springtide, summertide, Twelfthtide, Whitsuntide,
wintertide, yuletide. The compounds ebbtide and undertide are naturally
connected with the present sense of tide = “current, ebb or flow of water”.
7.3.1.9 -wright
Formerly used in the sense of “craftsman” or “maker” (arkwright,
boardwright, boatwright, cartwright, fanwright, housewright, millwright, playwright, plough/plowwright, shipwright, wagonwright,
wainwright, wheelwright), -wright (< OE wryhta = “worker”) has precisely been supplanted by -maker (defined as a suffix in Cambridge
D. but considered here as the second component of compound nouns
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(cf. (2), same ch.): clockmaker, garment-maker, glassmaker, toolmaker,
wag(g)on-maker, etc.
7.3.1.10 -th
In Old English, this Germanic suffix (cognate with L. -tus, Gk -tos)
primarily attached to verbs to form nouns of action or abstract nouns
denoting quality or condition. Synchronically analysable as deadjectival or denominal, despite various (and often profound) morphophonological transformations, this suffix has been extinct for more than two
centuries, surviving in about fifteen nouns of which some are still of
very common usage: breadth (16th cf. broad), coolth (16th < cool + -th,
used facetiously), death (bef. 900, cf. dead), depth (14th cf. deep), filth
(c. 1000, cf. foul), growth (16th), length (bef. 900, cf. long), mirth (id.,
cf. merry), spilth (17th < spil(l) + -th), strength (c. 900, cf. strong), truth
(id., cf. true), warmth (12th), width (17th <wid(e) + -th, on the model of
breadth), youth (bef. 900, cf. young).
Many suffixed forms in -th are archaic or poetic: blowth (< blow),
dealth (< deal), drith/dryth/drouth/drowth, now drought, gloomth, greenth
(18th < green + -th), highth (arch. form of height), roomth. Whether they
be demotivated or with no identifiable base in synchrony, the remainder
of nouns in -th are among the oldest in the English language: bath (bef.
900), berth (17th perhaps < bear + -th), birth (12th < Scan.), booth (13th
< O. Norse, cf. G Brodem), broth (bef. 1000, akin to brew), dearth (14th,
akin to dear), earth (bef. 900), firth (chiefly Sc., cf. fjord), faith (13th <
OF feid, feit), health (c. 1000, < hale <≠ heal), hearth (bef. 900), heath
(id.), meeth (arch. form of mead), month (bef. 900, cf. moon), mouth (id.,
cf. G Mund), north (bef. 900), path (id.), sheath (c. 950), sleuth (19th,
shortening of sleuthhound, 14th), sloth (12th cf. slow), smeath (17th dial. =
smew), smeeth (bef. 900, obs. and dial., now smooth), smith (c. 950, cf.
smite), sneath (16th, dial. and US, unexplained var. of snead), sooth (bef.
900), south (id.), sparth (15th, obs. = “war-axe”), stealth (13th cf. steal),
strath (16th < Gaellic), swarth (bef. 900, dial., cf. sward), swath (bef. 900,
obs.), tooth (bef. 900), troth (12th, arch., cf. truth), wealth (13th < well
+ -th), worth (bef. 900), wraith (16th origin unknown), wrath (c. 900),
wreath (bef. 1000, cf. writhe), wroth (15th obs. form of wrath).
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-th also occurs in the adverbs beneath (bef. 900, akin to nether),
forth (id., akin to comparative further) and the preposition with (id. akin
to wither), as well as in the adjectives lo(a)th, which derived the verb
loathe, and smooth (bef. 1050, unknown origin).
The suffix forming ordinal numbers (from OE -tha, -the) is denotative of a closed class (though limitless, numbers are formed with a
finite number of bases): fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth,
eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth… nineteenth, twentieth… ninetieth, hundredth, thousandth, millionth, billionth, trillionth + umpteenth and possible facetious formations for gigantic figures zillionth, gadzillionth) as
is the suffix of multiples of ten -ty (twenty, thirty… ninety).
7.3.1.11 A special case, -most, a suffix denotative
of a potentially closed class
Affixing to a preposition, an adjective, a noun or an adverb to indicate
the closest or farthest point of a position (e.g. bottommost, endmost,
rightmost, leftmost, middlemost, topmost) or direction (e.g. easternmost, northernmost, westernmost, southernmost), and as such often
combined with comparatives (e.g. farthermost, innermost, lowermost,
lattermost), the adjectival suffix -most (< OE -mest, a superlative suffix)
was originally associated with native bases. In contemporary English
it has however combined with the Neo-Latin adjectives anteriormost
(1965 < anterior), inferiormost (< inferior, first recorded in a 1963 medical publication, according to Merriam-Webster’s Medical D. 2007) and
posteriormost (1906 < posterior, from OED, not listed in the Corpus),
an indication that it is potentially active although within the framework
of a closed class since adjectives derived from Latin comparatives are
of a finite number in English: exterior, inferior, interior, junior, major,
minor, posterior, prior, senior, superior, ulterior.
It will come as no surprise that concatenations of the preceding Neo-Latin comparative adjectives and the suffix of position -most
are retrievable from Internet pages, even when electing to retain only
official or scientific documents originating from English-Speaking
countries:
(10)
“[…] at the exteriormost location of the opposite ends of the spreader […]”
(patent registered in the USA); “[…] if you do not, attempt to seek shelter in the
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basement or interiormost portion of the building […]” (Dpt of Public Safety
and Security, Auburn University); “Juniormost High Court judge quits” (Indian daily newspaper headline); […] as expected, the majormost at ca. 4.5
years […] (scientific paper on stratospheric winds); “[…] if this revision is a
prefix of the branch number, or # possibly is less in the minormost number
[…] (computing protocol presentation); “The horizontal dimension of breadth
is graphically pictured by placing the priormost phase on the left and the latest
phase on the right.” (paper on discourse analysis and its applications), “In the
seniormost ranks of government, political turnover is a major cause of absent
leadership.” (Npr Report Quality Leadership And Management Pt, quoted by
Wordnik); […] “relationship existed between the level of the superiormost
points of the superior palpebral sulci […]” (medical paper).
From this compilation of Internet pages, the suffix -most has nearly
played out its possibilities in the formation of new adjectives. At the
time of writing these lines ??ulteriormost is the only construction of
this kind which has not turned up relevant hits.
The adjectival suffix -most is apt to combine with the adverbial suffix -ly: foremostly, innermostly. Though no relevant example is
recorded in the Corpus, Internet searches subject to the same criteria
of high-register writings show that suffixation with -ness of adjectives
in -most is licensed: innermostness, leftmostness, outermostness, rightmostness, topmostness, etc.
Harmost, an official of Ancient Sparta is of course derived from
Greek (< harmostḗs, derivative of harmózein = “to regulate, govern”).
Recorded in Wikipedia, the abbreviation -MOST (from Maynard
Operation Sequence Technique) occurs in compounds such as adminMOST, basicMOST, maxiMOST, miniMOST.
7.4 Consonant-initial suffixes of Germanic stock still
productive in Present-Day English
7.4.1 -dom, -hood and -ship
The suffixes -dom (from OE -dōm), -hood (from OE -hād = “condition, position”, cognate with G -heit and Du. -heid) and -ship (from
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OE ‑scipe, = “state, condition of being”, akin to shape) respectively
indicate:
i. a. domain, dominion, jurisdiction (dukedom, popedom);
b.rank, state or condition (bachelordom, earldom (+ sense a.),
freedom);
c.body of persons (cuckoldom + sense b., pagandom + sense a.);
ii. a.rank, state or condition (fatherhood, squirehood, falsehood);
b. body of persons (monkhood + sense a., priesthood, id.);
iii. a. rank, office, position (chancellorship, professorship);
b. state or condition (devilship, fellowship + sense a.);
c.craft, talent or skill (horsemanship, marksmanship, scholarship).
Mainly denominal, these suffixes are also apt to attach to adjectives,
although this derivational process is obviously marginal and synchronically extinct in the cases of -dom and -ship (hardship, worship, now
an opaque formation, originally < worth); freedom, wisdom vs. deadlihood, drearihood, fairhood, falsehood, hardihood, (un)likelihood, livelihood, lowlihood, lustihood, unthriftyhood).
Synchronically, random, seldom and worship are the only items
from the Corpus which are interpretable as opaque derivatives with a
bound ending. In reality, the first two words are not affixations in -dom
with an opaque stem as shown by their respective etymology: random
< OF randon = “race, disorder, impetuousness”; seldom < OE, an altera­
tion of seldan (= “rarely”) by analogy with plural adverbial datives in
-um.
Even if many formations in -dom, -hood and -ship delivered by
the Corpus are rarely used or typical of a high register, these three suffixes have kept a fair degree of productivity in denominal suffixations as
confirmed by the sample below:
(11)
(from the Corpus) computerdom (1968), fandom (1903), filmdom (1914), flapperdom (1907), gangsterdom (1923), hippiedom (1967), moviedom (1915), yuppiedom (1984); geekhood (1987), nerdhood (1984, cf. nerdom), gamesmanship
(1947), listenership (1943), one-upmanship (1952), upmanship (shortening of
the preceding noun, 1962), viewership (1954); (from other sources): nerdom
(Urban D.), hackerdom (from Web pages)
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As their senses partially overlap in notions of rank, quality or condition,
-dom, -hood and -ship are occasionally interchangeable: bacherlordom/
bachelorhood, cousinhood/cousinship, hippiedom/hippiehood, kinghood
/kingship, nerdom/nerdhood. When indicative of a talent, craft or skill, ‑ship
is often associated with a compound in -man (preceded or not by a genitival s): batsmanship, boat(s)manship, brink(s)manship, craftsmanship,
draught/draftsmanship, gamesmanship, grantsmanship, helmsmanship,
horsemanship, huntmanship, marksmanship, oarsmanship, salesmanship,
sportsmanship, statesmanship, steermanship, swordsmanship.
-ship is alternately a component of noun compounds or the base
of adverbs or verbs with a separable prefix in its lexical senses of “boat,
craft, vessel” or “to send, place or transport by any conveyance”: airship, amidship, athwartship, battleship, cattleship, canonship, fireship,
flagship, gunship, lightship, midship, steamship, spaceship, stopship,
storeship, transship, troopship, unship, warship. In compounds -hood
is apparently only attested in opaque formations: greenhood (“a variety of orchid”), rufterhood (obs. falconry term: “a hood used to blind
hawks”), tonnihood (“the female of the bullfinch”).
As shown by (11) above, the suffixes -dom, -hood and -ship can
attach to already suffixed bases affixed with -er, -or, -ster, -ie/-y or ‑man.
Statehooder is apparently the only example of further suffixation from
a transparent formation with one of these suffixes, to be distinguished
from randomise, seldomness, worship (null-derivation v.), worship(p)
er, worshipable, worshipful(ly) whose bases random, seldom and worship are not decomposable in synchrony.
7.4.2 -less
This privative adjective suffix (from OE lēas = “free from”) attaches
to nouns with the meaning “lacking, devoid of ”). Some deverbal derivatives are also attested (countless, fathomless, relentless, resistless,
tireless) but this word-formation process is seemingly no more active.
In sharp contrast with its alleged antonym -ful (cf. §7.3.1.2
above), ‑less is still productive, attaching indiscriminately to native or
Latinate bases, notably to nouns in -ion (and all possible extensions of
this affix: -ation, -ition, -ution, etc. cf. §2.3), whether these nouns have
130
no transparent base (ambition + -less) or are parseable as already suffixed (flirtationless, foundationless):
(12)
actionless, affectionless, afflictionless, ambitionless, captionless, cohesionless,
compassionless, compunctionless, constitutionless, dimensionless, directionless, distinctionless, distortionless, emotionless, exceptionless, expressionless,
extensionless, flirtationless, foundationless, inductionless, inventionless, oppositionless, statisfactionless (75 items, namely 10% of the 750 adjectives in -less
extracted from the Corpus)
Another mark of this suffix’s flexibility is that, still in contrast with -ful,
it is not subject to restrictions as regards the stress patterns of the bases
it may attach to (e.g. beneficeless, memoryless, propertyless, remedyless, etc.). It must be noted that compatibility with bases of three syllables or more is a somewhat rare feature in Germanic adjective suffixes
(cf. next subsection and §8.2.3).
Adjectives in -less with an opaque stem are few: feckless (< feck,
chiefly Sc., now dem.), gaumless (+ GB spelling var. gormless, both <
obs. and dial. gome), listless (< arch. v. list = “to be pleased”), ruthless
(< arch. n. ruth). Like other Germanic adjective suffixes, -less is freely combinable with adverb-forming -ly and nominal -ness: homeless >
homelessly, homelessness.
7.4.3 -like
The adjectival -like (a suffixal use of the preposition) shares the same
word-formation features as -less, being also denominal and combining
indiscriminately with Germanic and Latinate bases (godlike, ladylike,
etc.; detectivelike, porcelainlike, statuelike, etc.). Although the Corpus
lists barely 230 adjectives constructed with it, this suffix is a breeding
ground for nonce words par excellence, being apt to affix to any free
base in the sense “being like”, whether or not this base be itself transparently suffixed (e.g. computerlike, goddesslike vs. automatonlike,
chameleonlike, hydrogenlike, oxygenlike).
Adjectives suffixed with -like are compatible with -ness nominalisations (e.g. childlikeness, gentlemanlikeness, homelikeness, ladylikeness, lifelikeness, manlikeness, twinlikeness, warlikeness). Manlikely is
131
the only adverb derivation listed in the Corpus. Internet searches confirm that other formations (e.g. gentlemanlikely, godlikely) are theoretically possible but virtually never used (Webster’s D.).
7.4.4 Adverb-forming -ly
Contrary to the homographic adjective suffix, adverb-forming -ly (< OE
-lice) is remarkably productive as it is potentially apt to attach to all
adjectives except (cf. H&P: 1130):
i. adjectives prefixed with a-: alone, alive, etc.;
ii. adjectives in -ly: likely, lovely, etc. (cf. §7.3.1.6);
iii. adjectives of colours or physical attributes: green, big, short, tall,
etc.;
iv. adjectives in -(i)or: major, minor, senior, etc.
In figurative or poetic usage the adjectives of class iii can produce adverbs: blackly refusing to compromise… the sun shone whitely… greenly (“in a way that does not harm the environment’, etc.). There are also
lexicalised adverbs such as barely, fairly, hardly, highly, shortly.
15,000 adverbial formations in -ly are listed in the Corpus. Adverbs formed from Germanic suffixed forms (about 3,000 items) account for about 20% of the Corpus. As shown in the sample below, the
combination of adjective suffixes -ed, -ing, -ful, y and -ly account for
50% of such adverbs:
(13)
-ed + ly: abashedly, animatedly, etc. (250 items), -en + -ly: barrenly, brokenly,
etc. (20, not to be confused with adj. in -ly such as heavenly, maidenly, slovenly,
vixenly); -ern + ly: northernly, southernly; -fold + -ly: manifoldly, cf. §7.3.1.1;
‑ful + -ly: faithfully, etc. (150); -ing + -ly: amazingly, wonderingly, etc. (610);
-ish + -ly: amateurishly, devilishly, etc. (80); -like + -ly: manlikely (see however
last par. of §7.4.3), not to be confused with adj. in -ly: belikely, unlikely, likely);
-most + -ly: foremostly, innermostly; -some + ‑ly: adventuresomely, awesomely,
etc. (40); -y > -i + -ly: sulkily, sunnily, etc. (500, not to be confused with adj. in
-ary + ly (-arily, arbitrarily, etc., 50) or in -ory + ly (-orily: transitorily, etc., 30)
-ly’s rival adverb form -s (From ME -es, ultimately identical with the
possessive morpheme -s) is now only attested in a few odd words (e.g.
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always, betimes, needs, unawares) and in -wards and -ways formations.
It is no more productive except in -wards suffixations (cf. §7.4.8.1
below).
7.4.5 -ness
The -ness suffix (from OE -nes, cf. G -nis) can attach to adjectives of
any etymology, affixed or unaffixed, to form abstract nouns denoting
quality or state, competing in this usage with the Latinate -ity, which is
generally restricted to nominalising adjectives of Latin or French stock
(for differences of usage between both suffixes cf. §3.6).
This suffix also freely appends to adjective compounds and
adjective phrases: backwardness, clear-sightedness, one-sidedness,
one-track-mindedness, matter-of-factness, up-to-dateness, etc.). Although not numerous, combinations with non-adjectival bases are also
attested: awayness, childness, farawayness, forgiveness, muchness,
nothingness, onlyness (obs.), outness, seldomness, togetherness, whereness, womanness, whyness (the last example is taken from H&P: 1703).
Deadverbial derivation is only licensed with bases not suffixed with -ly.
Recorded in about 4,400 nouns in the Corpus, -ness is, after
adverb-forming -ly, the most productive suffix of Germanic origin in
English.
This affix nearly always attaches to free transparent bases. The
most notable exceptions are the demotivated nouns business and witness (orig. from wit). Wilderness (12th) comes from Old English wildeoren < adj. wild + deor (= “animal”, akin to deer). Historically, the noun
harness was not suffixed with -ness (14th < OF herneis).
Nouns in -ness are precisely only adjectivisable when they
have no transparent base: harnessable < harness, witnessable < witness7. Whereas this characteristic mirrors that of -ity, which being a
7
Further to a systematic Internet search they have carried out, Plag and Baayen
(2009, §3) have found quite a number of attestations of adjectives in -ness +
-less, some of them with a fairly high rate of frequency : happinessless, consciencenessless, businessless (this last adjective being in our analysis licit, as is
witnessable, since business is synchronically demotivated relative to busy), etc.
Although these authors do concede, to quote their own words, that “A closer
133
deadjectival suffix disallows adjectival suffixation liable to contravene
type-blocking (cp. derivatives from bound nouns charitable <~ charity, equitable < equity, etc. and -arian suffixations equalitarian (adj.)
≠ equal cf. §3(3)), -ness is supposedly incompatible with any further
suffixation when attached to a free base (see however §7.7.2), which
accounts for witness and harness being again the only nouns in -ness
having yielded a null-derivation verb. Business has engendered the ensuing derivatives or compounds: businesscrat, businesslike, businessman/men, businessperson, businesspeople, businesswoman/women.
7.4.6 -ster
Originally a feminine agent meaning “a woman who” (spinster, former
sense = “woman who spins”, knister, sewstress = seampstress) -ster
(from OE -estre) eventually converted into a genderless agent noun
suffix, acquiring later its own feminine form (-stress), to denote (a) a
person linked with an activity; (b) “a conveyance on which or by which
people or things are transported”. Generally, suffixations of class (a) are
either linked to fashionable or “hip” activities or imbued with a derogatory sense. This suffix always appends to one-syllable bases, principally
to nouns (although marginal, deadjectival and deverbal derivations are
still licensed: hipster, slickster).
(14)
agent suffix: crankster, damster (obs., “builder of dams”), dopester (1907),
fraudster (1975), Friendster (first social networking site, founded in 2002),
funkster (1963), gagster (1935), gamester, gangster, hipster (1941), jokester,
gypster (“swindler” < gyp), oldster, pollster (1939), popster (1963), prankster
(1910), punster, quipster, rapster (1981), rhymester, slickster (1965), songster,
soulster (1961), teamster (orig. “one who drives a team of horses”), tipster,
trickster, youngster (from other sources) geekster (Urban D.), hoaxster (Wordnik); vehicles: dragster (1954 < drag (racing) + -ster), dumpster (1937, orig.
a trademark patented by Dempster Brothers and probably named from dump
look at the individual websites reveals that many websites are counted more
than once in Google and that many attestations are quite dubious, because they
involve typos, word play, or are coined by non-native speaker”, they still conclude that it is possible, still in their own words, to “find forms that are highly
natural and embedded in idiomatic native English”.
134
v. with the surname in mind, D.com), roadster (18th < road + ‑ster), speedster
(1918), sportster (1918 < sport(s) car) + -ster)
As attested by the contemporary coinages listed in (14), this suffix is
relatively productive.
A fair number of words originally affixed with -ster are synchronically opaque or demotivated: backster (obs. = “backer”), beatster (id.
= “fish net repairer”), dabster (informal = “dabbler”; slang = “expert” <
dab in the s. of “to strike lightly”), deemster/dempster/ doomster (arch.
= “a judge”), fewster (obs. = “maker of saddletrees”), gormster (arch. =
“fool”), hoopster (sports slang = “basketball player”), huckster (< ME
huccstere), lamster (slang = “a fugitive from the law” < lam = “beat,
strike”), puckster (1922 “a fan or player of ice hockey” < puck), spinster
(formerly “a woman who spins”, see 1st par. of this subsection), tapster
(obs. = “a bartender or taverner”), undertapster (id. = “assistant to a
tapster”), throwster (id., “a person who twists (or throws) silk”), webster (arch. = “weaver”), whipster (obs. = “whipper-snapper”).
The ensuing nouns are of different etymologies: fernster, “erosional break in a rock sheet” < G < L fenestra), hamster (< G Hamster,
same meaning), lobster (an alteration of L locusta), minster (“a large,
important church” < L monasterium), monster (< L mōnstrum), pinkster
(dial. US = Pentecost), shyster (prob. < G Scheisser).
The suffix -ster licenses further suffixations in -ism: hipsterism,
hoaxsterism, hucksterism). Type-blocking disallows noun derivatives in
‑ist from -ism suffixations in this context (as opposed to adjective formations such as funksterist: funksterist beat experimentations; pranksterist: pranksterist tradition of “art terrorism”; shysterist: shysterist
business practise, examples retrieved from Internet pages). Recorded in
Urban D., the nominal neologism hipsterist (= “A proponent of hipsterism”) is not synonymous with hipster.
7.4.7 w-initial adverb suffixes
7.4.7.1 -ward(s)
The adverb suffix -ward (from OE -weard), which can by extension be
adjectival (backward step), and its variant -wards (solely adverbial as
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indicated by its final -s, cf. §7.4.4 above) refer to a spatial or temporal
direction, as specified by the base, the latter being indifferently adverbial, nominal or adjectival: afterward(s), backward(s), coastward, deathward, downward(s), eastward(s), earthward(s), frontward(s), Godward,
heavenward(s), hellward, henceforward, homeward(s), etc. (75 items).
Awkward was formed with the same suffix (< obs. awk = “turned the
wrong way” + -ward).
Compounds constructed with the participial form -bound (cf. (1),
same ch.), here in the sense “bound for”, are occasionally interchangeable with -ward adjectives: downbound (downbound or downward
channel), earthbound (earthbound or earthward voyage), eastbound
(eastbound or eastward trip), homebound (homebound or homeward
travellers), etc. Some of the pairs above can also be non-synonymous,
the compound element -bound having then the alternative sense “confined to”: homebound, earthbound.
New formations in -ward(s) are obviously still possible (e.g.
nonce words such as Marsward(s), Plutoward(s), etc., which can be
found in journalistic or science fiction publications.
Historical compounds are also attested with ward in its archaic
lexical sense (= “guard”): bearward, steward (with opaque first component < OE stig = probably “house” or “hall”). The noun greensward was
formed from the association of green + sward.
Contrary to its variant -wards, which is strictly adverbial (cf. last
par. of 7.4.4 above), -ward is combinable with adverb-forming -ly and
nominal -ness (backwardl(y/ness), heavenward(ly/ness), selfward(ly/
ness), etc.).
7.4.7.2 -wise
The adverb-forming -wise (a suffixal use of its nominal s. in OE:
“way, fashion, manner”) chiefly attaches to nouns in the senses of (a)
“direction, position or orientation of ” (clockwise, cornerwise, lengthwise, slantwise, slopewise); (b) “in the manner of ” (guestwise, pairwise, saltirewise); (c) “with reference to” (moneywise, timewise). A
few non-denominal constructions are also attested: anywise, somewise,
nowise.
In sense (c), this suffix has large potential in the formation of
nonce words, in combination with general, abstract nouns (foodwise,
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life-wise, marketwise, revenuewise, salary-wise, saleswise, stresswise,
talent-wise, taxwise, etc.). The latter use, which came into being at least
in the 1920s (foodwise is listed in OED with earliest known use dating
from 1923), has been the object of much criticism from purists (D.com).
New coinages are often hyphenated.
There is also an adjectival use of -wise, whereby it combines with
nouns with its main lexical meaning “clever or wise with regard to”
(e.g. weatherwise, wordlywise). This combination (attested as early as
the 14th century) has given rise to recent adjectival compounds, especially in American English: car-wise, computer-wise, streetwise (1949).
7.4.7.3 -ways
The adverb suffix -ways (from the n. way + adv. suffix -s, cf. last par.
of §7.4.4 vs. orig. < a use of the genitive of way, OED), which also
indicates direction or manner is, as pointed out in dictionaries, often
used interchangeably with -wise (anyways/anywise, endways/endwise,
lengthways/lengthwise, etc.).
Semantically, -ways has had more limited potential than -wise,
since it attaches only to native words: breadthways, crossways, edgeways, endways, lengthways, sideways, slantways, etc. It is apparently
no longer productive.
The occasionally deadverbial -ways and -wise do not license further adverbialisation with -ly (or -s in the case of -wise). The only nominalisation with -ness recorded in the Corpus is rightwiseness (labelled
as arch.).
7.4.8 Suffixes extracted from native words
7.4.8.1 -gate
Born from the Watergate conspiracy case (1972) by abstraction from
the name of the building where the affair began, the -gate suffix has
had spectacular productivity in reference to scandals since 1973, first
in politics, and later in all spheres subject to media coverage: arts and
entertainment, business, journalism and sports. Being essentially journalistic coinages, most words of this class are first and foremost nonce
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words. Thus, even though Wikipedia has to this date listed 140 scandals
or controversies affixed with -gate, few have become established.
7.4.8.2 -scape
Originally extracted from the noun landscape, the suffix -scape, which
was used as early as 1799 (Marchand, 1960: 159), attaches to free morphemes and more rarely to combining forms to describe a scenery (real
or imaginary) or a pictorial representation thereof. As can be seen from
some of the ensuing examples, it is still productive, with a vast array
of lexical combinations: airscape, beachscape, cityscape, cloudscape,
dreamscape, icescape, lunarscape, mindscape, moonscape, netscape
(1994), nightscape, riverscape, seascape, skyscape, snowscape, street­
scape, townscape, xeriscape (1982), etc. 28 items). David L. Gold (2002)
has compiled an impressive list of nonce formations in -scape obtained
from press articles: bedroomscape, birdscape, cavescape, cyberscape,
deathscape, dramascape, dumpscape, dunescape, dustscape, fanscape,
fantasyscape, gravescape, highwayscape, horizonscape, jazzscape,
lakescape, lifescape, lovescape, marinescape, etc. This suffix is also
apt to produce null-derivation verbs, from which noun gerunds can be
derived with the senses “act or art of arranging a given environment
harmoniously and/or rationally” (all the ensuing words are listed in the
Corpus): aquascaping (“development of a habitat for fish and other sea
or fresh-water creatures”), hardscaping (“harmonious integration of
statues, pavements and other manmade parts of the ground around a
building”), landscaping, manscaping (“skilful shaving and trimming
of a man’s body hair”), potscaping (“artful arrangement of shrubs and
flowers growing in pots”), xeriscaping (“landscaping making use of little or no water supply”). Only one noun agent, landscaper, is recorded
in the Corpus although others are attested in numerous Internet pages,
with either -er or -ist (e.g. aqua(scaper/scapist)).
7.4.8.3 -ware
Abstracted from software, this suffix (not to be confused with the compound element ware as in glassware, silverware, etc. (cf. (1) above,
same ch.), has become productive in the naming of software programs.
Many such formations have become established in dictionaries as
shown by the ensuing nouns, all taken from the Corpus: abandonware,
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adware, annoyware, bloatware, blogware, brochureware, careware,
charityware, courseware, crapware, crimeware, crippleware, expireware, feeware, firmware, fontware, freeware, groupware, guiltware,
hackware, infoware, malware, middleware, nagware, netware, payware,
ransomware, scareware, shareware, shelfware, spamware, spyware,
stealthware, suicideware, thiefware, unixware.
7.5 Suffixes extracted from foreign words
7.5.1 -bot
An apheresis of the noun robot (a word borrowed from the Czech language in 1923), this suffix (listed in OED, which describes it as a CF)
has been freely used since 1983 to refer to automated devices, most
specifically robot computer programs. Although this formative has not
been given an entry in any of the dictionaries of the Corpus, several
words thus formed are listed in it: adbot, annoybot, knowbot, spambot,
spybot (other examples from Web pages: canceltbot, microbot, nano­
bot, softbot. In computing usage, the -bot and -ware suffixes are often
synonymous (annoybot/annoyware, spambot/spamware).
Another sense of this suffix (also given in OED) appeared in the
Early 1990s, this time linked to the figurative meaning of the term robot
it was originally extracted from, to deride a delusive, uncritical follower of a politician: Perobot (used as an example in OED), Clintonbot,
Gorebot, Obamabot, etc. (see also -ite, §10.4). As with many new suffixes, the long-term durability of this figurative sense of -bot is open to
speculation.
7.5.2 -fest
Borrowed from German in the late 19th century (Fest = “festival”, abstracted from Volksfest, etc.), this suffix indicates a “festival or festive
event”: (from the Copus) beerfest, songfest (1912) + (from other sources)
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jazzfest (Urban D.), ladyfest (Wordnik), globalfest (Web pages), planetfest (id.), etc. It has by extension acquired the figurative (and highly
productive) sense of any “continued event, action or activity”: (from the
Corpus) funfest (1918), gabfest, slugfest (1916), talkfest (1906) + from
other sources gorefest (Web pages), errorfest, hatefest (id.), etc.
About ten nouns of this kind have so far gained an entry in the
dictionaries of the Corpus. Dozens of nonce words making proper or
figurative use of this suffix can be retrieved from Internet pages.
7.5.3 -nik
This suffix (probably derived from Yiddish noun nudnik = “a bore”,
introduced in English in 1916) made a tentative foray into American
English in the first half of the 20th century: nogoodnik, 1936, robotnik
1945 (from OED, not listed in the Corpus). According to OEtymD, it
registered a spectacular surge in popularity further to the first launch of
a Sputnik satellite in 1957. It was indeed particularly fertile in the late
1950s and in the1960s (cf. Bauer 1983) in the coinage of often pejorative nicknames relating to anti-establishment persons or art aficionados:
(from the Corpus) beatnik (1958), chutzpanik, computernik (1966),
folknik (1958), neatnik (1959), peacenik (1962 MWD); (from the Web):
filmnik, jazznik. Whilst this suffix has clearly fallen out of fashion, it
occasionally still yields new formations: nerdnik (Urban D.), punknik
(id.) + from Web pages: anti-warnik (apparently further to the War in
Iraq), facebooknik (post 2004) and, last but not least, Wordnik (1999).
In its derogatory anti-establishment senses, the -nik suffix can
derive nouns in -ism: beatnikism (the only relevant case listed in the
Corpus) + (from the Internet): nudnikism, peacenikism. Although not
recorded in the Corpus null-derivation verbs in -nik are possible (e.g.
to peacenik Democrats, peacenicking: “wishing for peace on earth”) as
are suffixations in -ly and -ness (beatnikness/beatnikly, peacenikness,
all from Internet pages), which implies that -nik nouns are currently
perceived as alternately adjectival8.
8
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However, -ness can occasionally be denominal: childness, womanness, cf.
§7.4.5.
7.6 Neoclassical combining forms
Neoclassical combining forms being enormously productive in contemporary coinages, many of them have acquired an entry in generalist
dictionaries. Some lexicographers have been inclined to define such
elements as suffixes. This is at least the case in several dictionaries accessible from the OL search engine (Cambridge D., Free D., Macmillan D., OEtymD, Wordsmyth D.) which have resorted to this definition
for dozens of productive neoclassical roots: e.g. -blast, -carp, ‑c(o)ele,
-crat, -cene, -chrome, -fuge, -gon, -gram, -graph, -morph, ‑naut, -phile,
-phobe, -phone, -saur, -scope, -stat, etc. Should this approach be embraced, the inventory of C-initial suffixes would be considerably augmented, even more so as there are many other neoclassical formatives
of this type besides those listed as suffixes in one or several dictionaries
of the Corpus (e.g. -bar, -ceps, -clase, -clast, -crine, -dox, -glot, -glyph,
-lith, -path, -phore, ‑phyte, -ped(e),-pod, -some (e.g. chromosome ≠
‑some as in troublesome, cf. §7.3.1.7)), etc.
Many of the one-syllable final elements listed above are apt to
combine with bound or free bases, generally retaining in the latter
case the linking <o> or <i> (for respectively Greek and Latin stems)
proper to neoclassical learned constructions: -crat (bureaucrat, mobocrat), -fuge (insectifuge, taeniafuge), -gram (to be distinguished from
gram in weight units: kilogram, etc.): arteriogram, cablegram), -graph
(cinematograph, radiograph), -logue (mythologue, travelogue), -naut
(oceanaut, spidernaut), -phile (extremophile, videophile), -phobe (Islamophobe, wikiphobe), -phone (headphone, speakerphone), -saur (Argentinosaur, Kentosaur).
Besides the usual considerations on the economy of the whole
system, another major reason should preclude the classification of
neo-classical combining forms as C-initial suffixes: whereas they are
normally stress-neutral in three-syllable words (astrolabe, atmosphere,
bathyscaph, decapod, milliped(e), etc.), the same does not always hold
for longer constructions: ˌcine'matograph, cy'lindriform, Ger'manophile, hu'midistat, in'sectifuge, etc.). Indeed, combining forms are subject to their own stress rules (see for example -icide, -meter, -rama, cf.
§§ 4.3–4 & 5.4.4) which will be examined in §18.1.
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The only Neo-Greek element with an initial consonant which
may be considered as a suffix is -tron (first known use in the early 30s,
from the shortening of the noun electron, with possible influence of the
Greek instrumentive suffix -tron), which is used in the naming of:
i. subatomic particles (e.g. mesotron, 1935 < meso- + (elec)tron vs.
meso + -tron in OED, now replaced by meson), positron, 1933 <
posit(ive) + (elec)tron);
ii. electron tubes (e.g. ignitron, 1945 < ignit(e) + -tron);
iii.processes for particle acceleration (e.g. betatron, 1941 < beta +
-tron), and more generally any kind of apparatus or chamber for
experimentation (e.g. perceptron, 1950 < percept + -tron).
This element is apt to associate with free bases, either by direct con­
catenation (e.g. ignitron, perceptron) or further to blends (e.g. positron),
or productive Neo-Greek combining forms (cyclotron, 1935, cryotron,
1955, chronotron, late 20th, gyrotron, id., synchrotron, 1945, etc.), which
may arguably justify it being classed as a combining form rather than a
suffix. On the other hand, it is apparently always stress-neutral and is apt
to substitute with other endings.
The -tron sequence is, on the model of electronic, combinable
with the adjectival -ic suffix: cyclotronic particle, magnetronic ignition,
synchrotronic radiation (all from scientific Web pages).
Blends have also been made with clippings of electronic/s: animatronics (1971 < anim(ate) + (elec)tronics), emotronic (< emo(tion) +
(elec)tronic, Urban D.), technotronic (1968 < techno(logy) + (elec)tronic).
7.7 Summary and conclusion
7.7.1 Productivity
This chapter has shown that 20 consonant-initial suffixes are still active
in Present-Day English. In terms of productivity, these suffixes can be
graded as follows:
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i. theoretically unlimited: denominal adjective suffix -like (Gmc or L
bases);
ii. very productive:
a. deadjectival adverb-forming -ly and nominal -ness (combinable
with practically all Gmc or L adjective bases),
b. denominal adverb-forming -wise (s. “in terms of ”, combinable
with Gmc or L abstract nouns, chiefly produces nonce words);
iii. fairly productive:
a. denominal adjective suffix -less (Gmc or L bases),
b. denominal noun suffixes -dom, -hood, -ship (Gmc or L bases,
deadjectival derivation is no longer productive),
c. denominal (+ occasionally deajectival) noun suffix -scape (Gmc
or L bases, also associable with neoclassical CFs),
d. denominal (+ occasionally deadjectival) noun suffix -fest (Gmc
or L bases),
e.denominal -gate (Gmc or L bases, also associable with any
proper name, produces chiefly nonce words),
f. denominal, deadjectival and deverbal -ster (one-syllable Gmc
bases),
g. denominal, deverbal or deadjectival noun suffixes -bot and
‑ware (computer technology, sometimes synonymous, Gmc or
L bases),
h. denominal or deadjectival suffix -tron (scientific usage; Gmc or
L bases, also associable with neoclassical CFs);
iv. moderately or marginally productive
a. denominal adverb suffix (-ward(s)) or adjective suffix (‑ward)
(Gmc or L bases, deadjectival and deadverbial derivations are
no longer productive),
b. -denominal noun suffix -ry (polysyllabic Gmc or L bases that
are not finally stressed),
c. denominal noun suffix -cade (Gmc or L bases, also associable
with neoclassical CFs),
v.declining?: denominal or deadjectival noun suffix -nik (Gmc or L
bases).
Nearly all the suffixes above (of which 13 are of Anglo-Saxon origin)
attach indiscriminately to Germanic or Latinate bases.
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No less than eight elements classified as consonant-initial suffixes
in the present chapter are abstractions from free morphemes of various
origins (-bot, -cade, -fest, -nik, -gate, -scape, -tron, -ware). Intellectual
honesty commands to admit that, regarding those which have retained a
fair degree of semantic transparency (e.g. -ware from software vs. -cade
from cavalcade), lexicographers and morphologists differ as to whether
words in which they occur should still be regarded as blends (e.g. spyware < spy + (soft)ware or, more obviously in the next case, malware
< mal(icious) + (soft)ware, etc.), or whether such abstracted elements
have become real, autonomous suffixes or at least combining forms
(e.g. spy + ware, after software, in OED), as they yield an ever-growing
number of words with a vast variety of morpho-semantic combinations.
The present chapter has also shown that semantic transparency is
not always synonymous with Germanic affixation, which is particularly
true with suffixes which are now unproductive (see -kin and -ling words
+: barful, bateful, bretful, dernful, direful, fountful, gastful, gaudful,
gerful, noygul, shendful, weleful, wrawful, fusome, moilsome, bayardly,
botcherly, burly, chandlerly, (un)comely, drumly, dulcetly, early, estatly,
featly, ghastly, gingerly, grisly, hackly, holy, jolly, laidly, lancely, litherly, only, palterly, panderly, silly, surly, ugly, ungainly).
It has also been noted in this chapter that -less and -like are quite
remarkable as far as Germanic adjective suffixes go since they freely
license combination with bases of three syllables or more (e.g. automatonlike, chameleonlike, constitutionless, satisfactionless, etc.), a feature also displayed by the -ish suffix (cf. §8.2.3): amateurish, Babylonish, buccaneerish, Canaanitish, dilet(t)tantish, elevenish, extrovertish,
Himalayish, introvertish, Ishmaelitish, Israelitish, mussulmanish, sycophantish).
Such combinations remain exceptional with other Germanic adjective suffixes (adventureful, characterful, adventuresome, creaturely,
curmudgeonly), except when they attach to compounds or bases with
a separable prefix (disrespectful, landlubberly, mastermindful, otherworldly, overburdensome, unforesightful, unforethoughtful, unmeaningful, etc.).
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7.7.2 Combinatorial properties
Level-ordering rules state that Germanic suffixes do not allow further
suffixation with Latinate suffixes: *boldnessist, *homelessism, *frightfulise, etc. Yet neologisms violating this principle have recently been
recorded: awfulise (listed in Urban D. = “imagine or predict the worst
circumstances or outcome”), beautifulise (from Internet beautician or
life improvement sites, a rival verb of “beautify”, ex: beautifulise your
house, beautifulise yourself), faithfulise (found in Internet business and
marketing sites, ex: faithfulise customers), fitnessise (Urban D. and
by extension fitnessism/ist, from the Internet), youthfulise (again from
beautician or life improvement sites 9).
Whilst no bold predictions will be made here about the
long-standing currency of such constructions, it is undeniable that they
have been made possible by the phenomenal rise of the -ise suffix, the
most productive verb affix in Present-Day English (cf. §13.2).
Regarding further suffixation, if neologisms such as awfulise,
etc. or happinessless (Plag and Baayen, 2009 §3, cf. foonote 7, same
chapter) are discarded, the combinatorial properties of consonant-initial
suffixes may be summed up as follows:
i. no further suffixations are apparently licit from suffixed words
in -dom -hood, -ship (apart from statehooder), -ly (adverbial),
‑ness and -wise (adverbial);
ii. all Germanic adjective suffixes, whether productive or extinct,
license suffixations with adverb-forming -ly (exception -ly) or
nominal -ness (-lessly/lessness, -likely/-likeness, -wardly/‑wardness, etc.);
iii.-scape allows null-derivation verbs which in turn allow noun
gerunds in -ing (aquascaping, landscaping), and noun agents in
-er (aquascaper, landscaper) or alternately in -ist (aquascapist);
iv. -ster and -nik allow noun derivatives in -ism (gangsterism, peacenikism) and adjective derivatives in -ist (pranksterist, beatnikist);
9
Other formations of this type occur in Internet pages which, even though produced by native speakers, do not reflect high-standard English contexts: dreadfulise, lustfulise, peacefulise, powerfulise, truthfulise.
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v.-nik also licenses zero-derivation verbs then gerund formations
(beatnicking, peacenicking) + suffixations with adverb-forming
-ly (beatnickly) and nominal -ness (beatnickness);
vi. the extinct suffix -ment allows suffixation with -al, in violation
of level-ordering (developmental, etc.);
vii.the -tron suffix licenses adjective derivations in -ic (synchrotronic, etc.).
In violation of the stress-neutrality proper to consonant-initial suffixes the adverb suffix -ly has undergone a striking development in Present-Day English. Adverbs derived from adjectives in -ary are gradually
adopting an antepenultimate pattern (pri'marily, ˌordi'narily, ˌneces'sarily, etc.) over the traditional stress-preserving pronunciation: 'primarily,
'ordinarily (alternatively 'ordiˌnarily in US), 'necessarily (alternatively
'necesˌsarily in US), etc. A general rule accounting for this and other
displacements will be suggested in §15 (40–43).
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8. Neutral vowel-initial suffixes of Germanic
stock or of uncertain origins
8.1 Unproductive forms
8.1.1 -en
This suffix, which draws from several etymological sources (see each
case below), is attested in:
i. 100 deadjectival or denominal infinitive forms (from OE -n-): blacken, brighten, brisken, broaden, chasten, cheapen, flatten, frighten,
gladden, hasten, lengthen, etc.
ii. 70 past participles (from OE -en), many of them being solely used
adjectivally. Many adjectives of this class are archaic, obsolete or
dialectal: boughten (= “purchased”), bounden (“morally obligatory”), cloven, drunken, gotten (only in ill-gotten gains in GB), graven (= “engraved”), holpen (arch. past participle of helped), molten
(= “melted”), smitten, shrunken, stricken, etc.
iii. 20 denominal adjectives carrying the sense “made of or pertaining
to” (< OE -en, related to other Gmc languages and L). Many adjectives of this class are again characterised by their obsolescence:
ashen, beechen (< beech (‑tree)), birchen (< birch(-tree)), boxen (<
box(wood)), breaden (< bread), earthen (< earth), golden, leaden
(chiefly fig. s., < lead), maiden (+ n., cf. vi. below), oaken, oaten (<
oat(s)), twiggen (< twig), waxen (< wax), wealden (< weald), wooden, etc.
The adjectival suffixed forms in -en which are not obsolete are now
more often used in a figurative sense (leaden feet, arms, conversation
vs. lead pipes, (un)leaded petrol, etc., wooden face, wooden gait vs.
wood furniture, wood house, etc.
-en is also a suffix in:
iv. olden (14th, orig. uncertain, a solitary case of deadjectival adjective
formation in -en);
v. the irregular plurals (from OE -an) brethren, children, oxen;
vi some diminutive nouns (from OE neuter of -en as in ashen, etc. vs.
< Gmc îno(m), formally the neuter of îno, OED): chicken, kitten,
maiden.
The archaic adjectives aldern (< alder), eldern (< elder, here “the
tree”), leathern (< leather) and silvern (< silver) were formed with the
same suffix as in ashen, etc., whose e elided when it came into contact
with the final r of the above-mentioned bases. Also archaic, yestern is
supposedly an alteration of yester, apparently affixed with -ern, after
adjectives eastern, etc. (cf. next subsection). The nouns quartern (sync.
der. from quart) and sextern (a term used in book-binding) come respectively from Old French (cf. quarteron) and Latin (sexternum).
As noted by Plag (2003), the verbalising -en suffix is only compatible with monosyllabic bases ending in a non-sonorant: thicken vs.
*thinnen or blacken vs. *greenen. According to H&P (: 1714), as early
as the 18th century, this suffix eventually came to attach only to /d/ and
/t/ in deadjectival formations.
In all of its possible functions, the suffix -en is now extinct. As
will be seen in a further chapter, only Latinate verb suffixes are now
active in English. Adjectives in -en derive adverbs in -ly and nouns in
-ness (goldenly, goldenness, woodenly, woodenness). Diminutives in -en
were apt to derive adjectives in -ly: maidenly. Three -en verbs have been
formed from allomorphic deadjectival nouns in -th: depthen (arch.),
lengthen and strengthen). Some verbs in -en have yielded noun agents
in -er: hastener, lengthener, etc. Many of these are of rare usage today.
8.1.2 -ern
Serving to adjectivise cardinal points, this suffix (< OE) is typical of
a closed class consisting of very common words (cf. -teen, -ty). The
four suffixed adjectives of this class (eastern, western, northern and
southern) have given rise to compounds: Mideastern, Northeastern,
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Southeastern, Midwestern, Southwestern, Northwestern. All these
forms are affixable with the -er noun suffix designating people according to their origin (cf. Dubliner, Londoner, etc. §9(2)): Westerner, Midwesterner, etc. (reminder: the arch. adjectives aldern, eldern, leathern
and silvern have not been formed with this suffix).
As all Anglo-Saxon adjectives, those in -ern freely combine with
the adverb-forming -ly and the nominal -ness.
8.1.3 -ock
This suffix (from OE -oc, -uc) which was used to form descriptive nouns
or diminutives is now extinct. In Present-Day English it is still parseable
in a few words: bittock (< bit), bullock, buttock, hillock, mullock (dial. <
mull, n.). According to OEtymD the vulgar ballocks/bollock(s) have not
been formed with the -ock diminutive form (“bef. 1000 < OE beallucas,
pl. dim. of balle, see ball”), an etymological interpretation which is not
embraced in OED (“apparently < ball, n., although this is first attested
later, + -ock”).
8.2 Productive forms
8.2.1 -ed
A considerable number of past participial forms of transitive verbs are
used adjectivally (no less than 4,000 items of this class are recorded in
the Corpus, including close to 500 negative formations in un-) to qualify
a state or condition resulting from the meaning of a verb base (dominated, inflated, rehabilitated, etc.). There is no theoretical limitation other
than the force of usage to this suffixation process. The ‑ed morpheme
has the additional capacity to form denominal adjectives, of which adjectival compounds constitute the most prolific population (bearded,
broad-shouldered, narrow-minded, etc., 1,150 items). About the rules
governing stress-assignment in -ed compound adjectives, cf. §18.2).
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Participial adjectives as well as denominal -ed formations have
yielded hundreds of nouns in -ness (250 items in the Corpus, including
185 hyphenated formations, e.g. clear-sightedness) and adverbs in -ly
(≈ 300 items in the Corpus, including 130 hyphenated formations, e.g.
open-heartedly):
(1)
absorbedness, amazedness, avowedness, complicatedness, confirmedness,
consecratedness, convolutedness, intoxicated-ness, reservedness, etc.; hotheadedness, quick-sightedness, self-centredness, short-sightedness, softheartedness, etc.; admittedly, agitatedly, alarmedly, allegedly, contrivedly,
determinedly, etc.; cold-bloodedly, dim-wittedly, left-handedly, self-contentedly,
weak-mindedly, etc.
Although only one example (able-bodiedism) has come out of the Corpus, -ed adjectives are theoretically combinable with the -ism suffix.
As usual, Internet searches return additional formations on this model,
although this time with few hits, leading to unconvincing web texts:
male-orientedism, mild-manneredism, open-mindedism, etc.
About the stress variants of -atedness or -ately words pointed out
by Burzio: 244, e.g. animatedly, calculatedly, concentratedly, dedicatedly, etc., see §15(40–43).
8.2.2 -ing
8.2.2.1 Noun suffix
Forming gerundial nouns from verbs, -ing denotes an action or process
or result of either (abolishing, doing, going-on, killing, loving, making,
running, sulking, taking, working etc.). In this use, -ing co-exists with
the Latinate -(at/it)ion, -age, -al, -ance, -ment, -ure, normally with a
less specific semantic scope than those of its counterparts. In such contexts, the -ing gerundial noun suffix is nearly always to be glossed as
“the act or fact of doing something”:
(2)
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abolishing (“act of abolishing)”, cp. abolition, or abolishment, (id. + “official end
to a law, system, practise”), acting (“fact of acting or playing, so “job or skills of
an actor”), cp. action (“action”, general concept or specific s., e.g. “the effect of
a drug or medicine”, “a process of bringing a case to justice”, “events in a film,
show, play, book”, etc.), bequeathing (= “the act of bequeathing”), cp. bequeathal
or bequeathement (id. + “what is bequeathed by will to someone”), bonding =
“act of bonding”, cp. bondage (“state, situation of domination”), breaking = “act
of breaking”, cp. breakage (id. + “quantity broken” or “reimbursement for broken
goods”), coining (“act of inventing new words”), cp. coinage (id. + “a newly
invented word”), seizing (“act or instance of seizing”), cp. seizure (id. + specific
s.: “a sudden attack, as of epilepsy”), spilling (“act of spilling something”) cp.
spillage (id. + “quantity spilt”), uttering (“act of uttering”) cp. utterance (id. +
“manner of speaking” + “speech sequence in linguistics”
With verb bases of Germanic origin (or sync. interpretable as such),
-ing is often the only nominalising suffix available to denote an
action or its result (doing, going, knocking, playing, running, etc., cf.,
however, §11.2). In the latter configuration, -ing may be restricted to a
generic, often uncountable sense, when nouns formed from verbs by
null-conversion or segmental transformations are available: (a knock, a
run, a song vs. knocking, running, singing, etc.), or be otherwise used
as a discrete noun: building, feeling, foreboding, opening, painting,
thrashing, understanding, etc.
With bases which do not nominalise with a Latinate suffix, the
-ing gerund form also has a collective sense as in clothing (“garments
collectively”, synonymous with clothes). In its collective sense, -ing
is also denominal, particularly in the vocabulary of crafts, trades and
industries (building, decoration, garment-making, etc.): banking, bedding, carpeting, farming, flooring, fencing (“materials such as wood
and wires for making fences”, + “practise or skill of fighting with a
foil”), railing, roofing, shirting, etc.
Such items are freely used attributively or in compounds banking activities, bedding shop, carpeting materials, farming goods, fencing posts, flooring tools, printing trade, sewing machine, etc. In fact,
whether deverbal or denominal and whatever sense they are invested
with, most -ing gerundial nouns have the faculty of being thus used:
acting skills, fighting spirit, The Roaring Twenties, singing lessons,
warring factions, etc.
As is well known gerundial nouns are freely used in genitival or
pronominal constructions: I don’t like his/him/Junior/Peter doing this;
His/Junior’s/Peter’s singing is terrible, etc.
Historically -ing has also produced a few deprepositional nouns:
inning, offing, outing (the nouns downing and upping have actually been
151
derived from the verb forms of down and up). -ing was also formerly
used as a patronymic suffix which later yielded a diminutive (Browning,
Harding, evening (cf. eve), farthing (from OE feower = “four”), lording
(arch., cp. lordling), morning (cf. mourn), sweeting (arch. in the s. of
“sweetie”), tithing (< tithe), a suffixation process which was gradually
superseded by -ling.
Whether formed from verbs, nouns or prepositions, gerundial nouns do not yield further suffixation (cp. deadjectival daringness,
strikingness, etc.).
8.2.2.2 Adjective suffix
As a participial adjective, -ing often competes with other adjectival suffixes, whether of Latinate or Germanic origin (cf. -ful §7.3.1.2). It is
noteworthy that many adjectives in -ing are formed from verbs in -ate,
‑ify or -ise: aggravating, agonising, amplifying, captivating, decalcifying, devastating, exasperating, excruciating, fascinating, frustrating,
humidifying, humiliating, infuriating, irritating, moralising, nauseating, penetrating, tantalising, etc.
In some cases an adverb in -ly or an adjective constructed with
the negative un- prefix may be attested although the adjective base they
seemingly attach to is not used or recommended in standard English:
anticipatingly, unanticipating, despinsingly. Some -ing adjectives have
no underlying verb base, being apparently reversal constructions from
phrasal verbs, a word-formation process confirmed by etymology in
some cases: incoming (14th < in- + coming, OED), ingoing (id. < in- +
going), oncoming (19th < on- + coming, after the v. phrase come on),
upcoming (19th < up + coming), ongoing (19th < on- + going), outgoing
(16th < out- + go, 1950, in the s. of “sociable”, ≠ v. outgo (r.) = “exceed,
surpass”), upgoing (19th < up- + going).
As other adjectival suffixes, -ing productively combines with the
adverb-forming -ly (≈ 600 items) and the nominal -ness (≈ 250 items).
About the stress variants of some adverbs in -ingly pointed out
by Burzio: 243, e.g. accommodatingly, agonizingly, fascinatingly, penetratingly, etc., (90 items), cf. §15(42–43).
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8.2.3 -ish
In Old English, the suffix -ish (from a diff. source than the v. ending, cf.
§0.2, iii., namely from -isc, ult. cognate with -esque, cf. §5.1.5), chiefly
formed demonymic adjectives and nouns (such nouns being used generically, ie the English, the Irish vs. an Englishman/woman, English
people, an Irishman/woman, Irish people, etc.) and language names related to the former. In some old formations, the preceding vowel was
modified, as in French and Welsh. Synchronically, a number of demonymic -ish forms are more easily recognisable semantically than they
are formally: Cornish (adj. and language < OE Corn(weallas) + -ish),
English (< Engle), Flemish (adj. and Du. dialect <~ Flanders, a native
of Flanders = a Fleming), Irish (adj. and language < OE Īr(land) +
-ish), Rhenish (adj. < L Rhēn(us) + -ish cp. Rhineland).
In most cases, there is a specific noun designating the natives of
a given area which may still co-exist with the invariable generic form
in ‑ish (e.g. a Dane, the Danes, a Spaniard, the Spaniards or less com.
the Danish, the Spanish). Synchronically most of these nouns can be
analysed as the bases of corresponding adjectives or languages in -ish,
a derivational axis nearly always borne out by etymology: Frank (bef.
900) > Frankish (16th dead lang. + adj.), Finn (bef. 9th > Finnish (18th
lang. + adj.), Gaul (17th) > Gaulish (17th, extinct lang. + adj., in the
latter function, the form Gallic, 17th, has taken another s. = “typically
French”), Greek (bef. 900) > Greekish (c. 900, adj., now displaced by
Greek; Grecian standardly refers to Ancient Greece), Holland (15th) >
Hollandish (17th, Du. dialect + adj.), Hun (bef. 900) > Hunnish (19th,
adj.), Kurd (17th) > Kurdish (19th, lang. + adj.), Lapp (1859) > Lappish,
lang. + adj.), Pict (bef. 900 > Pictish, re-formed in the late 16th , extinct
lang. + adj.), Pole (15h , earlier name for Poland, cp. Pole, 1574, “a
native of Poland”) > Polish (1555, lang. + adj.), Turk (14th) > Turkish
(16th, lang. + adj.) vs. Dane (901 ~> Danish, bef. 900, formerly Denish),
Scot (bef. 900) ~> Scottish, (id. lang. + adj.). Although given in OED
as recorded earlier than, respectively, Swede (1614) and Wend (1786),
Swedish, (1605, lang. + adj.) and Wendish (17th < id., cp. adj. Wendic,
19th < Wend + -ic) are given in the same dictionary as possibly derived
from the latter nouns (< respectively Sweden or Swede + -ish and Wend
+ -ish or < G).
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The Yid (a BF from the following n. and adj.) / Yiddish (< G) pair
is of course of a different nature, since the term Yid is only used with
an offensive intent. The few pairs synchronically analysable as resulting
from suffix substitution show that the -ish form actually predated the
corresponding noun designating “a native of ”: Briton (13th) / British
(bef. 900), Spaniard (14th) / Spanish (13th). Himalayish (lang. and adj.)
has a more common adjectival variant: Himalayan.
Besides Hunnish and Rhenish (cf. 2 par. above), the following
words in -ish are only adjectival: Babylonish (< Babylon), Canaanitish (< Canaanite, person and extinct lang.), Ishmalaitish (< Ishmaelite,
person), Islamitish (< Islamite, person), Israelitish (< Israelite, person),
Jewish (< Jew, person), Jutlandish (< Jutland, area), Moabitish (< Moabite, person and extinct lang.), Moorish (< Moor, person), Mussulmanish (< Mussulman, now Mo(h)ameddan), Ninevitish (< Ninevite,
person), Romanish (< Roman), S(h)emitish (< Semite, person). Gibberish is a solitary nominal derivation in -ish (16th from the verb gibber +
-ish, on the model of language names).
The -ish suffix has followed -ic (§1.5) in being no longer productive in the coinage of national or language nouns and adjectives, except
in blends such as Spanglish (Spanish + English), Czenglish (Czech +
English), Chinglish (Chinese + English), Danglish (Danish + English),
Frenglish (a var. of Franglais), Hinglish (Hindi + English), Norwenglish
(Norwegian + English), etc. As has been established above, demonymic
and language names are now made with -ese (Timorese), -i (Israeli) and
most of all -ian (§5.1.3).
As early as before 900 (e.g. Heathenish), the -ish suffix took on
the alternative sense of “having the nature of ”: babyish, boyish, churlish (< churl), girlish, heathenish, inlandish, paganish, etc. Later, with
an obvious peak in the Renaissance, this neutral sense enlarged into that
of “having the bad qualities of that named by the base”: apish, boorish, brattish, buffoonish, devilish, fiendish, foppish, freakish, haggish,
hellish, monkish, nightmarish, outlandish, selfish, swinish (most relevant words listed in the Corpus date from the 16th century). With this
meaning, deverbal, deadverbial and dephrasal derivations became licit:
mopish, offish, snappish, standoffish, uppish.
154
Even though it was attested quite early as a deadjectival suffix
with the meaning “somewhat” (e.g. darkish, dullish or fattish, all from
the 14th), the -ish suffix has in more recent English (1916 for hours
given roughly according to OEtymD. and OED) increasingly appended
to adjectives to evoke approximation or closeness in degree or quality:
twentyish, thirthyish, fourtyish, baldish, blu(e)ish, dampish, greenish,
longish, newish, oldish, shortish, tallish, yellowish, stiffish, etc.
It is in this last sense that it has remained most productive, though
neutral or disparaging formations such as Googlish (“typical of Google”), big-brotherish, etc. are still likely to be coined. The suffix -ish has
been so successful in its approximating sense that it has become an independent word, used adverbially: […] because they have a pleasantly
happing ending (well, ish) […] (OED).
There are about 500 adjectives in -ish (including those qualifying
a language or a nation) listed in the Corpus. All are potentially compatible with the adverbial -ly and the nominal -ness (Englishly/ness,
greenishly/ness, etc.).
When referring to a nation or language, -ish combines with the
noun suffix -ism (similarly to all words of this semantic class, Germanism, Italianism, Latinism, etc.) to express one of several of the following
notions: (a) a linguistic feature proper to a language; (b) an idiosyncratic feature proper to a people or nation; (c) support for the advancement
of a language or culture: Britishism, Englishism, Irishism, Yiddishism,
etc.
As mentioned in §7.6, -ish also combines quite freely with bases of three syllables or more (Babylonish, buccaneerish, sycophantish,
etc.), a somewhat rare feature in Anglo-Saxon adjective suffixes, which
is also characteristic of -less and -like.
There are a dozen opaque or demotivated adjective formations
in -ish in the Corpus: brackish (= brack, obs.), cattish (“cat-like” but
more com. “spiteful”), garish (< arch. gaure = “stare”), gullish (arch.
= “gullible”), lavish (+ v. < F), mawkish (dem. <≠ mawk (regional) =
“maggot”), lickerish (alteration of liquerous, obs.), nebbish (< Yiddish
nebech), skittish (perhaps from a Scan. source), yarish (< dial. E yare
= “lively”).
155
The only exceptions to -ish’s stress neutrality are out'landish <
'outland and stand'offish (+ var. [100]) < 'standoff.
8.2.4 -o
Of uncertain origin, perhaps from interjectional o(h) reinforced by the
use of clippings from Neo-Greek learned constructions containing a
linking -o- (aristo, demo < Democrat, disco (1964), gyro (1910), hippo
(the animal), homo, logo, narco (1954), photo, psycho (1914), radio
(1907), rhino (the animal), schizo, speedo (1934 < speedometer), ster­
eo, techno (1988, “electronic dance music”), video (1937), etc., this
suffix occurs in:
i. further clippings from words of various origins: Afro (1938 < African), ammo (1917 < ammunition), combo (1929 < combination),
condo (1964 < condominium), demo (1936 < demonstration), expo
(1963 < exposition), journo (< 1967 journalist), limo (1968 < limousine), promo (1955 < promotion), repro (1903 < reproduction),
etc.;
ii. denominal, deadjectival or deverbal slang or informal nouns, generally with a derogatory slant: cheapo (1967 + adj.), dumbo (1960),
fatso (1944), pinko (1925, pejorative political s. of pink, + adj.),
sicko (1977), socko (1924, fig. sense, from sock), stingo, stinko
(1927, fig. s. < stink = “awful”, of a show, film, etc. + dem. s. =
“drunkard”), weirdo (1955), wino (1915), yobbo (1922 < yob); formations of this class are always dissyllabic hence the compulsory shortenings of some bases: lesbo (pejorative, 1940 < Lesbian),
preggo (vulgar = preggers (1951) < pregnant);
iii. isolated exclamations or terms of address: cheerio (1910), daddy-o
(1949, dated), kiddo, neato (1951), righto, whacko (1941), whammo
(1932).
As confirmed by the dates of first known uses available, this suffix is
still very productive in the three configurations described above.
The ensuing nouns in -o are opaque or demotivated formations:
bimbo (prob. < It. bimba = “baby”), blotto (1917, dem., orig. < blot),
156
bucko (prob. < buck), dago (< Diego), gizmo (origin unknown), jumbo
(from the name of an elephant in Barnum’s circus), jello (1934 < jelly,
trademark), kudo (< kudos < Gk), lingo (prob. a corruption of lingua
franca), mojo (1925, Americanism, prob from a Gullah word), schmo
(1948 < schmuck).
8.2.5 -y
Derived from OE -ig (cf. G -ig, cp. L -icus and Gk ‑ikos), -y is obviously the most productive (1500 items in the Corpus) native suffix in the
formation of adjectives (about the noun suffixes -ie (+ spelling var. -y)
or -sy, cf. §8.2.5.1–2 below).
This suffix chiefly combines with one-syllable native words, inducing distinct meanings and usages according to their syntactic category:
i. denominal = “having the qualities of, relating to or being like”: barky, bony, bossy, coaly, curly, dewy, dusty, faddy, faulty, flaky, hazy,
jazzy, juicy, muddy, sandy, slangy, thorny, waxy, wiry, etc.
ii. deverbal = “tending, inclined or apt to do as specified by the base”:
blowy, chewy, choky, dodgy, drowsy, leaky, rumbly, runny, shiny,
sleepy, slippy, sticky, sulky, whiny, etc.
iii.deadjectival = “somewhat”: bluey, browny, pinky, purply, rosy,
whity, yellowy, etc.
Deadjectival suffixations in -y go back to the 15th century (OED). Except for adjectives of colours, in which the -y suffix may rival with -ish
in the sense of “somewhat”, especially in compounds (pinky-white,
purply-red, yellowy-brown, etc.), such formations are now rare or obsolete (e.g. hugy, vasty).
The -y adjective suffix has remained productive chiefly in denominal formations, with an increasing slant toward colloquial or
trivial usages and ultimately figurative senses: e.g. catty (late 19th,
“like a cat” or “spiteful”), cheesy (“like cheese” or late 19th, “lacking
style)”, cocky (17th “conceited, arrogant”), corky (17th “corklike” or
“spoiled”, of wine), corny (old = “abounding in corn”; since 1935 =
157
“unsubtle”, of jokes, shows, etc.), dicey (1950 = “risky” < dice), fishy
(“tasting or smelling like fish” or “questionable”), lousy (14th “infested with lice” or “bad)”, footy (1935 < foot, cp. 1913 “having foots”,
ie dregs”), gam(e)y (19th “having the odour of game” + many fig. s.),
mousy (19th“like or of a mouse” or “meek, shy”), outdoorsy (1911 =
“fond of being outdoors”), etc.
Besides colloquial lexicalisations as those sampled in the foregoing paragraph, the corpus of -y adjectives abounds with opaque
and demotivated formations, many being directly descended from
Old English sources: busy (bef. 900 + v.), chary (bef. 1000, related to
care), dizzy (bef. 900), empty (id. + v.), giddy (c. 1000), heavy (bef.
900), merry (id.), pretty (bef. 1000), silly (id.). Other synchronically
opaque or obscure formations include canny (17th act. < defective v.
can), cosy (18th < Sc.), cushy (1915, prob. < cush(ion) + y, D.com vs. <
Hindi, OED), daffy (19th perhaps < daft), dainty (13th < OF), dinky (18th
< dink), dippy (1903, origin uncertain = “silly”), dotty (19th = “full of
dots”, the fig. s. (= “silly”, 14th) may have come from dotard), dowdy
(16th uncertain origin, cf. dowd, prob. a BF from the adj.), dumpy (17th
< dump), fiery (13th < fier, ME spelling of fire), gaudy (14th, origin disputed), gawky (18th prob. < gawk), happy (14th dem., orig. < hap + -y),
jolly (< OF), ready (12th), sassy (19th alteration of saucy), etc.
Straightforward suffixations in recent English include chewy
(1925 < chew), curvy (1902 < curve), dishy (1961 < figurative sense
of dish), dorky (id. < dork), folky (1914), geeky (1981 < geek), nerdy
(1960 < nerd).
Bases containing a final -y, whether monographic or part of a
digraph, are suffixed with the allomorph -ey (clayey, skyey, wheyey).
Adjectives in -y vacillate between both spellings when the base ends in
a nasal sound + silent e: gamey/gamy, homy/homey, bony/boney, piny/
piney (< pine), stony/stoney; whiny/whiney, winy/winey vs. broomy,
chummy, dreamy, elmy, brainy, brawny, briny, browny, downy, ferny,
frowny, funny, lawny, rainy, etc. A few other adjectives exhibit the
same variation: loony/looney (shortening and alteration of lunatic),
phony/phoney (+ n., prob. an alteration of fawney), nosy/nosey, whity/
whitey (+ n.).
Whereas the -y adjective suffix principally appends to one-syllable
noun bases of native origin (or reinterpreted as such), derivations from
158
dissyllables are also common: resiny, satiny, buttony, cottony, muttony,
bladdery, blistery, coppery, gossamery, jaspery, lathery, leathery, mattery, papery, plastery, rubbery, spidery, splintery, summery, thundery,
watery, billowy, marrow, meadowy, senewy, shadowy, rickety, velvety,
wintery, etc. The corpus even contains a few adjectives in -y derived
from three-syllable nouns: gossamery, oniony, vinegary (other adjectives
in ‑ary naturally belong to a different morphological class, cf. §15).
Adjectives in -y freely derive adverbs in -ly and nouns in -ness.
The suffix -(if )y attaches to monosyllables or synchronically indecomposable bases in -i/y (§4.1): citify, countrify, daintify, gentrify, jellify,
jollify, prettify, uglify, etc. Some verbs which may appear as resulting
from attachment to a two-syllable base affixed with the neutral adjective suffix -y (stringify < stringy + -fy or string(y) + -ify), are in fact
directly derived from monosyllabic words: shortify (< short), stringify
(< string), as the verb suffix -ify is not supposed to attach to already
suffixed words (cf. §4.1).
8.2.5.1 The -ie (+ spelling var. -y) suffix (henceforth -ie/y)
Of obscure origin, this suffix has been used at least since 1400 in
the coinage of hypocoristic or diminutive nouns formed from proper
names, common nouns or adjectives (baby (14th), baggie (18th), Billy,
birdie (18th), bookie (19th), cabbie (id.), daddy (15th), deary (17th), doggie (17th), duckie (19th), goldy, granny (17th, by short. < gran(dmother)
+ -y), Jenny, Jimmy, kitty (18th), laddie (16th), lassie (18th), newie (19th),
oldie (18th), nightie (19th), pussy (16th), sweetie (18th), etc.).
In more recent English, the -ie/-y suffix has also formed many
pejorative or offensive nouns from adjectives (baddie, biggie, cheapie,
darkie, fatty, Frenchie, oldie, sharpie, toughie, Whitey, etc.).
In both functions, it is still highly productive, as attested by the
following sample of words, all recorded in the Corpus: brookie (1933,
MWD), ciggy (1962 by shortening < cigarette), cubie (“each cube of
a Rubik’s cube”), cutie (1911), falsie (1943), foodie (1980), goalie
(1921), hackie (1937), hearie (20th, used in the deaf community), junkie (1923), movie (1909), nudie (1932), pornie (1965), queenie (1935),
scrapie (1910), smiley (1987 = “an emoticon”), veggie (1942, by shortening), waspie (1957 < wasp’s waist), talkie (1913), undies (1906, by
159
shortening), wheelie (1966), etc. Like -o, this suffix necessarily produces two-syllable formations, hence such shortenings as granny < grandmother.
8.2.5.2 -sy
Also of obscure origin, this adjective suffix is still productive though
much less so than -y. Synchronically recognisable derivatives constructed with it include antsy (1962, now with a lexicalised s. = “fussing or
worrying over”), artsy (1947), bitsy (1905), folksy, itsy-bitsy (1938),
limpsy (< limp), mumsy (= mammy < mum, OED), teen(t)sy (< teen(y)
+ -sy), tipsy (< tip + -sy = “very drunk”), topsy, weensy (< ween(y) +
-sy), whimsy (< whim(-wham) + sy). A few nominal formations are also
attested: cutesy (1968 < cute + -sy), footsy/ie (1935 < foot + sie, a var.
of -sy). Sissy is no more recognisable as the shortening of sister + -sy.
Though this process is not recognisable synchronically, the ensuing adjectives have actually been suffixed with -y from plural forms:
ballsy (1935 < balls + y), gutsy (< guts + y), tricksy (< tricks + y), woodsy
(< woods+ y). Obscure or opaque formations in -sy have come from various sources or word-formation processes: (a) old Anglo-Saxon words:
blowsy (≠ blow < dial. blowse = “beggar girl”), clumsy, drowsy, frowsy,
queasy); (b) shortenings, blends, metatheses: curtsy (< shortening of
courtesy), ditsy (1973 MWD probably < dotty + dizzy), dropsy (<≠ drop
ult. < L hydropsia), flimsy (perhaps a metathesis of film + -sy), slimsy (a
blend of slim and flimsy).
Like its -o and -ie/y nominal rivals, this suffix always produces
two-syllable words, hence the compulsory shortening of such bases as
sister (> sissy), teeny (> teensy), weeny (> weensy), etc.
The ending -sy is also found in nouns of three syllables or more
of non-native stock, where it represents either the original Greek suffix
-sis (cf. basis, thesis, etc.) or the final -s of a base or a stem followed by
the suffix -y representing Latin -ia, -ium, Greek -ia, -eia, -ion or Frenchie. Some of the latter words are occasionally analysable as suffixed
with -y further to spirantisation of /t / (cf. adequacy (< adequat(e) (/t/
→ [s]) + -y, legitimacy < legitimat(e) (id.) + -y, etc.; vagrancy < vagrant (/t/ → [s]) + -y, residency < resident (id.) + -y, etc., 1st par. below
§14(1)): apostasy (ult. < Gk apo- + sta- + -sis <~ apostate (/t/ > [s])
160
+ -y), controversy (< L <~ controvert (/t/ > [s]) + -y), courtesy (< OF
<~ courte(ou)s + -y), ), hypocrisy (< ult. < Gk <~ hypocrite (/t/ > [s])
+ -y). leprosy (ult. < Gk <~ lepr(ou)s + -y). Most nouns in -sy of three
syllables or more with no transparent base have been inherited from
Greek formations, chiefly combining-form compounds: fantasy, heresy
+ neoclassical combining-form compounds in Element B + -bound -y:
-crasy (idiosyncrasy, etc.), -desy (geodesy), -genesy (lithogenesy, etc.),
-gnosy (astrognosy,etc.), -lepsy (catalepsy, etc.), -omasy (antonomasy,
etc.), ‑opsy (autopsy, etc.), -plasy (homoplasy, etc.), -stasy (apostasy,
cf. pseudo-derivatives mentioned above, ecstasy, etc.), -tripsy (angiotripsy, etc.).
Minstrelsy (< Anglo-Latin ministralcia) is the only noun of more
than two syllables parseable as affixed with -sy, an oddity which has
resulted from a corruption of the -cy suffix (cf. abbotcy, captaincy, etc.
§7.2.2).
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9. -er
This suffix is characterised by its double origin, being partly Germanic
(from a coalescence of OE -ere agentive suffix and OE -ware, forming
nouns of ethnic or residential orig. D.com1) and partly Romance (from
OF -er, -ier, from L -ārius, -ārium). It is also formidably productive and
as such merits its own chapter.
9.1 General features
9.1.1 Categoriality
As a separable derivational suffix -er is strictly nominal. Indeed, in no
other syntactic category is -er combined with a free base2.
i. adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions: aglimmer, aglitter, afflicker,
aflutter, asunder, after, either, ever, hither, neither, nether, other,
over, rather, together, under, etc.
ii.adjectives: bitter, clever, dapper, eager, former (orig. a comparative),
ginger, latter (orig. a comparative), neuter, proper, sinister, slender,
sober, utter (orig. an alteration of the comparative outer), etc.
iiiverbs: blister, blunder, bother, cover, deliver, differ, dither, enter,
fester, malinger, meander, pamper, pander, pilfer, simper, slither,
snicker, stammer, spatter, sputter, stutter, sever, wander, wonder3
(300 items including 60 with a separable prefix: rediscover, reenter, etc.).
1
2
3
OED’s etymological notice mentions coalescence in OE of -ere and West Gmc
-ari (instead of -were).
Comparatives (larger, etc.) are not constructed with this suffix (cf. §6).
The verb lower (16th = “to let, put or bring down” or “to cause to descend”) has
been formed by null-conversion from lower, comparative of low (adj.).
9.1.2 Functions and semantics
The nominal -er suffix is alternately
i. a noun agent suffix appending to verbs of all etymological sources:
bearer, creeper, employer, harvester, teacher, theoriser, etc.
ii. a denominal or deadjectival suffix used in the formation of nouns
designating an occupation or activity: hatter, jailer, tiler, tinner, etc.
iii.a denominal or deadjectival suffix denoting persons from their
place of origin or abode: Dubliner, Icelander, New-Yorker, prisoner
(cp. jailer in ii.), Southerner, villager, etc.
iv. a suffix designating persons from a physical or personal attribute:
six-footer, teetotaller; etc.
v. a suffix designating things from a specific characteristic (sum, number, capacity, content, etc.): three-master, fiver, four-seater, tenner,
etc.
9.1.3 Germanic and Romance bases
According to D.com, the suffix of Germanic descent is at the origin of
all deverbal derivations. The same dictionary further asserts that nouns
with a bound stem, whether they denote a person with a specific occupation or activity (e.g. archer, butcher, butler, carpenter, grocer, officer,
dem. <≠ office) or concepts (e.g. border, corner, danger, fever, manner,
matter) are those in which the Romance -er is principally found. D.com
however acknowledges that quite a few denominal -er derivatives with
a synchronically transparent base have been affixed with the Romance
-er suffix (e.g. banker, falconer, farmer, gardener, prisoner, etc.) and
are thus now indistinguishable from denominal formations originally
affixed with its Germanic homograph. The etymological complexity of
this affix has led other dictionaries to merely evoke a hybrid suffix in the
entries they have dedicated to it:
“Partly OE -ere < Gmc; partly via Ang.-Nor. < L -arius; partly OF -eor
(see ‑or1)” (Encarta D.); “Middle English, partly from OE -ere (from
Gmc *-rjaz from L -rius, -ary), partly from Ang.-F -er (from OF -ier
from L -rius) and partly from OF -ere, -eor; see -or (Free D.)”.
164
When only taking into account nouns in -er which are not compounds (cf. §9.2.1 below) or prefixed with a separable prefix, Latinate
bases outnumber by 100% (2,000 vs. 1,000 items) those of Germanic
sources (or assimilated enough into English to be interpreted as such,
e.g. award (< OF) > awarder, bribe (id.) > briber).
The principles described above for morphemes of the Germanic
substratum apply identically when -er affixes to a Latinate base:
i. -er is mainly a noun agent suffix, immediately attachable to any
kind of verb base, although the -ate ending is affixed with ‑er’s rival
agent noun suffix -or (cf. §10.2);
ii. synchronically, nouns in -er are also derivable from nouns and
adjectives, particularly when they denote a status, occupation
or origin: commoner, falconer, farmer, foreigner, jailer, mariner,
stranger, villager (all of French origin).
Some derivatives from nouns in -age display an intrusive n when suffixed with -er: messenger (< OF <~ messag(e)), murenger (obs. < id. <~
murag(e)), passenger (< id. <~ passag(e)), wharfinger (< wharfag(e)).
Harbinger, which has historically undergone the same epenthetic process, has no recognisable base in Present-Day English (from the OF v.
hebergere, from West Gmc *herbigera).
9.1.4 Irrelevant items
Whether separable or bound, the nominal -er suffix is to be distinguished from:
i. the combining forms -bacter (< Gk báktron “stick”: areobacter,
azotobacter, etc., 12 items), -meter (galvanometer, speedometer,
etc. cf. §4.4), -mer (< Gk méros (“part”): isomer, oligomer, etc., 12
items), -pter (< Gk pteron (“wing”): coleopter, helicopter, etc. 16
items);
ii. the Germanic noun suffix -ster (gangster, rapster, etc., cf. §7.4.6);
iii. the suffixes
165
a.-eer (mountaineer, sonneteer, §5.1.2) and its now unproductive variant -ier (brigadier, halberdier, etc.), to be distinguished
from the ensuing words affixed with -er (with various graphic
adjustments): clothier, collier, furrier, glazier, etc., and from derivatives from verbs in -y: amplifier, defier, denier, falsifier, etc.
b.-aster: medicaster, poetaster, etc. §5.2.2).
Given its semantic diversity and its dual etymology, this suffix is unsurprisingly one of the most productive in English, recorded in some 4,000
nouns with a transparent base.
9.2 Productivity in compounds
9.2.1 -er in standard compound nouns
In rough figures, derivatives in -er with a base of Germanic origin (or
which has been anglicised long enough to be not perceived as inherited
from French or Latin, among other examples carrier, catcher, payer, pusher, sorter) account for over more than 50% of relevant nouns in the Corpus. However about 1,000 of these are final components of compounds.
The most productive of these nominal derivatives in -er apt to yield compounds include -maker (70 items), -holder (35), -keeper (30) and -worker
(25). Another 200 transparent derivatives in -er have produced at least
one compound noun (e.g. -backer, -baller, -banger, ‑banker, -bearer,
-beater, -bender, -binder, -biter, -blaster, -blower, ‑boarder, etc.).
Morphologically speaking, noun compounds ending with the suffix ‑er result either from the association ot two free morphemes, the second of which is a deverbal noun in -er, in which case there is normally
no underlying verb for the compound thus formed (e.g. peacemaker <
peace + maker <≠ *peacemake), although verbal back-formations may
subsequently appear (e.g. housekeep, act. < housekeeping), or from the
attachment of -er to a pre-existing verb compound (e.g. backstabber
< backstab, 1925, actually a BF from the n. (1903), sandblaster 19th <
sandblast, 19th, etc.).
166
Whether inherited from Germanic or French sources, nouns in
-er with an obscure or opaque stem (thus not included in the count of
4,000 transparent suffixed forms above) are also productive in the construction of compounds (e.g. broker, brother, cancer, chamber, corner,
daughter, father, finger, flower, hammer, letter, master, etc., 350 items).
9.2.2 -er in neoclassical compound nouns
Synchronically, -er is also assimilable to a suffix in combined forms
such as -gnomer (1 item), -grapher (95), -later (15), -loger (21),
-mancer (13), -nomer (4), -sopher (4), -typer (7), which can be handled
as paradigmatic derivatives (replacing -y by -er) from respectively -gnomy, -graphy, -latry, -logy, -mancy, -nomy (diff. from -gnomy: astronomy
vs. physiognomy), -sophy, -typy. A different approach to pairs such as
‑graphy/-grapher, etc., has led Guierre (1984: 117) and his followers
(e.g. Duchet 1994: 33–36, Fournier 2010: 75–77) to hold -er and -y as
well as -ism and -ist as affixes which, though neutral in other formations, are stress-imposing in most learned constructions, as in 'photograph > pho'tography/pho'tographer.
However, treating learned nouns in -er as derivatives from
neo-classical combined constructions in -y (as in photography > photographer) has the obvious advantage of maintaining -er’s stress-neutral
status in all configurations, an approach which may synchronically appear all the more justified as most learned nouns in -er have no underlying free base to which the affixes -y, -er, etc. may concatenate (e.g.
*geograph, *oceanograph, *philosoph). Besides, Guierre’s stress rules
relative to combining forms are far from economical as they necessitate the definition of many exceptional subclasses in which there are no
stress displacement further to suffixations with -y, -er, -ist, etc.('monarchy/ist <~ 'monarch, 'orthodoxy <~ 'orthodox, 'alloplasty <~ 'alloplast,
'endothermy <~ 'endotherm, 'thaumaturgy <~ 'thaumaturge, etc., cf.
§14(8) for an account of such stress patterns). If derivation of the kind
photography ~> photographer, etc. is favoured over Guierre’s approach,
only one noun in -er is found to violate stress preservation vis-à-vis its
synchronically presumable deriving form: 'mariner <~ ma'rine.
167
Outside -mancy, the learned sequences in -y enumerated above
are potentially suffixable with -ist as well as -er, sometimes synonymously, sometimes with a different sense (astrologer/astrologist, bibli­
olater/bibliolatrist, physiognomer/physiognomist, linotyper/linotypist,
telegrapher/telegraphist vs. philosopher ≠ philosophist, cf. §10.3.3 for
a more detailed account).
9.3 Productivity in non-compound lexemes
9.3.1 Deverbal formations
Besides the high potential of learned neologisms (often born from vid­
eogames or comics e.g. cybermancer, shadowmancer, technomancer)
or compounds with a final component in -er (fender-bender, 1966, kicksorter, 1947, etc.), the productivity of the -er suffix is chiefly linked
to the coinage of new verbs since it has remained the most popular
agent suffix in the English language. A deverbal derivation in -er may
of course happen to creep into the lexicon years after the advent of its
verb source (e.g. sanitiser, 1950 < sanitise, 19th).
(1)
Deverbal agent nouns in -er first recorded in the 20th century
a.
-ise + -er: complementiser (1965), demineraliser (1960), digitiser (1953),
gyrostabiliser (1921), lyophiliser (1967), moisturiser (1957), normaliser
(1912), photosensitiser (1911), plasticiser (1925), pressuriser (1951), radiosensitiser (1953), sanitiser (1950), stabiliser (1909), tenderiser (1958), etc.
b.-ify + -er: dehumidifier (1921), demystifier (1960–65), gentrifier (post-1972,
MWD), mattifier (1996), nitrifier (1903), opacifier (1911), preamplifier
(1934), tackifier (1942), etc.
There are 150 deverbal nouns in -iser, 56 in -(i)fier and 12 in -menter
(commenter, tormenter (or -or), etc.). The eleven nouns in -encer,
analysable as combining -ence + -er, are either deverbal or denominal (commencer, evidencer, experiencer, intelligencer, etc.). 40 nouns
in -ioner have been derived or are synchronically analysable as having
been derived from a verb or a noun in -ion (apportioner, conventioner,
168
executioner, extortioner, etc.). Parishioner (< ME paroschian/ien < OF)
and practitioner (16th, alteration of practician + -er) have no immediate
base in -ion.
9.3.2 Denominal formations
As a suffix indicating someone from their place of origin or abode, -er
competes with the nominals -(i)an, -ese, -i and -ish (see also -ite §10.4).
In this function, it is chiefly associated with (a) the -land morpheme,
(b) place names ending in -burg(h),( c) other place names of EnglishSpeaking or German-Speaking areas ending in -V(r)n, with the ex­
clusion of those ending in -to(w)n:
(2)
Demonymic suffix
a.
-land + -er: Aucklander, Auslander, bylander, New-Englander, Findlander
(= Finn), flatlander, Greenlander, Highlander, Hollander, Icelander, inlander, Irelander (= Irish person), islander, Jutlander, Lap(p)lander, lowlander,
mainlander, Marylander, Netherlander, Newfoundlander, outlander, overlander, Queenlander, Polander (r. = Pole), uplander, waterlander, woodlander, (New)Zealander, etc.
b.
-burg(h) + -er: Ausburger, Brandenburger, Hamburger, Johannesburger,
Limburger, Luxemb(o)urger, Pittsburg(h)er, etc.
c. -V(r)n (except -to(w)n + -er): Afric/kan(d)er, Berliner, Dubliner, Liechtensteiner, Londoner, Easterner, Michigan(d)er, Northerner, Oregoner (or Oregonian), Southerner, Westerner, etc.; wiener is, like frankfurter the name of a
pork meat (< wienerwurst) ≠ Viennese;
d. sundry derivations: Appenzeller, Arkansawyer (or Arkansan), Connecticut(t)er, Montrealer, New Yorker, Quebecker, Switzer (< Switz = Alemanic dialect)
Citizens of place names in -to(w)n are identified with the suffix -ian:
Arlingtonian, Bostonian, Capetonian, Eastonian, Edmontonian, Etonian, Hamiltonian, Houstonian, Washingtonian, Wellingtonian, etc. In
the same manner as -(i)an (Russian), -ese (Japanese), -i (Azerbaijani),
-ic (Icelandic), -ish (Polish), the transparent suffix-er is apt to denote
languages, chiefly Germanic dialects: Brusseler, Limburger. Whereas
Arkansawyer is an oddity (Americanism, 19th < Arkansas, with s respelled as y, + -er), a y is inserted before -er when this suffix attaches to
a noun ending with a w. Very few derivatives of this type are recorded in
Contemporary English: bowyer (obs. < bow), lawyer, sawyer (r. < saw).
169
The -er affix has a spelling variant, -ar, about which D.com gives
the following definition: “var. of -er, often under the influence of a
spelling with -ar in a cognate Latin noun: burglar, cellar, collar, mortar,
poplar, scholar, vicar, vinegar”, cp. OED: “Occas. repr. of L -ārius,
-ārium. […] Generally a refashioning of an earlier -er from OF -ier,
after the prec […]. As a real separable suffix -ar is extremely marginal,
being historically attested only in sizar. The dates of first known uses
for the items below show that this variant is at any rate extinct:
(3)
beggar (12–13th apparently < beg, D.com & OED, although OEtymD. gives it as
inherited from OF), burglar (16th perhaps < OF vs. orig. uncertain in OED, <~
burgl(e) + -ar; the v. is act. a BF from the n.), liar (before 950 < OE <~ li(e) +
-ar), sizar (16th < siz(e) + -ar, now dem. = “a student who receives maintenance
aid”), Templar (13th < L <~ Templ(e) + -ar).
Nouns of celestial bodies in -ar have resulted from blends with a truncation of the star or stellar morphemes, imitated from quasar (1964 <
quas(i-stell)ar radio source), the first word of this class ever coined.
(4)
collapsar (date? Prob. coined in the 1970s < collaps(e) + -ar, on the models
of pulsar and quasar), magnetar (1992 < magnet(ic) + (st)ar), pulsar (1968 <
puls(ating st)ar, imitated from quasar).
The noun alveolar is a null-derivation of the adjective, which has itself
been derived from alveola.
9.4 Nouns in -er with an obscure or opaque stem
Besides adverbs, adjectives and verbs in which -er is, as said above,
bound (about the v. lower, in the s. of “cause to descend”, see footnote
2, same ch.), there are about 900 nouns in -er with no transparent base,
350 of which are final components of compounds
(5)
170
Nouns in -er with an obscure or opaque stem
a.persons linked to an occupation or activity (Germanic or French origin):
arbiter, archer, barber, broker, busker, butcher, butler, carpenter, cooper,
coroner, cutler, haberdasher, grocer, monger, officer, etc.
b.family relatives: brother, daughter, father, mother, sister
c.other examples (+v= + v.): adder, alder, amber, amper, anger+v, anker, answer +v,
anther, antler, badger+v, banner, banter+v, barter+v, beaver, bladder, blather+v,
blister+v, bother+v, blunder+v, etc.
Verbs in -er which, barring lower, have no transparent base, are compatible with the agent suffix -er:
(6)
answerer, badgerer, banterer, barterer, beleaguerer, bickerer, blatherer, blatterer, blubberer, blunderer, blusterer, caperer, caterer, charterer, clatterer, deliverer, discoverer, ditherer, dodderer, embroiderer, flatterer, philanderer, etc. (150
items)
In terms of stress-assignment, non-transparent or demotivated words in
which -er is preceded by a consonant cluster are a chaotic class, being
evenly distributed between penult and antepenult patterns:
(7)[-10]
December, November, September, compander (< com(press) + (ex)pand + -er),
gazunder (v), germander, goosander, gynander (“a plant”, constructed with the
CF -andr-, like monander), meander, monander, octander, palissander (a plant),
perpender, philander, scaphander, solander, malinger, phalanger (Zool.), adelaster, bimester, cadaster, cremaster, diaster, disaster, piaster, pilaster, semester, trimester, etc.
[-100]
cucumber, be/irgander, bil(l)ander, calendar, calender, chavender, colander,
a(u)stringer, derringer, harbinger, murenger, porringer, cullender, cylinder,
dittander (+ [010]), filander, lavender, pomander (+ [010]), provender, carpenter, baluster, ban(n)ister, canaster, can(n)ister, fillister, ga(n)nister, magister,
minister, register, sinister, etc.
Moreover, a fair number of words in -C2er which are not transparently
parseable are stressed initially with assignment of a secondary stress
before the cluster for those that are obviously perceived as obscure
compounds (which some of them, including loans, are indeed, e.g. doppelganger < G or Du.): calamander, coriander (+ [-10]), gerrymander,
oleander (+ [-10]), salamander, doppelganger, gyrocopter, helicopter,
alabaster (+ [-10]), amphiaster, abalister, fil(l)ibuster.
171
9.5 Suffix stacking
The separable noun suffix -er (or its variant -ar) allows further suffixation with:
i. the verb suffix -ise: computerise, consumerise, containerise, etc.
ii. the noun suffixes -ism or -ist (the latter being alternately adjectival):
Afrikanerism, beggarism, boosterism, consu-merism, producerism,
Quakerism, Ranterism, Shakerism, workerism, computerist, consumerist (+ adj.), producerist, etc.
iii.the noun suffixes of rank, condition and quality -dom, -hood and
-ship: Afric/kanerdom, bestsellerdom, computerdom, hackerdom,
strangerhood, toddlerhood, widowerhood, commandership, controllership, dealership, examinership, followership, leadership,
ownership, etc. (40 items in all).
According to various etymological notices, several nouns in -er (whether
the latter be bound or sep.) have been affixed with the noun suffix -y,
a word-formation process now obviously extinct (bakery, chandlery,
commandery, dodgery, haberdashery, hosiery, ironmongery, jobbery,
joinery, millinery, mummery, perfumery, pottery, turnery). Synchronically, such derivatives will be best handled in terms of resulting from
affixation with the suffix -ery, cf. §11.6.
The separable suffix -er is potentially still highly productive,
especially as a noun agent, since it is likely to append to all new verbs
formed with the affixes -ise or -(i)fy (cf. (1) above, same ch.) or by
null-derivation.
172
10. Latinate vowel-initial suffixes:
-er’s rival agent noun suffixes
10.1 -ant/-ent
Chiefly adjectival (cf. §15), -ant and -ent (< F < the stems of L present
participles āntem, ēntem) are alternately and sometimes only noun
suffixes. Most derivatives thus formed are deverbal. The dates of first
uses available indicate that -ant is the only of these two suffixes to be
still active, chiefly in the naming of chemical, medical or cosmetic
products, a lexical field in which it is remarkably productive. In the
latter kind of suffixations, denominal and even deadjectival formations are occasionally attested (such derivations have been signalled
in the sample below). When derived (or synchronically derivable)
from verbs in -ate, nouns in -ant are systematically subject to affix
substitution (cf. paradigmatic v. and adj. pairs: hesitate/hesitant, tolerate/tolerant, etc.).
(1)
< v. other than in -ate: antidepressant (1962 < anti- + depress + -ant) and sim.
antiperspirant (1957), attractant (1926), decongestant (1950 < de- + congest),
dispersant (1944), dopant (1963), injectant (1950, MWD), antioxidant (1934),
protectant (1943), reactant (1915), recombinant (1940 + adj.), reductant
(1924), sealant (1945), transductant (1963), etc.; < v. in -ate: anovulant (1960
< an- + ovul(ate)) and sim. (anti)coagulant (1905), conjugant (1910, MWD),
contaminant (1934), defoliant (1943), deviant (1927), inoculant (1911), etc.;
< n.: anorexiant (1957 < anorex(ia) + -ant) and sim. euphoriant (1947 < euphor(ia)), etc.; < adj. sterilant (1955 < sterile)
Despite a couple of coinages with -ant in relatively recent English
(formant (1901), discussant (1927), mutant (1901) + adj.), agent noun
formations with -ant or -ent have clearly been displaced by -er, which
often co-exists with these suffixes, generally synonymously and sometimes antonymously, as exemplified in the sample below:
(2)(+adj = + adj.):
a.-ant: accountant (< account + -ant) and sim. claimant (< claim = -er), insurant (< insure = “the person insured” ≠ insurer), libellant (< libel = -er) + <
L ascendant, assistant+adj (= -er and -or, chiefly Law), determinant+adj (≠ determiner), informant (= informer, in the s. of “someone giving information to
the police”) + < F assailant (= -er), attendant+adj (= -er but main s. = “someone who attends a meeting”, etc.), combatant+adj, consultant, contestant (=
-er), defendant+adj (≠ defender), registrant (Americanism ≠ -ar), resistant+adj
(= ‑er), etc. 250 items including those in (1);
b. -ent: < L adherent+adj (= -er), corresponden+adj + < F, dependent+adj (= -er),
descendent+adj, president, referent, resident+adj, student (<~ study), etc. ≈ 100
items.
When synchronically derivable from verbs in -fer or in -ide, nouns in
‑ent (which may have yielded an adjective by conversion) shift stress to
the antepenultimate: 'referent, 'president, 'resident (cf. §11.4). In other
configurations, transparently suffixed nouns in -ant and in -ent are neutral when they have no adjectival homograph ('registrant < Med. L <~
'register) and take the same stress as their homograph if there is one
(about re'monstrant, adj. and n. < 'remonstrate, cf. §13.1.2.2).
As will be seen in §11.4, most nouns of action, state, condition
or quality in -ance/-ancy and -ence/-ency may synchronically be held
as derived from an adjective or, by default, a noun in -ant or in -ent, by
deverbal co-suffixation (different/difference <~ differ, etc.) or adjective/
noun or noun/adjective affix substitution (flagrance <~ flagrant, etc.).
Nouns in -ant or in -ent are combinable with the adjectival suffix -al: presidential, referential, etc. Adjectives such as differential
are synchronically best analysed as derived from a noun in -ance or
in -ence (ie here as derived from difference instead of different, cf.
§11.4, iii.).
10.2 -ator and -or
The -or suffix, chiefly indicative of animate or inanimate agents, now
functions as an orthographic variant of -er (H&P: 1698). Nouns analys­
able as derivatives in -or are denotative of two distinct suffixes:
174
i.-ator (a combination of -ate and -or that forms nouns corresponding to verbs in -ate, from L -ātor, D.com, this sequence is treated
under -or in OED);
ii.-or (< L; in some cases continuing ME -our < Anglo-F, OF < L -ōr-,
stem of -or, earlier-os, D.com vs. “Partly < classical L -ōr, or (OL
ōs), suffix of n. of condition […] and partly < classical L -tōr, -tor,
suffix of agent n.” […], OED): bailor, warrantor, etc.
10.2.1 -ator
Hundreds of nouns in -ator, denoting human agents or devices, appliances, etc., are synchronically derivable from a verb in -ate, even if etymological notices do not systematically corroborate this derivational
axis. In this configuration these nouns can be analysed as resulting
from attachment or the -or suffix to the verb base, a derivational process whose validity is confirmed for authentic suffixed forms in D.com
and OED.
(3)
-ator < or <~ -ate (or -ation) (by affix-substitution in H&P’s analysis, cf. §2.3.6):
aerator (< aerate), alleviator (< alleviate), alternator (< alternate), coordinator
(< coordinate), differentiator (< differentiate), duplicator (< duplicate), evaporator (< evaporate), etc. + < L conciliator (<~ conciliate), creator (13th <~
create, 15th), cremator (<~ cremate), etc. (≈ 450 items)
Synchronically, the existence of -ator as an independent suffix may be
postulated in dozens of other nouns, by deverbal suffixation, even if
here again diachrony sometimes contradicts this analysis. As a matter
of fact, most nouns in -ator analysable as derived from verbs other than
in -ate have been (a) borrowed from Latin or reconstructed from Latin
roots (e.g. scarificator), (b) made from blends (trafficator 1933 < traffic
+ (indic)ator), (c) derived from nouns in -ation, which does not infirm
the existence of the -ator suffix, attested since the 16th century and still
active, as proved by recent formations such as inhalator (1929 < inhale)
or travelator (1955 < travel, imitated from escalator).
Nearly all the nouns below can paradigmatically be linked to a
noun in -ation. However, in terms of their accentuation, it is much better
to handle them as stress-preserving derivatives of the verbs they can
175
synchronically be derived from (con'solator < con'sole, etc.) further to
affixation of the independent -ator suffix:
(4)-ator < verbs other than in -ate
determinator (< determin(e) + -ator vs. < L in OED = determiner, in the s. of
“one who determines”) and sim. improvisator (< improvise = improviser) + < L
comparator (<~ compare), conservator (<~ conserve ≠ conserver), consolator
(<~ console = consoler), conspirator (<~ conspire = conspirer), declamator
(r. <~ declaim = declaimer), evocator (<~ evoke = evoker), examinator (r. <~
examine = examiner), falsificator (<~ falsify + -c- = falsifier), pacificator (<~
pacif(y) + -c- = pacifier, in the s. of “someone who pacifies”), respirator (<~
respir(e)) etc. (≈ 100 items)
It should be noted that quite a few nouns of (4) have a more common
variant in -er (falsificator/falsifier, purificator/purifier, etc.).
The remainder of nouns in -ator with an obscure or opaque stem
are nearly all loans from Latin:
(5)
adjutator, alligator (alteration of Sp. el lagarto “the lizard”), buccinator, conciator (< It. conciatore), cunctator, dictator (dem. <≠ dictate, the s. of “person
who dictates a text” is however given some dictionaries, e.g. MWD., Wordsmyth
D., OED), disceptator, gladiator, imperator, lachrymator (1918), prestidigitator
(< F, coined by J. de Rovère), procurator, sternutator (1922, a BF from sternutation), etc. (≈ 50 items).
In terms of stress-assignment, unsuffixed nouns in -ator nearly all behave
as if there were an underlying verb base in -ate from which they may be
derived: dic'tator, tes'tator (cp. 'testate for the adjective) vs. 'lachrymator, ˌpresti'digitator (cf. §13.1.2 for stress rules of -ate). This principle
of analogical stress-assignment is propped up by the fact that American
English which, as will be seen in §13.1.2.1, stresses unprefixed twosyllable verbs in -ate initially ('narrator <~ 'narrate vs. nar'rator <~
nar'rate in British English), also assigns initial stress to three-syllable
nouns in –ator with no transparent base: 'dictator (dem. <≠ v. dictate),
'testator (syn. with n. testate) vs. dic'tator, tes'tator in GB. The same
dialectal difference is found in cu'rator (GB) and 'curator (US). Interestingly, the verb curate ([01] or [10] in GB and [10] in US), obviously a
back-formation, is now recorded in the sense “to act as a curator”. The
only noun in -ator with a bound stem which does not conform to the
analogical stressing described above is the Latin loan ˌimpe'rator.
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10.2.2 -or
Nouns in -or which are synchronically derivable from verbs other than
in -ate or nouns often denote specialist terms in Law, Anatomy or technical equipment. For a long time, -or was the privileged suffix in the
designation of a human agent in legal language (cp. -ant in assailant,
defendant, libellant and a few more in §10.2.1, above), being in this
function correlative to “patient” nouns in -ee (bail(or/ee), vend(or/ee),
cf. §5.1.1):
(6)
-or n.
a.deverbal (or synch. interpretable as such): advisor (< advise = -er), bailor (<
bail + -or), compressor (< compress vs. < L in OED), convenor (< convene,
more com.-er) + < L: assessor (<~ assess), < OF: assignor (<~ assign =
-er), conqueror (<~ conquer), counsel(l)or (<~ counsel), franchisor (1960 <
franchise = -er), etc1. (250 items)
b.denominal (id.): capacitor (1926 < capacit(y), by replacement of -y) + < L:
debtor (<~ debt) + < OF: council(l)or (<~ council), etc. (50 items)
Most nouns in -or analysable as formed from verbs other than in -ate are
derivable from a verb with an inseparable prefix ending in a [t] Many of
them have a synonymous variant in -er recorded in the Corpus.
(6a') < or <~ v. in [t] other than in -ate
[-kt-]: abductor, abstractor (= -er), actor, collector, compactor (= “appliance”,
compacter = “one who makes a compact”), conductor, connector (= -er), constructor (= -er), contactor (≠ contacter = “one who likes to touch”, slang, Urban D.), contractor, contradictor (+ -er), defector, deflector, detector (= -er),
detractor (= -er), director (directer is used in geometry), extractor, impactor
(= -er), inductor, inspector, instructor, obstructor (= -er), projector, prospector,
protector (= -er), protractor (id.), reflector, refractor, selector (= -er); [-nt]: inventor (id.), tormentor (= -er), adaptor (id.); [-pt-]: interceptor (id.), interruptor (id.) ; [-st]: adjustor (= -er, syn. in the s. of “one who investigates insurance
claims”), investor, protestor (= -er), resistor (= “an appliance to regulate electrical current ≠ resister = “someone in opposition to”), etc. + -ute contributor
(id.), distributor (= “electrical device”, syn. with distributer in the s. of “someone who distributes goods”), executor (= -er), persecutor, prosecutor.
Among the numerous legal language terms formed with -or, those
which have a correlate in -ee are, by analogy, alternatively stressable
1
Quittor (“a purulent infection” < OF cuiture) is to be distinguished from quitter.
177
on the suffix itself (ie 'bailor or bai'lor and sim. assignor, committor (vs.
committee in the now rare s. of “person to whom a person or a person’s
estate is committed”), distrainor, grantor, guarantor, lessor, mortgagor, obligor, payor, promisor, recognisor, trustor, vendor, warrantor, etc.
Remarkably mortgagor (< mortgag(e) + -or) maintains the realisation
in [dʒ] of its g despite the loss of e in the derivation (cp. obligor (from
oblig(e) + -or) pronounced with [g], as prescribed before <a, o, u>). The
orthographic variant mortgageor is however attested, as is pledgeor for
pledgor).
In more general senses or less formal contexts than legal proceedings or contract drafting, a variant in -er is here again (cf. (4),
(6) and (6a') above) often attested: assigner, distrainer, mortgager,
obliger (“someone who does a favour” ≠ obligor = “”a person bound
to another” or “a person who gives a bond”), payer, pledger, promiser,
recogniser, settler (in other senses than “ a person who settles in a
new area” ≠ settlor = “a person who makes a settlement of property”),
warranter, etc.
Affixation with -or (or older form -our) is exceptional with natives bases: behaviour < behave, bettor (+ -er) < bet. The base of warrior is actually of Nor. F origin werre, from O. North F, ult. from O Norse
werri worse, D.com vs. < OHG, OED).
Nouns in -or with non-transparent bases are chiefly loans from
Latin or French (+v = + v.).
(7)
accentor (“a variety of bird”), ambassador, ancestor, anchor+v, apparitor, auditor (here in the s. of “hearer” ≠ auditor <~ audit), author+v, bachelor, camphor,
candor, censor+v, chancellor (<≠ chancel), condor (< Sp.), conquistador (id.),
corridor, cuspidor (<≠ cuspid), cursor, doctor+v, horror, janitor, languor, lector,
liquor, locutor, manor, mayor, meteor, mirror+v, monitor+v, motor+v, predecessor, precursor, pr(a)etor, proctor+v, professor (dem. <≠ profess), razor, scissor(s), sponsor+v, squalor, stupor, tailor+v, tenor, terror, torpor, traitor, tremor,
tutor+v, victor, visor, etc. (≈ 100 items, diff. from nouns constructed with the Gk
CF -phor (= “carrier”): anaphor, cataphor, metaphor).
As is well-known, no orthographic difference is made in American
English for those words which are still spelt in British English and
other dialects with the Old French form -our of -or (+v = + v.): arbor,
ardor, armor+v, clamor+v, clangor, color+v, endeavor+v, favor+v, fervor,
flavor+v, glamor, harbor+v, (dis)honor+v, humor+v, labor+v, neighbor+v
178
(orig. not constructed with -or, from the OE form of nigh (neah) + the
Gmc base of boor), odor, parlor, rancor, rigor, rumor+v, savor+v, splendor, succor+v, tumor, valor, vapor, vigor + behavior, pavior and savior.
In synchronically transparent nouns, the variant -io(u)r of or is
only met with in behaviour, paviour (= paver), saviour (= saver, except in Christian usage when referring to “the Son of God”), warrior.
As has been seen in §7.3.1.11, -(i)or is also an adjectival ending denotative of Latin comparatives (anterior, exterior, interior, junior, major,
minor, posterior, senior, superior, ulterior) which have for some of
them produced nouns by null-conversion: junior, major, minor, senior,
superior.
A paradigmatic relation can be established between a number
of nouns in -o(u)r and adjectives in -id where neither affix can be
parsed out: candor/candid, horror/horrid, languor/languid, pallor/
pallid, splendour/splendid, squalor/squalid, torpor/torpid. Semantically, there is now no adjacent motivation between humour, and humid, liquor and liquid, rigor and rigid, stupor and stupid, tumor and
tumid or vapour and vapid. The only deadjectival noun in -or was
precisely formed from an adjective in -id: humidor < humid, after
cuspidor, according to OED).
10.2.3 Feminisation of -or nouns with -trix
This suffix (from homographic L -trix, cf. F -trice), serves to feminise
nouns in -tor (and sporadically in -t: autocratrix <~ autocrat, actually
the only example of this kind recorded in the Corpus) or to denote
geometric lines.
(8)Corpus inventory
a.feminine of n. in -tor: (co)adjutrix, administratrix, admonitrix, arbitratrix,
autocratrix, aviatrix (1927), competitrix, dictatrix, directrix, dominatrix,
(co)executrix, imitatrix, impropriatrix, inheritrix, janitrix, legislatrix, mediatrix, moderatrix, negotiatrix, oratrix, persecutrix, prosecutrix, rectrix,
relatrix, spectatrix, testatrix, tutrix, victrix.
b.geometric suffix: bisectrix, directrix, generatrix , indicatrix, osculatrix, separatrix (= “separator symbol in mathematics”), tractrix.
179
The allochthonous aspect of this suffix2 and its original complex
plural form in -ices may account for its marginalisation in Contemporary English. Indeed, not only does the neoclassical plural -es always
imply the realisation [i:z⁆ (instead of normative [1z⁆, as in buses, etc)
but it also causes a shift of primary stress when it attaches to a base with
an antepenult pattern, leading in this context to two licensed variants
(e'xecutrix > eˌxe'cutrices or -'trices, etc.. Despite the progressive generalisation of a regular neutral plural variant (e.g. e'xecutrixes, with -es
realised as [1z⁆) and the coinage of aviatrix in the early 20th century, the
suffix -trix has, in everyday vocabulary, been displaced by its rival feminine suffix -ess which has engendered a synonym for every -trix noun
recorded ((co)adjutress, administratress, admonitress, autocratress,
aviatress, etc.) or by gender-neutral locutions such as female/woman
aviator, etc. (about -ess and the defeminisation of occupation nouns in
English, cf. §10.5.2 above).
To make matters worse, all feminisations in -trix of agent nouns
in ‑ator stressed on the antepenultimate have generated a paroxytonic
variant (e.g. 'aviatrix or ˌavi'atrix), probably under the influence of the
antepenult variant (ˌavi'atrices) of the stress-shifting neoclassical plural
(cf. §16). Several nouns of this class are now noted in dictionaries with
this paroxytone pattern as first pronunciation: (feminine suffix: administratrix, dominatrix, impropriatrix, mediatrix, negotiatrix; geometric
terms: indicatrix, mediatrix, osculatrix), which makes -trix stand apart
from other C-initial suffixes.
Over the last two decades or so, some media have breathed a new
lease of life to the -trix suffix, first in comics, fantasy TV series and video
games inspired from the Marvel or Manga universes (Abominatrix 1990,
Animatrix 2003, Annihilatrix 2006, Exterminatrix 2000, Gladiatrix 1986,
Terminatrix 2003), then in cybersex sites and fora which abound with
terms such as amatrix, cuckoldrix3, humiliatrix, mastubatrix, temptrix,
modelled on dominatrix (1967, in the s. of “woman who is the dominant
partner in a sadomasochistic relationship”). No doubt that the revival of
2
3
180
The originally French -trice variant, e.g. interlocutrice, co-existed with -trix for
a while but was not successful.
An uncanonical formation since the base is not a noun in -(a)tor or in -t, cf.
autocratrix, and the suffix is reduced to -rix to avoid a [-dt-] sequence.
-trix in the contexts described above was spurred by the presence therein
of the letter x, a most obvious symbol for sex in western-world societies.
10.2.4 -ator and -or, final considerations
In transparent formations, e'xecutor, 'inspirator (“a device for injecting
or drawing a liquid or vapour” ≠ inspirer), 'orator and 'respirator are
seemingly the only nouns in -or or -ator which do not preserve the
stress of their putative base. According to LPD, initial stress is alternately licensed for executor in the sense “performer”. The verb o'rate (+
[10]) is actually a back-formation from oration (1860). As seen above,
legal terms in -or correlative to “patient nouns” in -ee all have a variant
with final stress ('bailor or bai'lor, etc.).
Nouns in -or with an opaque or obscure stem comply with
Fudge’s definition of “mixed suffixes”, having an oxytone pattern when
-or is preceded by a consonant cluster (impostor <≠ impost, praepostor, precentor, precursor, preceptor, dem. <≠ precept, thermistor 1940,
orig. a blend of therm(o) + (res)istor, transistor 1948, id. trans(fer) +
(res)istor, thyristor 1958, id. thyr(atron) + (res)istor, varistor 1937,
id. var(iable) + (res)istor) and being otherwise subject to the NSR:
apparitor, interlocutor, inquisitor (mostly dem. rel. to inquire), monitor,
progenitor, etc. However, ancestor, predecessor (+ [2010]), benefactor
(id.), malefactor and the combining-form compound chiropractor receive primary stress on the first syllable. Also initially stressed, carburettor (which has the alternative spellings carburetor, carburetter and
carbureter) is a strong-preservation derivative from the verb 'carburet.
Whether analysable as transparently suffixed, monomorphemic
or demotivated, nouns in -or or ‑ator are compatible with:
i. the adjectival suffix -(i)al
a.#-or# or #-ator# + -(i)al: curatorial, electoral, protectoral,
adaptorial, behavio(u)ral, directorial, editorial (edit is act. a BF
from editor), executorial, inspectorial, etc. (22 items);
b.bound -or or -ator + -(i)al: cantoral, doctoral, humoral, mayoral,
pastoral, tumoral, censorial, dictatorial, doctorial, equatorial
(equator is dem. <≠ equate), etc. (35 items);
181
ii. the noun suffix -ship
a. #-or# + or #-ator# +-ship: assessorship, collectorship, conductorship, creatorship, creditorship, curatorship, distributorship,
editorship, etc. (25 items);
b.bound -or + or -ator + -ship: auditorship, authorship, bachelorship, censorship, chancellorship, dictatorship, professorship,
etc. (30 items);
iii.the noun suffixes -ism and -ist
a.#or# + -ism or -ist: behaviourism (1913), investorism (The Word
Spy), behaviourist (1913), detectorist (1984, “a person whose
hobby is to use a detector”), special case: redemptorist < redemptor, synchronically derivable from redemption, analysable
as a bound allomorph of redeem
b.bound -or + -ism or -ist: authorism, colorism, humorism, interiorism, laborism, rigorism, tutorism, armo(u)rist, colorist, clamourist (+ -er), errorist, flavourist, humorist, laborist, memorist,
motorist, rigorist, tenorist (musician), terrorist.
Monomorphemic nouns in -or (or -our) additionally produce adjectives
in -(i)ous (clamorous, clangorous, fervorous, flavorous, harborous, humorous, odorous, languorous, liquorous, rigorous, savorous, traitorous,
valorous, vaporous, vigorous, laborious, victorious. Synchronically,
victory may be interpreted as derived from victor (cf. §14(1)). About
adjectives in -able such as anchorable, censorable, tailorable, etc. see
§12.
In Present-Day English -or and -ator have regularly been losing
ground to -er. Nouns in -or derivable from verbs in -ate are also marked
by declining productivity as the -ate affix is now very marginal in the
coinage of verbs (Plag, 1999).
Basically, both suffixes now chiefly contribute to the formation
of neologisms in technical terminology, more precisely in the naming
of appliances or devices: capacitor (1926), inhalator (1929), phasor
(1944), repressor (technical s. 1957), sensor (1958), travelator (1955)
etc. Additionally, loans or reconstructions from Latin roots (e.g. lachrymator), a process which has been at the basis of many nouns in ‑(at)or,
and back-formations (e.g. sternutator < sternutatory) are still likely to
bring new elements into this lexical class.
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10.3 -ist
10.3.1 General features
Defined in Webster’s D as “a noun suffix denoting an agent, or doer, one
who practices, a believer in”, -ist (from L -ista from Gk -istes) may chiefly be considered as deverbal when a verb counterpart in -ise is recorded.
Synchronically, however, there is no possibility to distinguish which of the
-ism, -ist or -ise affixed forms appeared first in such sets as exorcise/exorcism/exorcist. Historically, each of the six potential derivational patterns
((a) -ism > -ist > -ise; (b) -ism > -ise > -ist; (c) -ist > -ise > ism; (d) -ist >
-ism > ise; (e) -ise > -ism > -ist; (f) -ise > -ist > -ism) has been known to
occur. Besides, dyads or tryads of this kind have frequently been derived
from the same base instead of from each other (cf. next par.).
In Present-Day English, -ist is de facto the most productive denominal or deadjectival suffix in the denotation of a follower or supporter of a
belief, philosophy, artistic school or political or scientific system, mostly
in correlation with nouns in -ism. There are nearly 450 paradigmatic pairs
in -ism and -ist with a free nominal or adjectival base recorded in the
Corpus, of which about a third have entered the lexicon in the 20th and
21st Centuries. In D.com and/or OED such pairs are sometimes given as
having been formed from the same base (e.g. consumerism, consumerist
< consumer) or from the other member of the pair (e.g. < contextualist <
contextualism. In a majority of such pairs, the -ism formation has come
into the lexicon earlier than its -ist correlate.
(9)
a. examples of n. in -ist first recorded after their correlates in -ism:
activist (1908) / -ism (1905), consumerist (1944) / -ism (1915), constructivist
(1928) / -ism (1924), contextualist (1936) / -ism (1929), elitist (1950) / -ism
(1947, MWD.), escapist (1933 ≠ escapist, 1934 < escape, more com. escapee) / -ism (1933), essentialist (1945) / -ism (1939), existentialist (1945) /
-ism (1939), intentionalist (1946) / -ism (19th), monetarist (1971) / -ism (economic theory, 1969, MWD.), nudist (1926) / nudism (19th), operationalist
(1931) / -ism (1930), punctuationalist (1978) / -ism (id.), racist (1926) / -ism
(1903), structuralist (1907) / -ism (id.), unilateralist (1927) / -ism (1926), etc.
b. examples of n. in -ist first recorded before their correlates in -ism:
abstractionist (arts, 1917) / -ism (1921) , assimiliationist (1928) / -ism (date?
Given below assimilationist in MWD), deviationist (1930) / -ism (1940),
183
factualist (1935) / -ism (1946), interventionist (19th) / -ism (1923), isolationist (19th) / -ism (1922), Maoist (1949) / -ism (1950), transformationalist
(1964) > -ism (1969)
c.different meanings: minimalist (1906, political s. / -ism, 1927) ≠ minimalist
(1967, artistic s. / minimalism, 1929), prescriptivist (Linguistics, 1952 >
prescriptivism, 1953) ≠ prescriptivist (Ethics, 1960 / prescriptivism, id.),
reconstructionist (1861, Civil War context / reconstructionism, 1881) ≠
reconstructionist (“an advocate of progressive Judaism”, 1928 / reconstructionism, 1936)
Needless to say that Web searches increase the number of such pairs
considerably, particularly in relation with personal names (Cameron(ism/ist), Obam(ism/ist), Putin(ism/ist), etc. see however §10.3.4 below). As indicated by the Corpus, most pairs in -ism/-ist are derivable
from (a) a proper noun (140 items in -ism, 70 in -ist), (b) nouns in -ion
(transparently suffixed or with an obscure or opaque stem), 125 items
in -ism, 175 in -ist), (c) adjectives in -al (mostly transparently suffixed,
including those ending in -ional, 250 items in -ism, 180 in -ist).
When the -ism suffix appends to a demonymic adjective, it may
indicate (a) scholarly knowledge or advocacy (sometimes with the panprefix, e.g. pan-Arabism) of the customs, language(s) and culture of a
given area or civilisation, (b) a specific linguistic or dialectal usage. It
goes without saying that counterpart nouns in -ist are only possible in
adequation with (a):
(10)
-ist, -ism affixing to a demonymic base
a.
-ism: knowledge of or allegiance to a geopolitical entity > ‑ist: a specialist in
or defender of the customs or culture characteristic of this entity: Africanism
(+ sense b.) / Africanist, Americanism (id.) / Americanist, Anglicism (id.) /
Anglicist, Pan-Arabism/Pan-Arabist, Canadianism (+ sense b.) / Canadianist, Celtism/Celtist (or Celticism/ Celticist), Occidentalism/Occidentalist,
Orientalism/ Orientalist, Pan-Slavism /Pan-Slavist, Yiddishism (+ sense b.) /
Yiddishist, etc.
b.-ism: specific linguistic or dialectal usage (no corresponding noun in -ist):
Africanism (non-correlative with Africanist in this s.) and sim. Americanism, Canadianism, Celticism, Germanism, Italianism (or Italicism), Saxonism (cp. Saxonist “someone versed in the Saxon language”), Yiddishism,
colloquialism, Cockneyism, Englishism, Gallicism, Londonism, Scotticism, etc.
In other lexical fields, a few pairs in which -ism and -ist may be interpreted as affixed to the same base are similarly characterised by a
184
different meaning: alienist <≠ alienism, organist (from organ = “musical instrument”) <≠ organism (from organise).
10.3.2 -ist and affix-substitution
As regards pairs with no recognisable base in Present-Day English, it
must be reminded that a reconstruction of their derivational axis is next
to impossible given the affix-substitution which is characteristic of -ism
and -ist and their possible verb correlates in -ise. The same problem
occurs in relation with the hundreds of -ist nouns semantically linkable
to a learned construction in -y, either in the sense “follower, advocate
or practicer of a political, philosophical, religious or other system” (e.g.
theosophy/theosophist), or in the sense “specialist in” (e.g. geology/
geologist). Given the proliferation of philosophical or political doctrines
and allegiances, paralleled by an ever-growing number of new scientific disciplines, and, on a strictly linguistic plane, the huge potential of
word-formation from neoclassical combining forms, -ism and -ist are
still amongst the most vivacious suffixes in English, as they are in other
European languages making use of the same stock in the construction
of learned words.
As has been suggested for -er (cf. §9.2.2.), such nouns in -ist will
be synchronically best analysed as derived by affix-substitution from
learned constructions in -y, even though quite a few of them have been
derived from other bases (e.g. bibliophilist (< bibliophil(e) + -ist, although bibliophily is attested), cryptogamist (< cryptogam + -ist, id.
cryptogamy), physiatrist (1946) < physiatr(ics) + -ist, id. physiatry,
etc.). The synchronic analysis suggested here is not merely a makeshift
contrivance since most -ist nouns semantically linkable to learned or
other nouns in -y are, historically, authentic derivations which, in all
periods of English, have entailed truncation of the final -y:
(11)Authentic -ist derivatives from
a.learned CF compounds in -y: bigamist (< bigam(y) + -ist) and sim. biologist (< biolog(y)), economist (< econom(y)), geologist (< geolog(y)),
phonologist (< phonolog(y)), physiologist (< physiolog(y)), philanthropist
(< philanthrop(y)), polyandrist (< polyandr(y)), psychiatrist (< psychiatr(y)), etc.
185
b.other nouns in -y: (1923 < fantas(y) + -ist) and sim. glossarist (< glossar(y)),
ironist (< iron(y)), larcenist (or -er < larcen(y)), melodist (< melod(y)), memorist (< memor(y)), miscellanist (< miscellan(y)), etc.
c.
two-syl. n. in -y (vacillation between truncation and preservation of -y:
diarist (< diar(y) + -ist), querist (< quer(y) + -ist) vs. copyist (< copy +
-ist), hobbyist (< hobby), lobbyist (< lobby + ist), rallyist (1956 < rally +
‑ist).
Similarly when there is no recognisable base for a paradigmatic -ism and
-ist pair, the noun in -ist will be best regarded as derived by affix-substitution from its -ism counterpart, whether the latter be a learned construction (e.g. monotheist <~ monotheism) or a now opaque or obscure
formation (e.g. chauvinist <~ chauvinism, dem., orig. from (Nicolas)
Chauvin) since, in the history of English, this derivational axis has been
statistically more common than the opposite one (e.g. autist (date? <
aut(ism), 1912), Judaist (19th < Juda(ism) (16th)+ -ist), pessimist (19th <
pessim(ism) (18th) + -ist vs < L in OED), etc.
(12)
-ist, synchronically analysable as derived from nouns in
a.-ism (< or <~ -ism): altruist, antagonist, autist, chauvinist, fascist, hedonist,
nepotist, optimist , pessimist, polytheist, etc. (150 items);
b.-y (< or <~ -y), mostly neoclassical CFs + -y: -graphy, -logy, -phily, etc.:
climatologist, criminologist, cryptographist, cynophilist, polygamist, urbanologist, etc. (400 items, including 260 in -logist)
Besides nouns in -y and in -ism, learned constructions with a neoclassical ending entail, as is normally the rule, truncation of the final element
(cf. §0(6)): hypothesist (< hypothes(is)) = hypothetist (<~ hypothet(ise)
or hypothes(is), with s > t, act < hypothetise) = hypothetiser (< hypothetise). In a purely synchronic approach, the paradigmatic pattern in -lyst
nouns is akin to that of -ise and -ist: analyst (< F <~ anal(yse) + -ist),
catalyst (1902 <~ catal(yse) + id., act < catalysis, on the analogy of
analyst; about analyse, catalyse, etc., cf. 13(12).
10.3.3 -ist or -er?
-er being first and foremost a deverbal agent suffix and -ist being chiefly
denominal and deadjectival, it is in their denominal noun-forming function that they are most likely to be rival or synonymous suffixes. The
186
fact that both are found in a paradigmatic relation in association with
combining-form compounds (e.g. calligrapher/calligraphist) gives
substance to the resolution that they should be handled as stresspreserving denominal suffixes personalising learned formations in -y
(cal'ligraph(er/ist) < cal'ligraphy, etc.). In association with Greek or
Latin elements -ist is much more used than -er (§9.2.2), which is otherwise the most prolific suffix denoting animates. Thus, -ist has combined
with most neo-classical combining forms apt to yield nominalisations in
-y, among which -andr-, -anthrop-, -arch-, -derm-, -erg-, -gam-, -gnom-,
-gog-, ‑gor-, -graph-, -gyn-, -iatr-, -log-, -loqu-, -mach-, -nom-, -olatr-,
-onym-, -path-, -phil-, -scope, -soph-, -typ-, -urg-. As seen in §9.2.2,
-er has, by contrast, associated with only eight combining forms of the
same type (‑gnom-, -graph-, -log, -manc, -nom-, -olatr-, -soph-, -typ-). It
should however be noted that -ist has been displaced by -er, in association
with the combining form -graph-, whilst the opposite phenomenon has
occurred with -log-:
(13)
Comparative populations
a.-grapher vs. -graphist: calligrapher, choreographer, demographer, epigrapher, hagiographer, telegrapher, etc. (95 items); calligraphist, demographist, epigraphist, hagiographist, telegraphist, etc. (35)
b.-logist vs. -loger: apologer (obs. = “a teller of apologues”), astrologer, campanaloger, cataloger (= “a specialist librarian”), chronologer, cosmologer,
demonologer, Egyptologer, geologer, horologer, insectologer, mythologer,
oesteologer, philologer, phonologer, phrenologer, physiologer, sociobiologer, spermologer, theologer, zoologer (21 items); apologist, astrologist,
campanologist, catalogist (= “a person who catalogues”), chronologist,
cosmologist, demonologist, Egyptologist, geologist, horologist, mythologist,
oesteologist, philologist, phonologist, phrenologist, physiologist, sociobiologist, spermologist, theologist, zoologist, etc. (260)
The other five element-B combining forms compatible with -ist and -er
have also spawned synonymous pairs:
(14)
Other neoclassical CFs affixable with -ist and -er
a.-gnomist/-gnomer: physiognomist/gnomer (same def.);
b.
-(o)latrist/-(o)later: bibliolatrist/olater (same def.), monolatrist/olater (id.);
the ensuing constructions have no var. in the Corpus: anthropolater, astrol­
ater, demonolater, ecclesiolater, hagiolater, iconolater, idolater, mariolater,
ophiolater
187
c.-nomist/-nomer: gastronomist/nomer (same def.), taxonomist/nomer (id.);
the ensuing constructions have no var. in the Corpus: agronomist, antinomist, demonomist, deuteronomist, economist, ergonomist; astronomer,
historionomer
d.
-sophist/-sopher: theosophist (“a believer in theosophy”) / theosopher (id.),
cp. philosopher ≠ philosophist (“a pretender in philosophy”); the ensuing
constructions have no var. in the Corpus: chirosophist (“a fortune teller”),
deipnosophist (“a dinner-table conversationalist”), gymnosophist (“an adept
of gymnosophy”); psilosopher (“a sham philosopher”)
e.
-typist/-typer: daguerrotypist/typer (same def.), electrotypist/typer (id.),
linotypist/linotyper (id.), phonotypist/typer (“one versed in phonotypy, a
system of phonetic shorthand, as that invented by Sir Isaac Pitman in 1837”),
Varityper (= “a brand of typewriter” ≠ varitypist (= “user of the latter”).
From the examination of (14), it appears that:
i. -er outnumbers -ist (and quite obviously so) only in association
with -(o)latry;
ii.-sophist often conveys a notion of dilettantism, oddity or charlatanism: deipnosophist, gymnosophist (the practise of gymnosophy, an
old Indian philosophy, demanded nudity of its adepts), philosophist ≠
philosopher, chirosophist ≠ chirosopher (not listed in the Corpus,
definition from Encyclo Online Encyclopedia: “someone who has
extensive knowledge about hands”);
iii.-typist and -typer combinations are interchangeable unless ‑typer
designates a typewriter or word-processor trademark, in which case
-typist will denote a user of the latter: Varityper ≠ varitypist + (not
listed in the Corpus): Prototyper (“interface builder for the Macintosh operating system”) ≠ prototypist (user of the former), Unityper
(“input device for the UNIVAC computer”) ≠ unitypist (id.), etc.
In the Corpus, -mancy nouns exclusively have corresponding animate
nouns in -mancer (= “diviner”): aeromancer, astromancer, cartomancer,
chiromancer, geomancer, hydromancer, lithomancer, necromancer,
oneiromancer, onomancer, pyromancer, rhabdomancer. There again,
other sources return rival synonyms in -mancist: chiromancist (OED),
pyromancist (Ernst Belfort Bax, 2002 [1907]: 151) + (from the Web):
agromancist, geomancist, etc. However, it is the more usual -mancer
element which has gained new productivity over the last two decades
188
in fantasy comics, films and video games, sometimes with the extended
sense of “technological wizard” (e.g. from Web pages: cerebremancer,
chronomancer, cybermancer, neuromancer, polymancer, shadowmancer, technomancer (now in Urban D., in the sense of “one who is technologically elite”)).
The -(o)latry element is also showing continued productivity in
association with proper names in the sense of “fanatical devotion to”
(e.g. from Internet pages: Blairolatry, Clintonolatry, Dianolatry (or
Dianalatry), Hitlerolatry, Kennedolatry, Obamalatry (or Obamolatry),
Palinolatry, Thatcherolatry, etc.). Corresponding examples in -later are
however very few (e.g.: Obamalater).
When derived from a verb in -ise, whether or not there is a correlative noun in -ism, agent nominalisations in -er are sporadically synonymous with -ist nouns. In this context, the synonym in -ist may be
itself a deverbal agent nominalisation (e.g. publiciser (< publicise) =
publicist (id., with compulsory replacement of -ise by -ist) or formed
from a noun or an adjective (obviously the most common configuration, e.g. memorialiser (< memorialise) = memorialist (< memorial). In
most cases, however, there is no synonymy between both forms, the -ist
formation conveying its basic semantic function, ie indicating a person
skilled in a science, art, technology, etc. or advocating an idea, belief,
principle, etc. (generally in correlation with -ism nouns), instead of
denoting the performer of an action:
(15)
aromatiser (“one who or that which aromatises”) vs. aromatist (from the Web =
“a specialist in herbs, essential oils, etc”.), centraliser (“one who centralises”)
vs. centralist (“an advocate of centralism”), coloniser (= “a settler”) vs. colonialist (“an advocate of colonialism”), economiser (“a person bent on limiting
spending”) vs. economist (“a specialist in economics”), Judaiser (“someone
who reinforces or converts others to Judaism”) vs. Judaist (“an adherent or supporter of Judaism”), moraliser (“someone involved in moralising”) vs. moralist
(“someone with strong beliefs about right and wrong” or “a scholar dealing
with moral principles”), pluraliser (“something or someone that pluralises”) vs.
pluralist (“an advocate of pluralism), etc.
As denominal suffixes -er and -ist are both apt to attach to -ion nouns.
In this context, -ist is again principally (≈ 100 of 120 items) denotative of a person advocating a theory, system, artistic movement,
189
etc.4, the latter being, as expected, usually designated by the -ism suffix:
creation(ism/ist), evolution(ism/ist), functional(ism/ist), impression(ism/
ist), intentiona(ism/ist), revision(ism/ist), etc. It is only when it refers to
an activity (often of a political kind) or an attitude (generally seen in a
negative light, cf. (16b.) below), that -ist may be synonymous with -er
nouns: coalition(er/ist), exclusion(er/ist), extortion(er/ist), faction(er/ist),
insurrection(er/ist), partition(er/ist), petition(er/ist), probation(er/ist),
procession(er/ist), religion(er/ist), requisition(er/ist), resolution(er/ist),
restoration(er/ist), revolution(er/ist) (both r., the standard n. is revolutionary), tradition(er/ist), vacation(er/ist).
As mentioned in §7.4.7.2, -er and -ist may be used interchangeably in the suffixation of nouns in -scape: landscap(er/ist), etc. There are
also contrastive pairs in which -er designates an instrument, device, etc.
and ‑ist a person linked to a skill, science or technology: atomiser vs.
atomist, see also atomician (§1.2.1).
10.3.4 -ist or -ian?
Besides its demonymic function (e.g. a Bostonian, an Italian) which
-ist does not have, -ian is another rival suffix of -ist used in the designation of a follower of a politician or an adherent to the doctrine(s) or
teaching(s) of a scientist, theoretician, etc.: Churchillian, Clintonian,
Darwinian, Freudian, etc.
In the context of politics, -ist is often perceived as conveying
a somewhat less positive connotation than -ian (e.g. a Clintonian / a
Clintonist), although not to the extent of -ite, which is now generally
only pejorative or ironic (e.g.: a Clintonite, cf. §10.4 below). Still, with
a political figure whose name is associated with a historically important
ideology designated by the -ism suffix, the -ist suffix usually prevails:
Leninism > Leninist; and, similarly: Bonapartist, Bourbonist, Castrist,
Maoist, Marxist, Orleanist, Stalinist, Titoist, Trotskist, Zionist, etc. It
may of course happen that some of these ideologies should now be seen
in a negative light or deemed opprobrious.
4
190
Which probably explains the disproportion between -ist and -er suffixations (32
items) formed from -ion nouns, since -er does not normally convey this sense.
According to Quirk et al (1985: 1552), a specific connotation
is attached to -ist in connection with someone embracing a scientist’s,
philosopher’s or theoretician’s heritage, denoting staunch adherence or
devotion to a system or theory (He’s an out-and-out Darwinist, ibid.) as
opposed to -ian (Darwinian) which the same authors deem to be more
neutral. If this analysis is correct, the many other pairs of the Darwinist/
Darwinian kind retrievable from the Corpus or from Web pages should
denote the same nuance (Comtian/Comtist, Kantian/Kantist, Mendelian/Mendelist, etc.). At any rate, no negative connotation can be inferred
when -ist is the only suffix sanctioned by usage correlative to a philosophical, religious, or scientific system in -ism founded or inspired
by a person: Buddhism/Buddhist, Fourierism/Fourierist, Taoism/Taoist,
etc. Reciprocally, -(i)an can be the only suffix licensed in this semantic
field: Lutheran vs. Calvinist (but a Lutherist is recorded in the s. of “one
versed in or devoted to the study of Luther”, OED). Usage recommends
one of either form in the following nouns: Aristotelian, Platonist (same
as Platonician, Platonian being a rival adjective of Platonic or Platonist), Ptolemaist (Ptolemeian id. = Ptolemaic), Socratist (Socratian id. =
Socratic), Spinozist (Spinozian id.).
The existence of an -ist rival form of -ian (or -arian as in libertarian < liberty, cf. §3(3)) should have been rendered unnecessary when
the name of a system in -ism has been derived from a bicategorial (adj.
and n.) word in -ian (or -arian). Even though it is apparently the case in
Augustianism, Freudianism, Hegelianism, Keynesianism, Smithianism,
Swedenborgianism, Victorianism, Wesleyanism, etc. (130 derivatives of
this kind in the Corpus with no corresponding nouns in -ist), the Corpus
contains a few cases belying this principle, with two possible derivational patterns (a) Confucian > Confucianism and Confucianist (same
definition as Confucian, n. and adj); (b) Fabian > Fabianism > Fabianist
(id. Fabian).The other examples of the Corpus are contractarian > contractarianism, contractarianist (<?), humanitarian > humanitarianism,
humanitarianist (<?), millenarian > millenarianism and millenarianist,
Porphyrian/ean > Porphyrianism and Porphyrianist, Rosicrucian > Rosicrucianism > Rosicrucianist (<?), totalitarian > totalitarianism > totalitarianist (<?), traducian > traducianism and traducianist, utopian >
utopianism and utopianist, Zwinglian > Zwinglianism and Zwinglianist.
191
Despite Quirk et al’s appraisal of -ist vs. -ian, dictionary definitions indicate that the variants above can be used interchangeably without
any patent difference of appreciation expressed by either form. Internet
searches show that many more forms of this kind are used in high-register
and scholarly texts: Hegelianist (n. and adj.), Keynesianist (id.), libertarianist (id.), Malthusianist (id.), etc. Besides, although not listed in the
Corpus, nouns such as Edwardianist, Victorianist, etc. in the sense of
“scholar specialised in” (here respectively the Edwardian and Victorian
periods cf. Americanist, etc. in (10a) above) are naturally licensed.
In relation with a base in -ic(s), affixation in -ian denoting a specialist is statistically more common than with -ist: academician, arithmetician, cosmetician, electrician, mathematician, etc. (62 items) vs.
empiricist, ethicist, lyricist, polemicist, etc. (29 items, cf. §1.2.2). Some
synonymous pairs are met with: genetician/geneticist, technician/technicist, the one in -ician being seemingly more commonly used. Nouns
in -ist (and/or -ism) formed from a base in -ics are synchonically recognisable from those derived from -ic adjectives in that they entail affix-replacement: bibliotist (1905 MWD < bibliot(ics) + -ist) and similarly exodontist (1913 < exodont(ics) vs. exodontia in OED), geriatrist
(1905–10 < geriatr(ics)), physiatrist (1946 < physiatr(ics)), etc., cp.
eugenicist (1916 < eugenic + -ist, cp. eugenist (same s.) < eugen(ics) or
(ic) + -ist), geneticist (1904 < genetic + -ist), etc. Different meanings are
found in monarchian (“an adept of monarchianism”, an early doctrine
in the Christian Church) and monarchist or physician and physicist.
With the -log- combining form, -ian has been supplanted by -ist
(arch(a)eologist/logian, astrologist/logian/loger, geologist/logian/loger,
mythologist/logian/loger, neologist/logian, philologist/ogian/loger, theologist/logian/loger). With other prefinal combining forms of neo-classical origin (e.g. -andr-, -gor-, -gam-, -gyn-, -mach-), -ian is adjectival,
rivalling in such contexts with -ic or -ous: gynandrian, polyandrian,
phantasmagorian, monogamian, polygamian, pentagynian, polygynian,
tauromachian, etc.
In association with proper names, -ist is also freely used adjectivally: Darwinist Theory, Stalinist regime, etc. When they obtain, adjectival pairs in -ist and -ian are seemingly interchangeable (Darwinist or
Darwinian Theory).
192
10.3.5 Other usages of the -ist suffix
The -ist suffix is also very productive in the designation of a person
involved in a given activity, whether the latter be artistic (e.g. someone
who plays a musical instrument), occupational, leisurable or reprehensible. The nouns of this class are predominently denominal:
(16)
-ist denoting a person according to:
a.their occupation, hobby, artistic skills, etc.: accompanist, altoist, bassist, bassoonist, cellist, citharist, clarinettist, cymbalist, duettist, guitarist, harpist,
harpsichordist, lutist, mandolinist, oboist, organist, percussionist, pianist,
piccoloist, soloist, trombonist, trumpetist (+ trumpeter), violist, vibraphonist,
violinist, xylophonist; columnist, editorialist (1901), enamellist (+ -er), dramatist, essayist, fantasist (1923), fictionist, fuguist, hospitalist (1971 = “a specialist in inpatient medicine” <≠ hospitalism = “hospital conditions having
an adverse effect on patients”), humourist, memoirist, pantomimist, scenarist
(1920), tobacconist, watercolo(u)rist, balloonist, canoeist, (motor)cyclist, excursionist, hobbyist (cf. (11c.) above), motorist, parachutist, vacationist, etc.
b.a prejudiced attitude or a reprehensible activity: ageist, arsonist, Decembrist,
rapist, sacrilegist, sexist, terrorist + (from -ion n.) abortionist, corruptionist,
exhibitionist, extortionist, insurrectionist, etc.
There is inconsistency in spelling (and consequently pronunciation)
when -ist attaches to an Italian noun in -o: altoist, piccoloist, soloist vs.
cellist, pianist, scenarist, sopranist (as indicated by its j, banjo, is not
of It. origin). As seen in §10.3.3, nouns in -ionist may have a variant in
-er: extortion(er/ist) excursion(ist/er), etc. With words of (16a), corresponding nouns in -ism are few, e.g. alpinism/alpinist, tourism/tourist
(now dem. <≠ tour).
10.3.6 Nouns in -ist with an obscure or opaque stem
Once all nouns in -ist transparently suffixed from a noun or an adjective,
with or without a correlate in -ism (Taoism/ist < Tao, guitarist < guitar)
or relatable by affix substitution to a noun in -ism or in -y (theologist <
theolog(y) vs. < L in OED, polytheist < polythe(ism)), are discounted,
there remain relatively few items in -ist (55 out of ≈ 1,100) with no recognisable base in Present-Day English: amorist, aorist, aurist, casuist
(produced casuistry in the 18th, cf. 10.3.8, ii below), cambist, chemist
193
(produced chemistry in the 16th), dentist, florist, grammatist (obs.), hypocist, ignicolist (r.), jurist, lapidarist/lapidist, legist, linguist, Marist
(< F, dem. <≠ Mary), metrist (< L or < meter), tourist (id., now dem.
<≠ tour), etc. These words are subject to the NSR: 'hypocist, 'lapidist,
la'pidarist, etc.
10.3.7 -ist and stress neutrality
Held in the literature as stress neutral, the -ist suffix has been defined
by Guierre and his followers as stress-imposing in association with
learned constructions of neoclassical origin (cf. §9.2.2), a contention
which finds some support in quite a few cases when appealing to etymological evidence (e.g. 'bibliophile > ˌbibli'ophilist, 'cryptogam >
cryp'togamist5. The synchronic treatment suggested in this chapter,
namely treating such words as bibliophilist and cryptogamist as derived
from respectively bibliophily and cryptogamy, permits to eliminate
most historical exceptions to -ist’s stress neutrality, as has been done
with -er (cf. §9.2.2.), except for nouns derived from a compound ending
with the Latin combining form -culture, which shift primary stress to
the antepenultimate: ˌagri'culturist, ˌmari'culturist, ˌsilvi'culturist, etc.
(20 items).
With the adoption of this derivational pattern, the irregularly
stressed words which remain are, outside those in 'culturist, 'aquarist (+
[010] in US English < aquar(ium) + -ist), di'alog(u)ist (+ 'dialoguist in
OED, not updated, < 'dialog(ue) cp. 'monolog(u)ist + [010]), ˌepi'grammatist (< ˌepi'grammatise vs. < L in OED <~ 'epigram), sa'xophonist
('saxophone + [1000], sole pronunciation given in OED, no correlative word in ‑phony), vibraphonist (1929 + [1000] < 'vibraphone, id.),
xy'lophonist (1927 + [1000] in US), 'pianist (< piano), ˌpane'gyrist (+
[1000] < Late L, ult. < Gk vs. 'panygere, obs., in OED, cp. 'panegyrise)
and 'volcanist (< vol'cano, = “a specialist in volcanoes”, cp. 'volcanism
= “natural phenomena associated with volcanos”). Telephonist (which
5
194
Stress displacement is however not systematic when -ist attaches to a combining-form compound: 'catalog(u)ist, 'monolog(u)ist.).
has a correlative word in -phony) admits initial or antepenult stress in
US English.
10.3.8 Suffix stacking
As seen in this chapter, whether they are synchronically derivable from
‑ism nouns of system, ideology, etc. (environmental(ism/ist), etc.) or
whether they stand alone (at least in the Corpus: developmentalist), -ist
nouns of persons are formed from most classes of nouns or adjectives.
The affixes (separable or bound) to which -ism and/or -ist mostly concatenate are -al (environmentalist, nationalist, etc., 250 items in -ism
and 180 in -ist, including 35 in -ionalist: educationalist, recreationalist,
etc. and 12 in -mentalist: developmentalist, environmentalist, etc.), -ion:
exclusionist, segregationist, unionist, etc. (80 items in -ism and 175 in
-ist), -ic (Biblicist, organicist, etc. 85 items in -ism and 29 in -ist), -ian
(150 items in -ism, 25 in -ist) and -arian (29 items in -ism and 5 in -ist).
Nouns in -ist admit suffixation with:
i.-ic or -ical: (cf. §1.4.2): Calvinistic, Hebraistic, materialistic, symbolistic, voyeuristic, (250 items, about Kiparsky’s analysis of adjectives in -istic and our criticism thereof, cf. §1.2.2, footnote 1),
Calvinistical, Hebraistical, materialistical, symbolistical, voyeuristical, (30);
ii.-ry (cf. §7.2.5): alchemistry, (Ana)Baptist(e)ry, casuistry, chemistry (+ compounds: astro/bio/cosmo/cytochemistry, etc.), dentistry,
palmistry (< palm + obscure second element, perhaps -estre, OEtymD and OED, palmist is prob. a BF from the former, MWD. and
OED), sophistry (< OF), touristry (< tourist).
Items of i. are generally synonymous with more commonly used -ist adjectives (cf. §1.2.2). -istic is however attested as a real adjective suffix,
with no corresponding -ist form, in:
(14)
(Partially reprised from 1.2.2, i-ii and ensuing paragraphs
a.< or <~ -ism: albinistic (albin(ism) + -istic) and sim ameristic (< Gk <~
amer(ism)), atonalistic (post-1928 < atonal(ism)), cannibalistic (<~ canni­
balism < cannibal + -istic), dioristic (< Gk <~ diorism), dysphemistic
195
(< dysphem(ism)), erethistic (< Gk <~ ereth(ism)), holistic (1926 < hol(ism)),
hypocoristic (< Gk <~ hypocor(ism)), melanistic (< melan(ism)), etc.
b.< or <~ Neo-Latin bases: floristic (< flor(a)), hubristic (< GK <~ hubris),
yogistic (<? <~ yoga), etc., exc: mediumistic (< medium)
c.< or < bases ending in a liquid: characteristic (< Gk <~ character + -istic), polaristic (< polar), stylistic (< style, not relatable to stylist), voyeuristic
(1929 < voyeur vs. < voyeurist, OED, 1955 (!), not listed in the Corpus),
Finally, items in -ist with an unparseable correlate in -ism are strictly
nominal: altruist, autist, jurist, optimist, pessimist, etc. (cp. corresponding adj. altruistic, autistic, juristic(al), optimistic(al), pessimistic(al),
etc.). The adjectives linguistic(al) and stylistic(al) do not relate to respectively linguist (16th < L lingu(a), the variant linguistician, 19th, in
the sense “specialist in linguistics” is still occasionally used) and stylist
(“designer in hairdressing, clothing”, etc. < style) but to linguistics and,
again, style (stylistic(al) < style + -istic(al)). The -istical combination is
now generally perceived as unnatural or quaint. Adjectives in -istic(al)
are naturally apt to yield adverbs in -ly urbanistically, vandalistically,
vitalistically, voyeuristically, etc. (190 items) and nouns in -ness: atheisticness, atheisticalness, characteristicalness, deisticalness, patristic­
alness, sophisticalness. These formations are generally considered as
quaint or awkward by native speakers.
Despite the case of palmistry, synchronically analysable as derived from its back-formation palmist, itself analysable as a derivative
from palm, only nouns in -ist with an obscure or opaque stem yield
suffixations in -ry.
10.4 -ite
This suffix (from L -ita, via F, ult. from Gk -itēs) designates:
i. a descendent of a patriarch or biblical figure: Cushite (< Cush), Edomite (< Edom), Ephraimite (< Ephraim) Ishmaelite (< Ishmael),
Japhetite (< Japhet), Jebusite (< Jebus), Levite (< Levi), Maronite
(“a Middle-East Christian supposedly descended from Maron”),
S(h)emite (< S(h)em), etc.
196
ii. a supporter of the ideas, doctrines, etc., of a political, philosophic,
artistic or religious movement, generally correlative to its founder’s
name: Adamite, Benthamite, Grahamite, Irvingite, Islamite, labourite, Luddite (< Ludd), McCarthyite, Mennonite, Mormonite, Owenite, Parnellite, Pre-Raphaelite, Reaganite, Shelleyite, Stakhanovite,
Taylorite, Thatcherite, Trostkyite, etc.
iii. more rarely someone from a city, area or nation and, if applicable,
a language related to one of these: Canaanite (inhabitant of ancient
region + extinct lang.), Israelite, Moabite (inhabitant of ancient kingdom + extinct lang.), Muscovite (< Muscovy vs. < L in OED, by extension an inhabitant or native of Moscow), Ninevite (< Nineveh),
Gothamite, Wisconsinite, Wyomingite, Yemenite, etc.
Although it is supposed to be denominal in classes i. to iii., the noun
suffix -ite has attached to adjectives to produce suburbanite (19th < sub­
urban) and socialite (1909 < social). Now supplanted by -ist in its sec­
ond sense, this suffix often conveys an ironic or disparaging connotation
vis-à-vis a follower of a movement or doctrine: Stakhanovite (1935 <
Alexei G. Stakhanov, cp. more neutral Stakhanovist, 1938), McCarthyite
(1952, cp. McCarthyist, 1952), etc. All -ite nouns of i., ii., iii., are
alternatively used adjectivally.
The -ite noun suffix is still productive in scientific word-formation, where it is used in naming (a) a salt or ester of an acid named by a
syntagm constructed with an adjective in -ous (cp. -ic/-ate, penult par.
of §15.5): sulphite <~ sulphous acid, nitrite <~ nitrous acid, etc. (b) a
rock, mineral or fossil organism; in the latter case it generally appends
to a proper name indicative of the person who discovered it or in whose
honour it was named, or the place where it was first found: albertite (<
Alberta), amazonite (< Amazon), andalusite (< Andalucia), aragonite
(< Aragon), buchholtzite (< Bucholtz), bytownite (< Bytown, former
name of Ottawa), campbellite (< Campbell), etc. (200 items).
In all the senses catalogued in this subsection, the separable noun
suffix -ite is stress neutral: 'Amazon (the river) > 'amazonite (“a type
of green feldspar”), 'Ishmael > 'Ishmaelite, 'Jefferson > 'jeffersonite
(“a variety of pyroxene”, named after T. Jefferson), 'Labrador > 'labradorite (“feldspar mineral”, first discovered in Labrador), 'Roosevelt >
'rooseveltite (“a grey mineral consisting of bismuth arsenate”), etc.
197
Deverbal suffixed forms or words in -ite with a bound stem are
governed by other stress rules (cf. §13.1.3.1).
Whether relating to minerals, fossils or rocks or denoting persons, transparently suffixed nouns in -ite freely adjectivise with -ic:
Canaanitic, crystallitic, Cushitic, Ephraemitic, evaporitic (< evaporite
= “any sedimentary rock formed from evaporating seawater”) < evaporat(e) + -ite), Islamitic, Isreaelitic, Japhetitic, Jebusitic, kimberlitic,
labradoritic, Levitic, Maronitic, meteorit(ic/al), Moabitic, pearlitic, Semitic, etc. When they denote a person, transparently suffixed nouns in
-ite may synonymously be adjectivised with -ish: Canaanish, Edomitish, Ishmaelitish Islamitish, Israelitish, Moabitish, Ninevitish, Shemitish, etc., cf. §8.2.3.
Until the late 19th century, suffixed nouns in -ite were nomina­lised
with -ism to denote a theory, doctrine or creed: favouritism, Ludditism,
Mennonitism, Pre-Raphaelitism, (anti/-philo-)Semitism. Now the suffix
‑ite normally substitutes with -ism (Thatcherite <~ Tharcherism).
As said above, the -ite suffix is rarely used today other than in an
ironic or depreciatory mode to designate a supporter of a doctrine or
policy. One recent exception is precisely Thatcherite (1976), which was
the original noun coined to refer to a supporter of Margaret Thatcher,
now co-existing with Thatcherist6.
10.5 Unproductive person or instrument suffixes
10.5.1 -ard
This generally pejorative suffix (< OF, prob. < Frankish vs < G. in
OED) is no longer productive. Synchronically, the only nouns in which
it is still recognisible are: blinkard (arch. < blink), bollard (< bol(e)),
communard (< F < (la) Commune), dizzard (arch. < dizz(y)), dotard
(< dot(e)), Dreyfusard (< F < Dreyfus), drunkard (< drunk), dullard
6
198
Supporters of R. Reagan and M. Thatcher still tend to describe themselves as
“Reaganites” and “Thatcherites”.
(< dull), dunkard (Americanism, “an adherent of Baptist doctrines practising immersion” < dunk), laggard (< lag), loppard (< lop), musard
(obs. < mus(e)), Savoyard (< F Savo(ie >y)), sluggard (< slug), Spaniard (< OF <~ Spa(i)n + -iard), staggard (< stag, “a four-year-old male
red deer”), stinkard (< stink).
A greater number of obscure or opaque formations, directly
taken from French or coined with the suffix -ard in various periods of
English are listed in dictionaries: asgard, bastard, billiard(s), blizzard,
bombard, brassard, buzzard, camisard, canard, coward, custard (< a
metathetic var. of croustade), dastard (prob. < daze), gizzard, haggard, milliard, mustard (dem. orig. < must = “new wine”), niggard,
petard, standard, tankard (< tank, dem.), wizard (< wise, dem.), etc.
A few -ard words have come from other sources: boulevard (< Picard
or Walloon < Du. Bolewerk, cf. bulwark), boyard (< Rus.), halyard
(< hale, spelling influenced by yard), hansard (< L. Hansar), hazard
(prob. < Ar. Al-zhar = “a die”), lanyard (< OF lasnière), leopard (<
L), lizard (< id.), leotard (< J. Léotard), Lollard (< Du.), mansard (<
N. Mansart), orchard (initially prob. a compound with the OE form
of yard), pilchard (uncertain orig.), scabbard (< OHG), steward (<
orig. constructed with the suffix -ward, like the adjective awkward, cf.
§7.4.8.1), etc.
Some transparently suffixed nouns in -ard have yielded adjectives in -ly (another unproductive suffix now, cf. §7.3.1.6): dotardly,
laggardly, sluggardly, stinkardly, which have in turn produced nouns in
-ness (laggardliness, sluggardliness). The Corpus contains one combination of #-ard# + -ism: braggardism. Unsurprisingly, Internet search
return other formations of this kind: dotardism, drunkardism, luggardism, sluggardism.
As is usually the case with words with bound endings, those in
-ard have been more versatile in taking suffixations: bastardise, bastardisation, bastardism, bastardly, bombarder, bombardier, bombardment, boulevardier, buzzardet, cowardice, cowardly/liness, dastardise,
dastardly/liness, galliardise, galliardness, haggardly, haphazardly/ness,
hazardable, hazarder, hazardous, hazardously/ness, hazardry, leopardess, niggardish, niggardl/liness, orchardist, standardise, standardisation, standardiser, standardly, wizardly, wizardry.
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Two opaque French loans in -ard – canard and petard – bear
primary stress on the last syllable. The null-conversion verb form of
bombard also has final stress.
10.5.2 -ess
In the 15th century, -ess (< F -esse < L < Gk), replaced the feminine
-ster suffix which had departed from its original femininine function to
become genderless (cf. §7.4.6). Together with -woman, -ette and -trix,
the latter being subject to a specific graphic context (< nouns in -tor,
cf. §10.2.3) and, to a lesser extent -ine (e.g. chorine, heroine7), the -ess
suffix was for a long time productive in the feminisation of various noun
bases:
(17)
actress (16th), adventuress (18th), ambassadress (16th), authoress (15th), avengeress (16th), aviatress (1911), conductress (17th), dictatress (17th), divineress
(14th), druidess (18th), enchantress (14th), goddess (id.), governess (15th), heiress
(17th), hermitess (18th), hostess (13th), huntress (15th), manageress (18th), mayoress (15th), millionairess (19th), waitress (16th), wardress (19th), etc. (200 items)
As stipulated above, -ess even became systematically interchangeable
with -trix: (co)adjutrix/tress, administratrix/tress, admonitrix/admonitress, arbitratrix/tress, etc.
Whilst some suffixed forms in -ess of have remained preferably
used, specifically in legal terminology, over their competitors in -trix (the
latter suffix having however regained productivity in the naming of Superheroines (or, in PC language, female superheroes) or in sex domination
jargon (cf. §10.2.3), the -ess suffix is now no less felt as disparaging or
dated. Except for titles of nobility (countess, (arch)duchess, princess) or
church dignitaries (abbess, deaconess, prioress) gender-neutral nominal
formations or noun syntagms are now preferred: she’s a dictator, an autocrat, an aviator, a prosecutor, etc., a female or woman dictator/autocrat/
aviator/prosecutor, etc. Undeniably, feminist movements and the advent
of political correctness have significantly contributed to endowing feminine suffixes with a sexist connotation. As pointed out in H&P: 1681,
7
200
The suffix -ine has been chiefly productive in the feminisation of first names:
Josephine, Pauline, etc.
official agencies, the media and intellectual spheres now tend to privilege “sexless” appellations: police officer instead of policeman vs.
policewoman, spokesperson instead of spokesman vs. spokeswoman or,
differently, flight attendant instead of steward vs. stewardess, etc.
From the nouns in -ess listed in the Corpus, it appears that most
have been derived from bases in -(at)or (80 items) or in -er (50 items).
In the -ess feminisation process, graphic and phonic deletion of the
vowel of -er and -or is normally the rule when these affixes are preceded
by alveolar stops (shepherdess and stewardess are irrelevant since they
do not derive from a masculine form in -er/-or8). However, as pointed
out by Giegerich (1989: 39), feminisation in -ess displays a fair degree of variation with nouns in which -or is bound: janitoress/janitress,
traitoress/traitress, tutoress/tutress, rectoress/rectress (these examples
were initially listed by Lehnert, 1971).
A discrepancy is found between the velar stop /g/, which also
provokes deletion of the vowel of -er, and its voiceless correlate which
does not (in the few relevant items the base nouns in -/g/ + -er are
monomorphemic, contrary to those in -/k/ + -er: ogress < oger, tigress
< tiger vs. bankeress (bank + -#er# + -ess) and similarly quakeress,
shakeress). Finally, governess is not an anomalous formation since this
noun has no semantic relation with governor (cp. obs. governeress in
the sense of “female governor, OED).
(18) a.-ess < or <~ separable -er or -or s
enchantress <~ enchanter, huntress < hunter, suitress < suitor, waitress <
waiter, foundress < founder, wardress < warder, etc. vs. avengeress < avenger
and sim, bankeress, divineress, farmeress, manageress, etc.
b.-ess < or <~ bound -er or -or
ogress <~ ogre, tigress < tiger, ambassadress < ambassador, benefactress <
benefactor, etc. (about traitress/traitoress, etc., cf. 2 par. above) vs. mayoress,
pantheress, tailoress, etc.
8In adventuress, murderess and sorceress the -er suffix is entirely deleted (cp.
avengeress < avenger, farmeress < farmer, etc.) obviously to avert identical
onsets in the last two syllables of the resultant feminine form (*adventureress,
*murdereress, *sorcereress). Feminisations of bases in -rer or -ror where -er
or -or are not separable are similarly affected: adulteress < adulterer (< L. <~
adulter(y) by affix-replacement), empress <~ emperor (opaque stem). These deletions had already been observed by Marchand (1969: 287) who ascribed them
to probable “euphonic reasons”.
201
Another striking feature of -ess feminine nouns is that many allow alternative stressing on the suffix itself: 'abbess or ab'bess and similarly authoress, baroness, benefactress, canoness, countess, deaconess,
duchess, giantess, heiress, hostess, Jewess (now chiefly offensive),
lioness, manageress, marchioness, mayoress, millionairess, murderess,
patroness, peeress, poetess, priestess, princess, prioress, prophetess,
shepherdess, sorceress, stewardess, viscountess.
There are not that many nouns in -ess with an opaque stem. Except for ca'ress, du'ress (+ var. [10]), lar'gess (+ [10] also largesse [01])
and pos'sess, words which are not formed with an inseparable prefix
comply with the NSR: burgess, buttress (+ v.), cypress, fortress, harness (+ v.), marquess, mattress, prowess. Nouns and/or verbs with an
inseparable prefix are more numerous: abscess, access, address, assess,
compress, confess, congress, depress, digress, egress, excess, express,
impress, obsess, precess, process, profess, progress, recess, redress,
regress, repress, success, suppress, transgress (cf. §0.2, iii.).
Apart from the rare goddesshood and the chiefly humorous
goddessship, only unsuffixed -ess nouns have yielded suffixed forms:
burgessship, buttressless, congression, congressive, congressist, depression, digression, egression, harnesser, harnessless, mistressship
(here ≠ mister), etc.
10.6 Summary and conclusion
This chapter has shown that:
i. of the -ant and -ent noun suffixes only the former is still productive, principally in the naming of chemical, medical or cosmetic
products: anorexiant (with truncation of the neoclassical ending
< anorexi(a)), coolant, sterilant; affix-replacement is compulsory
when the base is a verb in -ate (defoliant < defoli(ate) + -ant);
ii. the -ator and -or suffixes have remained productive in the naming
of instruments, devices and appliances (inhalator, phasor). Whilst
verbs in -ate entail suffixation in -or, animate agents thus derived
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are now exceptional since the -ate affix is marginally productive in
Present-Day English;
iii.-ist is the most commonly used suffix of person in correlation with
combining-form compounds in -y (entomology/entomologist, monogamy/monogamist, monarchy/monarchist);
iv. in association with final neoclassical combining forms, -ist occasionally rivals with -er, which is more commonly used with the
-graph-, -(o)latr- and -manc- elements;
v. when referring to followers or advocates of a contemporary political figure, -ist competes with -ian9, having supposedly a less
positive connotation than the latter suffix (Clintonian/Clintonist),
although not the extent of -ite, which is now chiefly disparaging
or ironic (Clintonite). In association with proper names, -ist and
-(i)an are also rival suffixes in the designation of followers of philosophical, scientific or religious systems or teachings. When both
forms exist, they may be used interchangeably (although -ist may
convey a less neutral connotation than -ian: Darwinist/Darwinian)
or be each the only nominal form sanctioned (or recommended) by
usage: Lutheran vs. Calvinist, Aristotelian vs. Socratist;
vi. when systems in -ism are formed from a -ian or -arian derivative
from a personal or common noun (Keynesianism < Keynesian <
Keynes, libertarianism < libertarian < liberty), synonyms in -ist
of the original -ian or -arian nouns may exist (Confucian = Confucianist <~ Confucianism, humanitarian = humanitarianist <~
humanitarianism). Internet searches show that such synonyms are
more common than suggested from the Corpus sorts;
vii. when forming specialist nouns from a base in -ic(s), -ian is more
common than -ist, in terms of attested formations as well as usage
in the few cases in which both forms are recorded with a synonymous meaning (esthetician/estheticist cp. physician ≠ physicist).
Conversely -ist has supplanted -ian in learned nouns constructed
from neoclassical combining forms (archaeologist vs. archeologian);
9
About word-formation by the morphemes -er, -ist and -ian, see also Hanato,
2006.
203
viii.-ist is also used adjectivally, being as such generally more common
than suffixations in -ic or -ical: Calvinist/istic/istical; when they
are both attested in relation with a theory or system, -ist and -ian
adjectives are seemingly interchangeable (a Darwinian/Darwinist
approach/attitude/bias/view, Darwinian/Darwinist selection processes, etc.);
ix. as regards lexical stress, the suffixes -ant, -er, -(at)or and -ist are
neutral except: (a) optionally for -or in legal terms correlative to
“patient” nouns in -ee ('bailor or bai'lor, etc.); (b) when -ist attaches to a noun in -culture ('agricultute > ˌagri'culturist, pisculture >
pisculturist). As Guierre and his followers have contended, affixation to neoclassical combining forms with otherwise neutral suffixes such as -ist, -er, etc. generally moves primary stress to the antepenult (hence the shifts in -culturist words or in such formations as
bibliophile > bibliophilist, telegraph > telegrapher/graphist, etc.).
Opting for a synchronic treatment adequating -er or -ist nouns with
paradigmatic derivatives from learned nouns in -y or alt. in -ism for
-ist) will eliminate most irregularly stressed words (ˌbibli'ophilist
<~ ˌbibli'ophily, te'legrapher/ist <~ te'legraphy, etc.);
x. the feminine -ess suffix is now less and less used except in titles of
nobility or church functions (countess, abbess, etc.), gender-neutral nouns or syngtams being now preferred further to feminist and
political correctness pressure (an aviator, a woman/female aviator,
etc.);
xi.the -ard suffix has been extinct since the 19th century.
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11. Latinate Vowel-initial noun suffixes of action,
state, process and result
Except for -ion and its extended forms (-ation, -ition, etc., cf. §2.3) and
‑e/ity, vowel-initial Latinate noun suffixes of action, state, process or
result are stress-neutral. Most of them have ceased to be productive in
Contemporary English.
11.1 -acy
This affix (from L -ācia, -ātia) forms nouns of quality, condition, state
or function, being as such mostly derivable from nouns, adjectives or
verbs in -ate: (in)accuracy (17th < accurate vs. post-classical L in OED)
and similarly (in)adequacy, candidacy, celibacy, complicacy, confederacy, curacy, degeneracy, delegacy, (in)delicacy, etc., (60 items).
A few nouns in -acy are relatable to other nominal, adjectival
or verbal bases: lunacy (< lun(atic)), prolificacy (< prolific), retiracy
(< retire, used facetiously), supremacy (< supreme) + < L abbacy (<~
abb(ot)), papacy (<~ pap(al)); conspiracy (<~ conspire) was directly
borrowed from L). The ensuing nouns in -acy, all from Latin, have no
putative base in synchrony: contumacy, (in)efficacy, fallacy.
Many nouns in -acy are now rare or obsolete, being currently
displaced by variants in -(at)ion, -ity, -ness, -ace or -ice: alternateness/
alternation vs. alternacy, complicatedness/complication vs. complicacy, determinateness/determination vs. determinacy, immediateness vs.
immediacy, perspicacity/perspicaciousness vs. perspicacy, pertinence
vs. pertinacy, populacy vs. populace, prejudice vs. prejudicacy, procuration vs. procuracy, prolification/prolificity/prolificness vs. prolificacy,
tenacity/tenaciousness vs. tenacy.
205
According to D.com at least one noun in -acy has yielded an adjective suffixed with -ous: contumacy > contumacious (17th, vs. < L stem
+ ‑acious in OED). Synchronically, the same derivational pattern can
be applied to efficacious <~ efficacy, fallacious <~ fallacy, even though
these two adjectives have been directly taken from Latin. Synchronically still, the adjectives perspicacious and tenacious can be linked either
to the now obsolete perspicacy or tenacy or (by affix-substitution) to
perspicacity (16th) and tenacity (id.), the latter derivational pattern corresponding to historical reality according to D.com (perspicac(ity) +
‑ious, < tenac(ity) + -ious vs. both < F in OED, cf. §3.2, ii).
Whereas most -nouns in -acy may be analysed as formed from
words in -ate further to replacement of the latter affix (as is nearly always the case therewith, cf. paradigmatic sets like tolerate/tolerant/
tolerable, etc.), -acy should also be held as a suffix in its own right as
attested by prolificacy < prolific, retiracy < retire, supremacy < supreme
and, in terms of a strictly synchronic morphological analysis, by conspiracy (< L. stem, with substitution of the ending with -acy, OED).
As seen in §7.2.2 the separable suffix -cy which carries the same
sense of rank or office has survived in a few nouns chiefly linked to military, nobiliary or religious dignities (abbotcy, baronetcy, colonelcy).
Like -cy, -acy has not yielded new nouns since the 19th century
(except for compounds like biopiracy, 1993, cyberpiracy (late 20th) and
graphicacy, 1965, formed by imitation of literacy) and has seemingly
joined the ranks of extinct suffixes.
About the alternative synchronic analysis of -acy (-ate + -y) suggested by some authors, cf. 14.1.1.
11.2 -age
The suffix -age (from OF/F -age, from L -aticum), indiscriminately attaches to native or Norman French bases, generally nouns, although
deadjectival and deverbal derivations also occur. It is especially remarkable for its wide range of meanings, expressing as diverse notions as:
206
i. place of abode or activity: brigandage, brokerage, hermitage, orphanage, parsonage, etc.
ii. social status, state, condition or relationship: bondage, concubinage, marriage, parentage, patronage, etc.
iii.process, action or effect of either: breakage, coverage, seepage,
shortage, spoilage, wreckage, etc.
iv. quantity, measure, content, capacity or price, tariff, tax: acreage,
dosage, footage, mileage, postage, tonnage, towage, etc.
Dates of first known uses show that this suffix remained active until
the beginning of the 20th century. Since the period between 1910 and
1934 when it produced only two nouns (spillage and plottage), it has
apparently stopped being a source of neologisms, which does not exclude new borrowings from French (in which this sequence is generally
perceived as a bound ending) nor semantic changes liable to affect some
nouns of this class (e.g. the sado-masochistic sense of bondage adopted
in the early sixties).
Many nouns in -age are demotivated or in no way etymologically
linked to what could in first analysis be taken as their original base:
average (prob. < OF), baggage, bandage, cornage, cowage (< Hin.),
cribbage (card game, from an old s. of crib), doomage (obs., “penalty or
fine”), dressage, dunnage (< perhaps < Du. or G), equipage, espionage,
hostage, lovage (< L levistica), luggage, rubbage (arch. = rubbish),
smallage, spinage, tailage/tallage, standage, stillage (< Du.), etc.
-age is a bound ending in about 200 nouns, most of them inherited from French (+v = + v.): carnage, cottage, courage, damage+v,
pillage+v, rummage+v, village, voyage+v, etc.
Whilst many authors (e.g. H&P: 1700) had written off -age in
terms of synchronic productivity, a new trend has recently developed
amongst North-American teenagers and young adults who are allegedly
making much use of this suffix in replacement of -ing gerund nouns
relatable to one-syllable verbs (e.g. fundage, kissage, thumpage, etc.,
for respectively funding, kissing, thumping, etc.). According to Kelley
(1998) this trend has resulted from the following circumstances:
This suffix has gained greater productivity over the last twenty years via its
adoption into youth slang. Actor/Comedian Paul Shore popularized the suffix
207
in the late 1980s with coined words such as grindage (food) and fundage (money). While many of his constructions did not survive the decade, the suffix has
become a standard amongst youth, and/or those trying to represent youth. Teen
shows such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Buffy) make an almost overuse of this
suffix in their representation of teen speech with constructions such as kissage
and slayage dominating the unmarked equivalents.
Whatever may once again be thought of the long-term durability of
new-fangled linguistic tics or mannerisms, it is indisputable that numer­
ous examples of such constructions have found an entry in dictionaries
of neologisms: hittage < hit (Urban D.), mailage < mail (Memefirst),
ownage (id. = “triumph or domination”), rollage < roll (Urban D.),
strik­age (id.), suckage (id. = “the fact of sucking (being very bad) at
some­thing”), thumpage (Rice University Neologisms Database), etc.
Like verbs in -age, whether or not the latter be alternatively
nominal (discourage, manage, salvage, etc. vs. advantage, average,
camouflage, damage, package, voyage, etc.), transparently suffixed or
synchronically opaque nouns in -age (carriage, marriage vs. homage,
garage, image) are apt to produce adjectives in -able: (dis)advantageable, averageable, camouflageable, carriageable, damageable, discourageable, garageable, homageable, imageable, (un)manageable, (un)
marriageable, miscarriageable, mortgageable, packageable, (un)salvageable, (un)voyageable.
Even though only one relevant item has come out of the Corpus,
combination of #-age# and #-ist# is apparently licensed: assemblagist
(1965 MWD < assemblage, sync. derivable from assemble).
Nouns in -age with an obscure or opaque stem otherwise freely
affix with the nominals -ism and -ist: imagism, suffragism, apanagist,
collagist, imagist, massagist, paysagist, suffragist, visagist. Having not
been anglicised in their pronunciation, some of these formations are still
strongly perceived as French loans (e.g. collagist, massagist, paysagist).
Nouns in -age which are not derivable from a transparent base
are susceptible to null verb-conversion (camouflage, damage, voyage,
etc., cf. §19).
Con'cubinage, from 'concubine, is the only transparent derivative
in ‑age violating stress-neutrality ('equipage being dem. rel. to e'quip
will not be considered as an irregular stress derivation).
208
As established in the literature -age does not attach to bases already constructed with a separable suffix (the base of guardianage, obs.
now guardianship, ie guardian, is demotivated relative to guard).
11.3 -al
The noun suffix -al (via OF < L āle, ālia) is supposed to attach to
two-syllable verb bases stressed on the last syllable (Kiparsky, 1982a,
H&P: 1700, Giegerich, 1999) with the sense “act of doing that named
by the base”: abuttal, accrual, accusal, acquittal, (re)appraisal, (dis)
approval, arousal, arrival, (dis)avowal, etc. (70 items). Yet, outside
'burial (act. constructed with an Anglo-Saxon formative eventually reinterpreted as -al, OED and OEtymD.), two exceptions to this prosodic
and syllabic rule are recorded: interposal (17th < ˌinter'pose, in which,
given the meanings of this verb, inter- cannot be considered as a sep.
prefix), supervisal (17th < 'supervise).
Although this suffix has chiefly attached to verbs of French origin, it
has also been used in the suffixation of some native bases: bequeathal, bestowal, betrothal, upheaval, withdrawal. With the exception of ca'rousal <
carouse), all verb bases to which -al has attached, whether Latinate or Germanic, including the exceptions to the prosodic and syllabic rule described
above (interposal, supervisal), have an inseparable prefix.
It is noteworthy that lexical blocking is often foiled in this context. Indeed, many deverbal nouns in -al are synonymous with nouns
formed with other deverbal suffixes (in -ance, (at)ion, -ment, -ure) or
by null-conversion:
(1)
accus(al/ation), apprais(al)/appraise(ment), appro(val/bation) (for the latter
formation also <~ approbate), depriv(al/ation)10, disburs(al)/disburse(ment),
dispers(al (r.) / ion, dispersement is also recorded in Wordnik), despis(al)/
despisement, r.), dismiss(al/ion), espous(al)/espouse(ment, r.), expos(al, r. /
ure), presuppos(al, r. / ition), recus(al/ation), remitt(al/ance) (syn. in the s. of
“money sent to another person”, in which case remittance is supposedly more
10
Deprival is quoted as unattested by Kaisse (2005).
209
common), reprieval/reprieve, repro(val/bation), for the latter formation also <~
reprobate), retriev(al)/retrieve(ment), reviewal/review, revis(al/ion), reviv(al)/
revive(ment, r.) suppos(al, r. / ition), surmisal (r.) / surmise, surprisal (r.) / surprise, surviv(al/ance, r.), transmit(tal/ssion) (transmittance = “transmission” in
physics”), transport(al, r. / ation), transpos(al/ition).
The ensuing pairs are not synonymous: abuttal (“act or state of abutting”) ≠ abutment (“mass serving to abut, in masonry or architecture”),
disposal ≠ disposition, proposal ≠ proposition, referral ≠ reference,
reversal ≠ reversion.
The deverbal suffix -al, which obviously never had a high
word-formation potential (≈ 70 items in all) has in all probabilities
ceased to be productive (H&P: 1700), the last noun formed with this
suffix being apparently recusal (1911, OED and OEtymD11). The latter
formation denotes, as indicated in (1) above, another failure of lexical
blocking since the noun recusation was previously available with the
very same sense recusal has taken on (ie “disqualification of a judge,
jury, etc. for reasons of prejudice or conflicting interests”, D.com).
Nouns in -al are more commonly produced by null-conversion
from homographic adjectives. In the latter case, many are governed by
elementary stress rules:
i.-ION
a.transparent adj. and/or n. formations: -ial: colonial (< colony vs. < L stem +
-al in OED), commercial (< commerc(e), id.), editorial (< editor), exponential (< exponent), sequential (adj. & n < sequent vs. < L stem + -al in OED) +
< L ceremonial (<~ ceremony), circumferential (<~ circumference), custodial
(<~ custody), decennial (<~ decenni(um)), differential (<~ differenc(e)), tutorial (<~ tutor), etc.; -ional: national (< nation vs. < OF in OED), professional
(< profession). -ual: < L intellectual (<~ intellect + -ual) and sim residual (<~
residu(e)), ritual (<~ rit(e)), sexual (<~ sex) + compounds bi/hetero/homosexual, metrosexual (1994), retrosexual (late 20th), transsexual (1957);
b.
transparent adj. formations vs. n. homographs with partial or full dem. relative to the n. base: conditional, constitutional, memorial, regional(s) (=
“regional competition(s))”;
11
210
According to the same dictionary, referral was also coined in the 20th century
(namely in 1920), with the sense of “act of referring”, especially to a specialist
or expert”. However, although conceding it was rare before the 20th century,
OED places the first attestation of this noun in 1790, when it was apparently
used as a synonym of “reference”.
c.obscure or opaque adj. and/or n. formations with or without dem. between
adj. and n.: aerial (n. = “TV antenna”), labial (n. only used in phonetics),
manual, material (the n. has several s.: “cloth”, “information, ideas, etc. used
for a particular purpose or activity”), meridional, official (the adj. and n. are
both dem. <≠ office), pictorial (n. = “journal containing many pictures”),
potential (the adj. and n. are both dem. <≠ potent), special (n. = “a special
programme or event”), spiritual (n. = “religious song”), individual, (audio)
visual (<≠ vision);
ii -ical (cf. §1.4.2): chemical (= “chemical substance”), encyclical (= encyclic, n.
and adj.), medical (n. = “medical examination”; n. and adj. <≠ medic), musical
(n. = “musical show”), opticals, periodical (n. = “magazine published regularly”),
physical (n. = “medical examination”; n. and adj. <≠ physic), radical, etc.
iii. other -al n. and adj. pairs, with or without different senses: aboriginal (< aboregene vs. < L stem + -al in OED), capital (the n. has many different senses from
the adj., in finance, geography, architecture, etc.), cardinal (n. = high-ranking
Catholic official), collateral (n. = “security pledged for repayment of a loan”),
commensal, decimal, denominal, dental (n. used in phonetics), diagonal, equal
(+ v.), epidural (n. = “medical treatment given to facilitate delivery”), federal (n.
= “a federal agent”), (quarter/ semi)finals (n. used in competitions), general (n.
= “high-ranking officer”), genitals, integral (n. used in mathematics”), lateral
(n. = “football player”), liberal, littoral, local, mental (n. informal “person with
mental disorders”), (im)mortal, morals, mural (n. = “decorated wall”), nasal (n.
used in phonetics), numeral, oral, ordinal, paranormal (n. used in the phrase the
paranormal, cf. the supernatural, the occult), pectoral, principal (n. = “original
amount of money borrowed” or “head of college or university”), pronominal,
temporal (n. Gram. and linguistics), terminal (n. = “building for incoming or
outgoing passengers”), total (+ v.), vocals (n. = “singing credits”, on a record,
etc.).
Credential is apparently the only noun and adjective in -al analysable
as a suffixed form, synchronically derivable from the second sense of
credence (“something giving a claim to belief or confidence: letter of
credence”, D.com), which is alternately verbal (D.com and OED). The
ensuing nouns have predated the creation of their adjectival homographs: animal, funeral, metal, rival, vassal.
Nouns in -al with an opaque stem which have no adjectival
homograph are otherwise pretty common in English: admiral, arsenal,
astragal, canal, carnival, cathedral, corporal (military rank), cymbal,
festival, interval, journal; marshal, medal, pedal, pedestal, petal, portal,
quintal, rascal, reprisal, sandal, scandal, tribunal, vandal, victual, etc.
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Although such combinations rarely obtain in the Corpus, deverbal nouns affixed with -al are apt to yield derivatives in -ism and/
or -ist: denialism, denialist, revivalism, revivalist, renewalism (1965,
OED, not listed in the Corpus = reformism), renewalist (1966, id.).
As usual, creations of this kind are quite common in Internet pages:
appraisalism (“dedication to or capacity of appraising various phenomena or situations”) / -ist (et passim below, follower of the stance,
doctrine, etc., named by the corresponding -ism noun), approvalism/
ist (“a blameable attitude or philosophy consisting in approving anything blindly or sheepishly”), arousalism/ist (“a belief in or commitment to arousing people’s artistic or spiritual awareness”), arrivalism/
ist (“a religious movement (Jewish or other) centred on the arrival of
the Messiah”), committalism/ist (“the political stance, philosophy, etc.
of committing to a cause”), etc.
As will be seen in §15.6.1, homographic adjectives and nouns in
-al license many further suffixations: capitalism/capitalist, sexualism,
sexualness, sexuality, etc.
11.4 -ance/-ancy, -ence/-ency
Denoting a quality, a state or an action, -ance and its variant -ence are
descended via French from the Latin departicipials -antia and -entia.
Nouns constructed with these suffixes are synchronically analysable as
either formed by concatenation of the latter to verb bases (abidance <
abide, alliance < OF <~ ally, insistence < insist, etc.) or, by affix-substitution, from adjectives in -ant or in -ent (abhorrence < abhorr(ent)
vs. < L in OED <~ abhor, tolerance < L <~ toler(an)t, effulgence < effulg(ent) + -ence, etc.). Although diachronic investigations show that a
reverse derivational axis is occasionally attested for the latter class (e.g.
fluorescent, adj. and n, OED < fluorescence), the -ance/-ence <~ -ant/
-ent synchronic approach will be the one adopted here.
The Corpus lists 340 transparent derivatives in -ance (190 being
analysable as deverbal and 150 as deadjectival) and 360 in -ence (150
analysable as deverbal and 210 as deadjectival).
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Whether deverbal or deadjectival, the -ance suffix is still active,
although modererately so, in Present-Day English.
(2)
acutance (1952 < acut(e)), deviance (1944 < devi(ant)), emittance (1940 MWD
< emit), illuminance (1943 < illumin(ate) vs. < L stem + -ance in OED), nurturance (1938 < nurtur(e)), vicariance (1957 < vicari(ant))
It should be noted that the -ant suffix has extended its derivational capabilities to other base classes, by affix substitution (capacitance, late 19th
< capacit(y) + -ance, elastance, id. < elast(ic) + -ance), or juxtaposition
(acutance < acut(e)). As in most contexts (cf. tolerate/tolerant/tolerable), the -ate verb affix entails derivation by substitution: (illuminance
< illumin(ate) + -ance vs. < L stem + -ance in OED).
Although distribution rules for the -ance and -ence spellings are
hard to establish, it can be noted that:
i. -ance is the only of the two forms which has affixed, although quite
marginally, to native bases: abidance, abodance, comeuppance (19th,
apparently from come up (in court) + ‑ance), forbearance, forbiddance, furtherance, hind(e)rance, riddance, utterance, yieldance
(buoyance, grievance and guidance are actually related to originally
Nor. F bases: buoyant, grieve and guide);
ii-ence is more often denotative of learned words as it is correlative to:
a. adjectives and/or nouns in -escent and verbs in -esce (coalesce,
coalescent, coalescence, etc.);
b. the combining forms -loqui- (altiloquence <~ alitloquent,
somniloquence <~ sominiloquent, etc.), -potence (< ‑potent),
-science (< -scient) and -valence (< -valent) and more generally
to the qu- consonant digraph: consequence, sequence;
iii. the graphic vowel of the base is preserved in deadjectival derivations: arrogant/arrogance, tolerant/tolerance, coherent/coherence,
different/difference, etc.
Apart from the cases listed above, there is no clear-cut rule assigning the -ance or -ence spelling for deverbal formations. A few nouns
vacillate between both spellings: dependance/dependence, subsidance/
subsidence (the spelling in -ence is in both cases recommended).
213
Defense, offense, expanse, expense, pretence (actually all taken
from Latin) are exceptional inasmuch as they are synchronically derivable from verbs with an inseparable prefix by replacement of the -a/end
sequence of their stem defend, offend, expand, expend, pretend).
The corpus of obscure, opaque or demotivated nouns in -ance
contains many archaisms: abaisance (= obeisance), abearance (= behaviour), amenance (same s.), bobance (= boasting), chevisance (=
bargain), chievance (= illegal bargain), defailance (= failure), durance
(= incarceration), esperance, estuance (= heat), jouissance (= merriment), noiance (= annoyance), portance (= behaviour), resiance (= residence), surance (= assurance), surseance (= peace).
Although stress-neutral in their immense majorities, nouns in
-ance and -ence, show some cases of stress displacement. These irregularities are circumstantial to the minor classes below:
(3)[(-)100]
a.
-ence n. derived (or synch. der.) from v. in -fer & in -ide: 'conference
<~ con'fer, 'deference <~ de'fer, 'inference (+ n. 'inferent) <~ in'fer), 'preference <~ pre'fer, 'reference (+ n. 'referent) < re'fer, 'transference (+ [010]
<~ trans'fer (+ [10]), cp. ˌinterf 'erence < ˌinter'fere; 'confidence <~ con'fide,
in one s. of the v., otherwise dem., co'incidence <~ 'coincide, 'residence (+
n. 'resident) <~ re'side, 'subsidence (+ [010]) <~ sub'side ('presidency and
'residency (cf. 2nd par. below) also belong here);
b.dem. n. in -ance or -ence: 'competence (+ 'competency (cf. (4) below) & adj.
'competent, ') <≠ com'pete, 'ignorance (+ adj. 'ignorant) <≠ ig'nore, 'precedence (+ n. 'precedent) <≠ pre'cede (cp. adj. pre'cedent, non-dem. = pre'ceding), 'providence (+ adj. 'provident) <≠ pro'vide.
Verbs with final stress which lose the vowel digraph of their stem when
forming nouns with the suffixes -ance or -ence shift primary stress to
the initial syllable: 'abstinence (< L <~ ab'stain), 'maintenance (< MF
<~ main'tain), 'remanence (< 'reman(ent) + -ence vs. < partly MF in
OED <~ remain), sustenance (< L <~ sus'tain), 'prevalence (< id. <~
pre'vail), cp. ac'quaintance <~ ac'quaint, al'lowance <~ al'low, annoyance <~ annoy, ap'pearance < ap'pear vs. < OF in OED, con'veyance
< con'vey, etc. All other nouns of this type are at any rate demotivated
and could just as well be classed under (3b) above: appurtenance <≠
appertain, (dis)contenance and (in)contenance <≠ contain, pertinence/
ency (+ adj. pertinent) and purtenance (= “the heart, liver and lungs of
214
an animal”) <≠ pertain. 'Reverent/ence (< L <~ re'vere) are anomalous
synchronic derivatives.
The -ancy and -ency variants of -ance and -ence (respectively
from L -antia, forming abstract n. on participial adj. in -ānt-em, and
from L ‑entia, the termination of abstract n. formed upon present participles in ‑ent by means of the suffix -ia, according to OED vs. a combination of ‑ance and -y and -ence and -y, according to D.com, a treatment
endorsed by some authors, cf. §14.1.1), are supposed to express more
strongly than their allomorphs the idea of quality, state or condition
(OED). Still, the study of the 205 nouns in -ance and-ancy or in -ence
and -ency synchronically relatable to a common base hardly shows
marked semantic differences. Thus, in a technical or scientific context,
only frequency and discrepancy are used. In a few cases, a different
sense is assigned to each form: emergence (“the process of emerging”)
≠ emergency (“urgency”), excellence (“the quality of being excellent”)
≠ Excellency (“title of address”, as in “Your…”), extance (r. = “outward
existence”, dem. relative to extant) ≠ extancy (id. = “the state of rising
above others”), instance (= “case, example”) ≠ instancy (“instantaneousness”), pregnance (syn. with pregnancy exc. in the s. “period from
conception to childbirth”), presidence (“control, authority”, obs. as as
a syn. of presidency), presidency (“office of presidence”), residence
(“dwelling-place” or “fact of residing somewhere”) ≠ residency (“position or tenure of a medical resident”). Finally, when there is variation
between -ance and -ancy and -ence and -ency, the forms in -y are more
likely to pluralise.
(4)-ance/-ancy and -ence/-ency nouns
a.
-ance/-ancy: aberrance/ancy, absorbance/ancy, ascendance/ancy, brilliance/ancy, buoyance/ancy, compliance/ancy, concordance/ancy, discordance/cy, dissonance/ancy, expectance/ancy, extravagance/ancy, exuberance/
ancy, flagrance/ancy, fragrance/ancy, etc. (65 items)
b.-ence/-ency: abhorrence/ency, abstinence/ency, adherence/ ency, adjacence/
ency, ascendence/ency, belligerence/ency, coherence/ency, complacence/
ency, congruence/ency, consistance/ency), convenience/ency, convergence/
ency, etc. (140 items)
Nouns in -ancy/-ency which have no parallel forms in -ance/-ence are no
more pliable to distribution rules between both sets of suffixes. It may at
215
best be observed that -ancy and -ency seem to predominate in the denotation of activities, conditions, functions or collective bodies specific to human agents: accountancy, adjutancy, consultancy, Excellency (as in Your
Excellency, see above), infancy, inhabitancy, lieutenancy, mendicancy,
regnancy, sergeancy, (co)tenancy, vagrancy, agency, constituency, delinquency, incumbency, presidency, residency (see above for difference with
residence), truancy. However, some synonymous pairs such as regence/
regency, superintendence/superintendency are also met with.
(4')
Items with no variant in -ance/-ence
a.-ancy: accountancy, adjutancy, benignancy, blatancy, coadjuvancy, conservancy, consultancy (1955), dilatancy, dormancy, (in)errancy, flippancy,
incessancy, (in)constancy (constance is obs.), mendicancy, occupancy (the
var. occupance is however given in OED in the s. of “the inhabiting and
modification of an area by human beings”), oppugnancy (oppugnance is listed in OED with the label “now rare (poet.)), preoccupancy (r., more com.
preoccupation), rampancy, recusancy (recusance is listed in OED as “rare”),
regnancy, sergeancy, stagnancy (stagnance is listed in OED as “now rare”),
tenancy, trenchancy, truancy, vacancy (vacance is obs.), vacillancy (r.),
vagrancy (vagrance is listed in OED as “rare”), verdancy; (about extancy,
instancy, pregnancy, cf. last par. before (4) above.)
b.
-(i)ency: accumbency, agency, ardency, cogency (cogence is listed in OED
as “rare”), constituency, (in)decency (decence is listed in OED as “obs.”),
delinquency (delenquence, id.), fulgency (fulgence, id.), incumbency (incumbence, id.), lambency, opponency, parturiency (parturience is listed in OED
as “obs.”), patency, plangency, recency, restringency, retromingency, sanguinolency, (in)solvency, stringency, (in)sufficiency, transplendency; (about
emergency, Excellency, presidency, residency, cf. last par. before (4) above).
As seen in §7.2.2, three items in -ancy have a graphic variant in -ant +
‑cy: lieutenancy/lieutenantcy (less correct than the former according
to OED), sergeancy/sergeantcy (obs. according to OED), sycophancy/
sycophantcy (obs.).
Although they have been used to form hundreds of nouns in the
English language, the suffixes considered in this section are now either
unproductive, as is the case for -ence/-ency, or restricted to scientific or
technological terminology (most specifically in optics, medicine, electricity and electronics), as is the case for -ance (cf. (2) above), despite
the solitary case of consultancy (1955 < consult(ant) + ‑ancy, consultant
was first recorded in the late 17th century).
216
Transparently suffixed nouns in -ance are combinable with the
nominal -er (conveyancer, remembrancer, in the s. of “memento, memorial or reminder”), those in -ence with the adjectival -al: conferential,
confidential, (un)deferential, differential (+ n.), existential, inferential,
interferential, obediental, preferential, (un)presidential, (co)referential,
reminiscential, residential, transferential. As seen above, precedence, and
providence, which have produced the adjectives precedential, and prov­
idential are demotivated relative to, respectively, precede and provide.
The adjective indulgential is semantically linked to religious indulgences
provided by the Catholic Church, not to indulgence in the sense “act of indulging in something”. The adjective and noun exponential is a derivative
from a noun (< exponent), which is actually also the case of referential (<
referent), even though, in the latter configuration, both analyses (referential < reference or referent) are synchronically acceptable.
11.5 -ate
This noun suffix (from L -ātus) rivals -ship in denoting offices or functions and -dom or -hood in naming institutions or collective bodies:
caliphate, cardinalate, catechumenate (< catechumen), collectorate,
consulate, directorate, doctorate, duumvirate (< L <~ duumvir + -ate),
electorate, exarchate (= exarchy), governorate, imamate (< imam), inspectorate, etc. (40 items). In the senses defined above, the -ate noun
suffix has been far less productive than its Germanic rivals as it does not
have the capacity to attach to native bases. It is probably no longer alive
as it has not formed any noun since the end of the 19th century.
-ate is occasionally interchangeable with its rival form -ship
in the sense of “position of ” (collectorate/collectorship, pastorate/
pastorship, professorate/professsorship, rectorate/rectorship). In the
foregoing noun class the -ate suffix may additionally denote members
of a function collectively, a sense which -ship does not have: pastorate (s. above + “pastors collectively”); professorate (id. + “professors
collectively”). There is no synonymy in the pairs below:
217
(5)
consulship (“post of a consul”) ≠ consulate (“residence or workplace of a
consul”); directorship (“post of a director”) ≠ directorate (“group of people
directing a corporation”); electorship (“status of an elector”) ≠ electorate (“body
of electors in a given district”); governorship (“office of a governor”) ≠ governorate (id. + “an administrative division of a country”); inspectorship (“office of an
inspector”) ≠ inspectorate (“a body of inspectors”); protectorship (“position of
a protector”) ≠ protectorate (“state or area controlled by another state”)
In the meanings defined above, the separable -ate noun suffix is
stress-neutral: 'cardinalate <~ 'cardinal, 'governorate < 'governor,
'mandarinate <~ 'mandarin, 'matriarchate < 'matriarch, 'patriarchate
<~ 'patriarch, 'presbyterate <~ 'presbyter (cp. synchronically transparent or opaque verbs in -ate and their possible homographic nouns or
adjectives, eg. separate, v. and adj., duplicate, v. and n.). In terms of
stress-assignment, opaque-stem nouns in -ate denoting a function, institution, etc., will have to be treated together with -ate verbs: legate
(+ v.), delegate (id.), etc. (§13.3.1).
-ate is also a noun suffix used in chemistry to designate an element of a compound, especially a salt or ester of an acid named by a
noun syngtam with an adjective in -ic (in the same way -ite nouns are
correlative to acids with an adjective in -ous, cf. §10.4): acetate <~
acetic acid, borate <~ boric acid, carbonate <~ carbonic acid, chlorate
<~ chloric acid, hydrate <~ hydric acid, nitrate <~ nitric acid, sulphate
<~ sulphuric acid, etc.
Whereas the foregoing nouns may be analysed as resulting from
affix-substitution between -ic and -ate, the -ate chemical suffix is always
stress-neutral, as opposed to -ic (car'bonic/'carbonate), although it does
not reduce: ['na1tre1t], etc.
11.6 -ery
This suffix (from OF/F -erie < L) chiefly denotes:
i. an occupation, trade, craft or business and/or the place where it
is carried on: bookbindery, brewery, confectionery, distillery,
218
drapery, fishery, gunnery, midwifery, nailery, nursery, tannery,
etc.
ii. a place where animals or plants are bred or kept: fernery, greenery,
hennery, orangery, owlery, penguinery, piggery (= pigsty), pinery,
swannery, etc.
iii.persons or things taken collectively: greenery (+ s. ii.), gunnery
(+ s. i.), machinery, monkery, nunnery, etc.
iv. a reprehensible or pejoratively connoted state, condition, action:
apery, bribery, debauchery, drudgery, foolery, slavery, snobbery,
thievery, thuggery, trickery, etc.
In Middle English nouns in -ery were directly adopted from French. By
the 16th century, -ery became a productive suffix, apt to attach to native
bases (fernery, fishery, knavery), in quite a few instances through a combination of -er + -y (e.g. bakery, commandery, dodgery, haberdashery,
hosiery, ironmongery, jobbery, joinery, millinery, mummery, perfumery,
pottery, turnery).
So as not to impair the economy and the consistency of the -er
and ‑ery descriptive systems, it may appear more appropriate, synchronically, to treat all derivatives of the latter class as resulting from
suffixation by replacement of -er with -ery: bakery (< bak(er) +- ery),
millinery (< millin(er) + ery), etc. In this approach, the only nouns in
-ery synchronically analysable as suffixed with -y will be those relatable
to a verb base in -er: deliver + -y, discover + -y, flatter + -y, master + ‑y,
etc. (cf §14(1a)), cp. bewitch + ‑ery, botch + -ery, debauch + -ery, etc.
It may be objected that, in the cases of words like chandlery
(17th < chandler + -y) or millinery (id. < milliner + -y), this synchronic
treatment contradicts the prosodic conditioning of -ery, which is supposed to attach to a stressed syllable, in other terms to monosyllabic
bases (fernery, fishery, etc.) or polysyllabic words with final stress
(e.g. de'bauchery, 17th < de'bauch + -ery and similarly fes'toonery, 19th
< fes'toon, ma'chinery, 17th < ma'chine, tomfoolery, 19th < ̩tom'fool, etc.
+ from OED cartoonery (1902) = “the making of cartoons, cartoons in
general”), as opposed to -ry which attaches to polysyllabic bases with
no final stress (cf. §7.2.5). Whilst -ery and -ry derivatives tend to conform to this distribution in Present-Day English (e.g. dickery vs. gimmickry, cf. four par. below), etymological notices unambiguously show
219
that the prosodic conditioning evoked above has not been an ironclad
rule in the history of the suffix -ery: con'fectionery (18th < con'fection
+ -ery and similarly 'gimcrackery (18th < 'gimcrack + -ery), 'humbuggery (19th < 'humbug + -ery).
Whilst most nouns in -ery are now analysable as denominal,
deverbal derivatives (which were initially quite productive in French)
have regularly continued to be formed in English (e.g. brewery (17th),
distillery (id.) and recently shaggery, screwery, etc. cf. two par. below).
Greenery, which appears as a solitary deadjectival derivation in the Corpus, has companion class nouns in Internet pages, probably formed by
analogy with it, denoting vegetables, fruits, cereals or foliage according
to their colour: yellowery (“corn, peppers”, etc.), orangery (“carrots,
pumpkin”, etc., cp. other s. of orangery = “sheltered place for growing
oranges in cool climates”), purplery (“aubergines, courgettes”, etc.),
reddery (“radish, tomatoes”, etc.).
About 60 nouns en -ery, a good many of them now rare or obsolete, have no recognisable base in Present-Day English: chancery, coggery (obs. = “deception”), effrontery, frippery, raillery, trumpery, etc.
As has been seen in §7.2.5, the -ry variant of -ery has kept some
degree of productivity: Babbittry (1920), circuitry (1946), gadgetry
(1920), gimmickry (1952). As regards the basic -ery form, it is still used
in American coinages, chiefly in its sense denoting a state, condition or
action with a pejorative or even vulgar or obscene slant (s. iv. above:
dickery (Urban D.), douchery (id. < slang s. of douche or douche-bag),
fuckery (id.), schmuckery (id.), shaggery (id.) + (from Web pages) geekery, nerdery, screwery) but also in the sense of place or establishment
serving food: eatery, 1901 (+ from Web Pages) bagelery, doughnuttery,
ice creamery, pancakery, sweetery, etc.
Further derivation in -ism of suffixed nouns in -ery is theoretically licensed: slaverism = religious and political system in which slavery
is the central doctrine (definition from Urban D.). Similar constructions
are commonly found in Internet pages, often used as mere synonyms of
depreciatory nouns in -ery: bitcherism, buffoonerism, geekerism, nerderism, schmuckerism, trickerism, etc.
Many words in -ery are simply adjectives affixed with -y (bladdery, blistery, coppery, gossamery, jaspery, lathery, leathery, mattery,
220
papery, plastery, rubbery, spidery, splintery, summery, thundery, watery, wintery, etc.). The only adjectives in -ery with an opaque stem are
deletery (obs.) and ornery (Americanism, 1816, orig. a contraction of
ordinary whose meaning has since 1860 shifted to “ill-tempered, stubborn”, OEtymD, cp. OED (also 1816 in present form), “representing a
regional or colloquial pronunciation of ordinary, adj. […] “Now generally, although not invariably, restricted to the spec. senses given below”
[…] “mean, cantankerous, contrary”).
11.7 -ule
This suffix (from F < L -ulus, -ula, -ulum) adds to the rich list of diminutives available in English word-formation. It is however chiefly recorded in learned words, in combination with free bases or neo-classical
combing forms:
(6)
a.transparent bases + -ule
(truncation of Neo-L endings): amygdule (< amygd(ala) + ‑ule) and sim.
antennule (< antenn(a) vs. < modern L in OED), coronule (< coron(a),
id.), fenestrule (< fenestr(a) vs. < L in OED); (affix-replacement: disseminule (1904 < dissemin(ate)); direct concatenation: barbule (< barb vs. < L
in OED), cellule (< cell vs. < MF in OED), cupule (< cup vs. < L in OED),
cymule (< cym(e), id.), ductule (< duct, id.), etc. (60 items)
b.
bound, opaque stems + -ule: chondrule < CF chondr- + ‑ule), frustule
(<≠ frustum), gallinule (<≠ gallina), lodicule, lucule, lunule (dem. <≠ Luna),
etc. (20 items)
Synchronically, a variant in -cule may be postulated in the ensuing words,
all actually derived from a Latin form in -culum or -cula: ˌani'malcule,
o'puscule, ra'muscule (cf. 'ramus). Opting for this approach is however bound to be counter-productive as it implies giving exceptional
stress-imposing status to a consonant-initial suffix with very limited
productivity, namely to a class comprising three items. Besides, synchronically indecomposable bases in -cule also borrowed from Latin
words in -culum or -cula, do not, as a rule, bear primary stress on the
penultimate, even when they contain a prefinal C2: 'corpuscule (+ var.
221
'corpuscle), 'crepuscule (+ [010] + var. crepuscle [100] or [010]), 'fascicule (+ var. 'fascicle), 'majuscule (+ [010]), 'minuscule (id., dem.
<≠ minus), 'molecule, 'monticule, 'radicule (+ var. 'radicle), 'reticule
(+ (in optics) var. 'reticle), ridicule, 'tubercule (+ var. 'tubercle).
The -ule suffix has no synchronic productivity outside learned
formations. Whether separable or bound, -ule produces adjectives in -ar
(a var. of -al, cf. §15.5) or in -ous: animalculous, cellular, corpusculous, crepusculous, molecular, ridiculous, etc.
The bound variant -cle, attested in learned terminology and common words alike (chronicle, circle, clavicle, miracle, oracle, particle,
spectacle, vehicle, ventricle, etc.), yields the same classes of adjectives:
circular, clavicular, miraculous, oracular/oraculous, spectacular, vehicular, ventricular/ventriculous, etc.
11.8 -ure
This deverbal or denominal noun suffix (from OF from L -ūra), indicates:
i. a process, condition or result from an action: closure, contracture
(“muscular contraction”), departure, discomfiture, erasure, exposure, failure, moisture, procedure, seizure;
ii. an official entity or function: legislature, magistrature, nunciature,
prefecture, prelature + architecture.
Now chiefly attested in rare or obsolete nouns (abbreviature = abbreviation, acclimature = acclimatisation, compressure = compression,
decocture = decoction, deflexure = deflexion, dictature = dictatorship,
etc.), the -ure suffix has not produced transparent formations since the
19th century, other than by adjunction of an initial combining form to
a pre-existing base (e.g. angioarchitecture, cytoarchitecture, cyberculture, cf. §18.1).
Besides learned compounds or blends of the latter kind, the only
noun in -ure created in the 20th century, (micro)vasculature (1964) is
222
described in MWD as having been formed from vascul(um) (= “vessel”,
in L) + -ature, on the model of musculature. The original formation of
the latter noun, adopted in English in the late 19th century (1875), is an
object of dissent in dictionaries: < musculat(ion) + -ure, D.com, < L
muscul(us) + -ature, MWD, < F musculature < It. musculutara, OED.
In conformity with the approach adopted by H&P (: 1674) for
nouns like nomination, etc., which they suggest are best analysed in terms
of substituting -ation with -ate (ie nomin(ate) + ‑ation), the same paradigm may be applied to nouns in -ature vis-à-vis verb or noun bases in
-ate (adjudicature <~ adjudic(ate) + -ature), foliature, implicature, judicature, legislature, ligature, magistrature, nunciature, prelature, quadrature, serrature), even if historically most of them have actually been taken
directly from Latin or French, or even Italian in the case of nunciature
(according to D.com and OED). Implicature and legislature are the only
nouns of the foregoing sample which are authentic derivatives, respectively from implicate and legislator). At any rate, if the word-formation
history suggested in MWD for vasculature is correct, the existence of an
alternative ‑ature suffix, potentially productive (at least in learned nouns)
may be posited, a possibility reinforced by the fact that the -ature sequence
may synchronically be regarded as a stand-alone suffix in curvature (act.
taken from L but sync. assimilable to curv(e) + -ature), signature (id.
sign) and tablature (< F < L, id. tabl(e)). Besides -ature, another variant
of -ure, ie -iture, has to be postulated in synchrony, as was the case for the
-ion suffix (supposition <~ suppose, etc., cf. §2.3.2 ii), for the apparent
deverbal formations: expenditure, investiture (actually both from Med. L)
and divestiture (< di- + (in)vestiture).
The graphic transformation noted for nouns in -ion synchronically derivable from verbs in -ish (abolish/abolition, demolish/demolition,
cf. §2.3.2 i.) is replicated in furnish/furniture, garnish/garniture (both
nouns have actually been taken from F).
Whether the existence of a potentially productive -ature suffix is
a fact or not, the basic form -ure has definitely joined the contingent of
extinct affixes.
Semantically or formally, the ensuing nouns are no longer (or
have never been) linked to what could at first analysis be taken as
their original base: adventure, compacture (arch., “the act of joining
223
together”), contexture (= “union” or “accretion”), corporature (arch.
= “tangible existence”), dejecture (= “excrements”), (dis)composure,
gladiature (“swordplay”), fixture (≠ obs. form fixure < fix), incisure (“a
notch or hollow”, in anatomy), insisture (arch. = “firmness”), literature,
maculature (arch. = “blotting paper”), paradoxure (= a species of mammal related to the civet”), positure (arch. = “posture”), prepositure (=
“provostship”), posture (+ v.), rapture, stricture, temperature, texture,
vesture, zonure (= “a variety of South-African lizard”). Including those
enumerated above, there are about 180 nouns in -ure which are not derivable from a free base:
(7)(+v = + v.) aperture, capture+v, caricature+v, censure+v, conjecture+v, conjuncture, culture+v, feature+v, figure+v, fissure+v, fracture+v, future (+ adj.),
gesture+v, lecture+v, leisure+v (+ adj.), manufacture+v, measure+v, miniature,
nature, pasture+v, picture+v, puncture+v, rupture+v, sepulture, stature, structure+v, suture+v, tenure+v, tonsure+v, torture+v, treasure+v, venture+v, vulture+v
(v. recorded in OED), etc.
As shown by many examples in (7), nouns in -ure which have no putative deriving form freely yield verbs by null-conversion (cf. §19), a possibility which should theoretically be disallowed for nouns where ‑ure is
analysable as attached to a transparent verb base (failure, seizure, etc.).
However the noun sculpture, synchronically derivable from sculpt, has
yielded a verb by null-conversion whose sense does not differ from that
of the one-syllable verb. The case of moisturise is no less interesting.
Being denominal and not deverbal moisture was theoretically apt to derive a verb, token blocking not being an issue in this case since moisturise (= “moisten the skin”) is not purely synonymous with moisten
(= “make slightly wet, in general”). What is noteworthy is that the verb
derived from moisture was formed with the suffix -ise. A similar case
is recorded in the Corpus, namely the obsolete creaturise, meaning “to
make like a creature, to degrade”.
In fact, whereas nouns in -ure with or without a transparent base
have been equally apt to derive verbs by null-conversion (synchronically
monomorphemic picture, venture, etc. vs. free base + -ure: sculpture),
verbalisation of ‑ure nouns with adjunction of the -ise suffix has been
steadily gaining ground, sometimes at the expense of token-blocking, as
confirmed by the sample below:
224
(8)
bound ending -ure + #-ise#: denaturise (19th < de- + natur(e) = denature), minitaturise (1909 < miniatur(e) + compounds micro-, sub-, ultra-), picturise (18th,
now especially “to make into a motion picture”), posturise (18th same s. as v.
posture), pressurise (1944 < n. pressur(e) = “make pressure inside something
different from pressure outside” ≠ v. pressure, 1930, = “put pressure on someone”, n. and v. dem. <≠ press), rapturise (r. 19th < n. rapture = “enrapture”),
texturise (1959 < textur(e)); #-ure# + #-ise#: moisturise (< 1945 < moistur(e))
The sequence -ure found in the stems of quite a few verbs with an inseparable prefix is of course not related to the affix: ob'scure (+ adj.),
pro'cure, se'cure (+ adj.), en'dure, per'dure, al'lure (+ n.), as'sure,
en'sure, in'sure, ab'jure, ad'jure, conjure ([10] or [01], depending on s.),
'injure, 'perjure, cf. §0.2, iii.).
The noun manure (+ v., which was not originally affixed with -ure)
and the adjective mature (+ v.) are irregularly stressed on the last syllable.
So are gravure and the compounds formed with this noun (heliogravure,
photogravure, pyrogravure, rotogravure), although a [(‑)10] stress variant
is attested in each case. The formerly [2001] stress pattern of caricature
has been displaced by a pronunciation with initial primary stress. Nomenclature allows either initial or antepenultimate primary stress. The
adjective premature – which has derived a noun by null-conversion (e.g.
“a premature”) – has either final or initial primary stress.
Nouns in -ure with a transparent base have produced (or are synchronically analysable as having produced):
i. adjectives in -al: architectural, prefectural, procedural, scriptural,
sculptural, -able: pleasurable, -esque: sculpturesque, -ful (pleasureful) and -less: creatureless, moistureless, pleasureless, signatureless;
ii. verbs in -ise: creaturise (obs.), moisturise;
iii. nouns in -er: pleasurer, sculpturer (syn. sculptor) or -ist pleasurist
(r. = pleasurer), scripturist, signaturist.
Apart from adjectivisations in -al and -less, derivations from suffixed
nouns in -ure are quite marginal.
Monomorphemic and demotivated nouns in -ure have produced
the same classes of derivatives (cultural, natural, structural, censurable, measurable, picturable, adventureful, censureless, cultureless,
225
featureless, futureless, picturise, posturise, adventurer, treasurer, culturist, futurist (chiefly adj.), manicurist, miniaturist, naturist) + adjectives
in -ish (calenturish, vulturish), -ous: adventurous, rapturous, torturous,
venturous, vulturous, and nouns in -ism: adventurism, culturism, futurism, naturism, miniaturism. Those which are alternatively verbal have
yielded agent nouns: capturer, censurer, lecturer, manufacturer, torturer.
Adjectivisations in -able from bicategorial (n. and v.) words in -ure
with no underlying transparent base are mostly analysable as deverbal:
conjecturable, censurable, measurable, picturable, treasurable (= “that
can be conjectured, censured, measured, pictured, treasured”, etc., cp.
futurable, leisurable).
The morpheme culture (chiefly in the meaning “technique for
growing crops or breeding animals” but also in the alternative senses
of “set of beliefs, ideas, etc. proper to a society or human group” or
“bacteria, cells, etc. grown in a scientific experiment”) has been quite
productive in the formation of compounds constructed with an initial
combining form (generally Latin, with linking vowel -i-): 'agriˌculture, 'apiˌculture (19th), 'aquiˌculture (id.), 'aviˌculture (id.), 'citriˌculture (1916 MWD < citr(us) + -culture, D.com, not listed in OED),
'mariˌculture (19th), 'monoˌculture (1901), 'permaˌculture (1978), etc.;
sense b.: 'cyberˌculture (1963), 'urbiˌculture (19th), etc.; sense c. (medical dictionaries, e.g. Medical D., accessible from OL) 'coproˌculture,
'hemoˌculture (a. + b. + c. = 45 items). About the stress shift in ˌagri'culturist, ˌapi'culturist, etc., cf. §10.3.7. The morpheme geniture which
has also yielded several neoclassical compounds (postremogeniture,
primogeniture, progeniture, ultimo-geniture, unigeniture) is apparently
no more productive.
As seen above, a few nouns in -ure are alternately adjectival whilst
mature is adjectival and verbal and premature primarily adjectival and,
by extension, nominal. All form adverbs in -ly and nouns in -ness and/
or -ity (futurely, futurity, leisurely, leisureness, maturely, matureness/
maturity, prematurely, prematureness/prematurity).
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11.9 Mixed suffixes
The noun suffixes -age, -ate and -ure may be seen as true to Fudge’s
definition of “mixed suffixes” since they are stress neutral in transparent
formations ('anecdotage < 'anecdote, cp. remetrified adj. ˌanec'dotal,
cf. §15), even when they attach to a base with early stress ending in a
consonant cluster, in contrast with opaque or demotivated formations
which show compliance with S-1 in the same configuration:
(9)
a.stress neutrality (free, transparent n. base + suffix);
'anec(ˌ)dotage < 'anecdote, cp. remetrified adj. ˌanec'dotal, cf. §15.6.1 ii.),
'brigandage < 'brigand, 'clientage < 'client, 'parentage < 'parent (cp. remetrified
adj. pa'rental, cf. §15(12)), 'vagabondage < 'vagabond (cp. stress preserving
n. derivable from a v. with an insep. prefix: as'semblage <~ as'semble), 'architecture <~ 'architect., 'prefecture <~ 'prefect (cp. stress preserving n. derivable
from a v. with an insep. prefix:con'tracture <~ con'tract, de'parture <~ de'part,
etc.), 'matriarchate < 'matriarch (cp. remetrified adj. ˌmatri'archal), 'patriarchate <~ 'patriarch (id. ˌpatri'archal), 'exarchate <~ 'exarch, 'potentate <~ 'potent .(cp. other stress-preserving n. derivable from a v. with an insep. prefix:
ab'sorbate < ab'sord, ad'sorbate (1914) < ad'sorb, con'densate <~ con'dense,
etc.).
b.S-1: synchronically indecomposable n. (Corpus inventory, +v = + v.):
ad'vantage+v, em'pennage (+ var [201], with French-like pronunciation of
the -age ending → [ɑ:ʒ]), ad'venture+v (<≠ 'advent), con'jecture+v, con'juncture (dem. <≠ conjunct), con'texture (<≠ 'context), de'benture, de'jecture (<≠
de'ject), im'posture ˌ<≠ 'impost), in'denture+v (<≠ indent, n. [10] or v. [01]),
ˌmanu'facture+v, ˌpara'doxure (r. Zool. <≠ 'paradox); al'ternate (+ [100], cp.
adj. [010] and v. [100], cf. §13(4)), a'postate.
However, words relevant to (9b) represent a small class. Furthermore, Fudge’s dichotomy cannot be appealed to, in terms of primarystress assignement, with combining-form compounds: 'agriˌculture,
'counterˌculture, etc., cf. 4 par. above, 'orthoˌdonture, 'acuˌpressure,
'acuˌpuncture, 'veniˌpuncture. Finally (9b) is liable to too many exceptions (8 out of a total of 22 words): 'magistrate, 'aperture, 'calenture
(act. < Sp < L), 'overture, 'sepulture, 'alternate (+ [010], cp. adj. [010]
and v. [100], cf. §13(4)), 'concentrate (+ v.), 'flagellate (+ adj., the
homographic v. has no semantic relation in synchrony). Several authors (e.g. Burzio, Poldauf, 1984) have noted that violations of the C2
227
stress-assignment rule are common when the penult syllable is closed
by /s/ or by a sonorant, which is indeed the case in magistrate, aperture,
calenture, overture, sepulture and concentrate. Statistically, however,
this principle is far from convincing, witness advantage, adventure,
debenture, indenture, imposture and apostate, whose prefinal syllable
is precisely closed by a sonorant or /s/. It must be noted that the verb
forms of advantage, adventure, conjecture and indenture can be treated
by the inseperable prefix rule.
As stipulated in §0.2, the label “mixed suffixes” has been used
in this book with a broader sense than that meant by Fudge (illustrated
in (9) above), namely as also including suffixes which may be neutral
or stress-imposing according to other factors than their separability or
inseparability.
The latter type of suffixes will be the object of the next part of
this study.
228
Part III
Mixed suffixes
12. -able
12.1 General features
Introduced into English via Old French, the -able suffix (from L -abilis) has yielded a considerable number of adjectives endowed with the
senses “capable of, deserving of, likely to or tending to”. Adjectives
in -able are chiefly formed from transtitive verbs. Most formations
of this kind are invested with a passive sense (ie capable, worthy of
being…), associated semantically (by popular etymology) to the adjective able, originally related to another Latin root (habilis). Dictionaries do not suggest clear-cut distribution rules between -able and its
variant -ible.
There is a huge numerical discrepancy between adjectives in
-able (1125 items after deduction of 675 adjectives with a separable
prefix: dis-, in- (and allomorphs il-, im-, ir-), inter-, mis-, non-, over-,
re-, un-, etc.: dishonorable, incontrollable, irremediable, intercommunicable, miscontruable, nonpersihable, reexaminable, unperceivable,
etc.) and adjectives in -ible (< ibilis), which come down to 100 items
(out of 152), further to application of the same elimination process (ie
deduction of illegible, incomprehensible, interconvertible, noncollapsible, in/undigestible, etc.).
12.2 -able or -ible?
Affixation with -able is thus largely dominant, all the more as it is the only
highly productive suffix adopted from French labelled as /± Lati­nate/ in
the Latinate Constaint model, namely apt to affix indiscriminately to
Romance or native bases:
(1)
Native bases + -able:
answerable, bearable, beggable, bendable, biddable, bindable, burnable, book­
able, callable, cleanable, climbable, growable, guessable, laughable, matchable,
washable, winnable, wearable, etc. (340 items, or 30% of adjectives in -able).
Rendible is, to the best of our knowledge, the only adjective in -ible
which has been derived from a Germanic base (ie rend, this adjective
is also derivable, further to truncation of the -er ending, from the Romance render; a more common variant renderable is however attested).
A good many short bases combinable with -able are now interpreted as
native although they are actually descended from Norman French: bailable, cashable, catchable, checkable, closable, foilable, fundable, gainable, gaugeable, gradable, grantable, grievable, guardable, guidable,
leasable, lodgeable, mailable, mendable, etc.
In Old French, -able adjectives were generally derived from Latin
verbs of the first group. This is verified in English with verb bases in ‑ate,
in -(e/i)fy (< OF -fier, cf. §4.1) and in -ise, which all affix with ‑able:
(2)
a.
ate + -able: abdicable, abominable, abrogable, accomodable, administrable,
affiliable, agglutinable, alienable, ameliorable, etc. (150 items);
b.
-(e/i)fy + -able: acidifiable, alkalifiable, amplifiable, certifiable, classifiable,
definable, falsifiable, fortifiable, glorifiable, etc. (50 items);
c.
-ise + -able: acclimatisable, advertisable, alkalisable, amortisable, characterisable, criticisable, mobilisable, etc. (75 items) a + b + c ≈ 25% of the
-able corpus
According to the Corpus, the verb exercise is the only item of the three
classes above which has alternately yielded an adjective in -ible exercisable/exercisible, both forms being synonymous with the definition
“capable of being exercised, employed or enforced”.
Verbs in -ate supposedly entail truncation of their ending except
when -able attaches to two-syllable bases:
(3)
232
Dissyllabic verb bases in -ate + -able
abatable, chelatable, collatable, creatable, debatable, dilatable, equatable,
filtratable (< filtrate, cp. filtrable < filt(e)r) + -able), hydratable, inflatable,
locatable, narratable, palatable (< n. palate), proratable, rebatable, relatable,
rotatable (≠ rotable, n. = “repleaceable aircraft component”), titratable (< titrate, cp. titrable < tit(e)r) + -able), translatable, updatable, vacatable (< vacate
cp. vatable = VAT + -able); exc.: donable, frustrable
However, a score of -ate verbs of three syllables or more impose
or allow a variant with adjunction of the -able suffix to the ending.
(4)-at(e) + -able (? = no available date of first known use)
a.no variant with truncation of -ate: anticipatable (19th < v. 16th), authenticatable (? < v. 17th), automatable (1956 < v. 1954), correlatable (19th < v. 18th),
indicatable (? < v. 17th), renovatable (? < v. 16th), substantiatable (? < v. 17th),
syndicatable (? < v. 19th in its cont. s.);
b.with variant allowing truncation of -ate: allocatable (?) / allocable (18th),
circulatable (?) / circulable (18th), confiscatable (19th) / confiscable (18th),
cultivatable (18th) / cultivable (17th), detonatable (?) / detonable (19th),
duplicatable (?) / duplicable (1928), educatable (19th) / educable (17th),
illustratable (19th) / illustrable (obs. 17th), isolatable (1936) / isolable (19th),
manipulatable (1934) / manipulable (19th), operatable (19th) / operable(17th)
Further to deduction of the adjectives of (1) and (2), there remain about
495 transparently suffixed adjectives in -able, of which 445 are also
formed from verbs: absolvable, absorbable, abusable, acceptable, accordable, achievable, acquaintable, acquirable, adaptable, adjustable,
admirable, admittable, etc.
These deverbal adjectives entail:
i. juxtaposition to the base in all configurations, with graphic adjustment (> i) for y: deny > deniable, etc. ≠ convey > conveyable, destroy > destroyable, etc. in which y is part of a vowel digraph;
ii. retention of mute e when it is preceded by
a. <c> or <g> so as to preserve the spelling-to-sound correlations
proper to these consonant graphemes (<c> = [s] and <g> =
[dʒ] before <e, i, y>: announceable, commenceable, faceable,
financeable, noticeable, etc. (45 items), allegeable, arrangeable,
challengeable, chargeable, damageable, etc. (35 items, cf. last
par. of §2.2.3);
b.<-Cle>: coupleable, entangleable, garbleable, googleable, han­
dleable, mingleable, settleable, strangleable, swindleable, throttle­
able, tripleable, whistleable; cp. affixation of -able to syllabic /l/
represented by another spelling: cancel > cancel(l)able, travel >
trave(l)lable, etc.
233
In British English, mute e is generally retained when -able attaches
to a monosyllabic base, deletion of e being preferred in American
English in this context: drivable, likable, etc.
(5)
biteable, blameable, boreable, bribeable, cacheable, chaseable, chokeable,
chooseable, citeable, closeable, dateable, drapeable, driveable, fadeable, fileable, fineable, fireable, frameable, giveable, grazeable, hateable, hireable, likeable, lineable, liveable, loveable, makeable, mineable, moveable, nameable,
noteable, pareable, parseable, popeable, probeable, raiseable, rakeable,
rapeable, rateable, rideable, rinseable, ropeable, saleable, saveable, scaleable,
serveable, shakeable, shameable, shapeable, shareable, shaveable, sizeable,
skateable, slakeable, smokeable, spareable, stateable, stoneable, strokeable,
takeable, tameable, tapeable, tasteable, toteable, tradeable, tuneable, twineable,
typeable, useable, voteable, wadeable, wipeable, writeable
Still in British English, -able formations which retain mute -e when
attaching to polysyllabic bases include acreable, atoneable, awakeable,
confineable, diagnoseable, machineable, microwaveable, mistakeable,
rebateable, removeable, uniteable, upgradeable.
Besides natives bases and verbs in -ate, -(e/i)fy and -ise, -able is
also compulsory in combination with:
i.
ii.
-ish verbs, even though most of them have actually been inherited
from French verbs of the second group: abolishable, accomplishable, burnishable, cherishable, etc. (20 items);
vowel digraphs: agreeable, decreeable, viewable, canoeable,
allowable, assayable, displayable, conveyable, surveyable, de­
stroyable, employable, enjoyable, etc. (30 items, after deduction
of those already counted in (1): drawable, swayable, chewable,
hewable, seeable, eyeable, dyeable, etc.
Of the 100 adjectives in -ible synchronically analysable as directly affixed to a verb base with, when applicable, no other allomorphic transformation than deletion of mute -e (deductible <~ deduct or deducible
<~ deduc(e) vs. negligible <~ neglect or permissible <~ permit), half
have a variant in -able. 80% of these variants are given as the preferred
form in contemporary dictionaries. However, affixation with -ible is
compulsory with verbs in -esce: effervescible, evanescible, putrescible.
234
(6)
v. admitting affixation with -able or -ible with preference for
a.-able as in addable or addible < add: adduce, admit, affect, ascend, class,
commit, conclude, condense, construct, correct, descend, detect, discern,
distract, divorce, enforce, erode, evade, exist (r., var. in -ible id.), expand,
extend, extract, ignite, impart, include, infect, infer, lapse, manifest, invent,
part, redress, refer, retract, solve, transfer, transmit, transfuse, vend;
b.
-ible as in collapsible (+ -able) <~ collapse: avert, collect, deduct, dismiss,
immerse (+ -seable), produce (+ ‑ceable), reduce (id.), reverse, seduce (+
-ceable)
According to the Corpus, 43 adjectives in -ible, analysable as directly
derived from a verb with an inseparable prefix, have no variant in -able.
However, 9 of them are given in OED with a variant in -able, noted (+
‑(e)able) in the inventory below:
(7)
coercible, combustible (+ n.), compactible, comprehendible (+ bound allomorph var. comprehensible), compressible, conducible (+ -able), conductible,
controvertible, convertible (+ n.), convincible,, corrodible (+ -able + bound
allomorph var. corrosible), corruptible, deducible, destructible (+ var. destroyable), diffusible (+ -able), digestible (+ -able), discerptible, dissectible, divertible, divestible, educible, effectible (+ -able), eludible, evincible, expressible,
inducible, instructible (+ -able), invertible, pervertible, protractible, reflectible,
repressible, reproducible (+-eable), resistible (+ ‑able), reversible, revertible,
submergible, submersible (+ n.), subvertible, suppressible (+ -able), traducible,
transvertible (obs.); about evanescible, etc., cf. last par. before (6) above.
Semantically, de'fectible (= “imperfect” <~ defect, n.) and perfectible (=
“capable of being made perfect” (<~ perfect, adj.) cannot be treated as
deverbal formations. The primary-stress displacement in these adjectives is concordant with the classification of -ible as an S-1 suffix.
Inevitably, Internet searches return many more variants in -able
than those recorded in the Corpus or in OED: compact(ible/able), compress(ible/able), conduct(ible/abl)e, controvert(ible/able), etc. (cf. (11)
below).
One third of adjectives in -ible, whether authentically suffixed
from verbs or synchronically interpretable as such (most have actually
been directly adopted from Latin or French), denote morphophonological transformations of their putative base, mirroring those observed for
-ion or -ive affixations: divisible, division, divisive <~ divide, omissible,
omission, omissive <~ omit, etc. In this context a variant in -able is also
235
most often available. As shown below this variant is generally more
frequently used and has even, in some cases, supplanted its rival -ible
form:
(8)
Bound allomorphs in -ible with an isomorphic var. in -able: circumscriptible
(r.) = circumscribable, conceptible (id.) = conceivable, corrigible = correctable,
deceptible (r.) = deceivable, defensible (id.) = defendable, divisible = dividable,
erigible (obs.) = erectable, evasible (r.) = evadable (+ -ible), exigible = exactable, expansible = expandable (+ -ible), extensible = extendable (+ -ible), inscriptible (r.) = inscribable, miscible (scientific usage) = mixable (scientific or
general usage), negligible = neglectable, offensible (obs.) = offendable, perceptible = perceivable, persuasible (r.) = persuadable, prescriptible = prescribable,
protrusible (r.) = protrudable, receptible (id.) = receivable, redemptible (r.) =
redeemable (only in religious s., cp. alternative s. of redeem > redeemable in
business transactions), reprehensible = reprehendable (r.); about admissible and
admittable, eligible and electable, dirigible and directable, cf. 2nd par. after (11)
below.
Some synonymous pairs in -ible are also recorded in which one element
is analysable as an immediate deverbal derivation and the other as a
bound allomorph:
(9)
comprehendible (or -able, both r.) / comprehensible, convertible / conversible
(or -able, both r.), corrodible (or ‑able) / corrosible (r.), extensible / extendible
(or -able), producible (= produceable) / productible (r.)
According to the Corpus, there are very few bound allomorphs in -ible
which have not yielded a variant in -able or in -ible immediately deriv­
able from their putative verb base (see however (11) below):
(10)
apprehensible, distensible, negligible, omissible, permissible, remissible, suspensible
Few morphophonological transformations are recorded with adjectives
in -able. All bound allomorphs in -able have yielded a variant immediately derivable from the base: applicable = appliable, despicable = despisable, explicable (actually from explicate) = explainable, reparable
= repairable:
Adjectives suffixed with the -ible variant (or sync. analysable as
such) are a marginal class, in terms of numbers and quite often of usage.
The dates of first known uses of relevant adjectives show that the -ible
236
variant has been unproductive since the 19th century. So not only is now
-able the only of the two suffixes apt to generate new adjectives with the
meaning “capable of ”, etc., but it has a marked tendency to displace its
‑ible variant in nearly all contexts, as shown again by Internet searches
which turn up many more cases of variation than those recorded in the
Corpus or in OED: compact(ible/able), compress(ible/able, omi(ssible/
ttable), etc. In fact, barely half a dozen verbal pseudo-morphemes are
apparently showing resistance to the generalisation of -able affixation,
being still given as the preferred or only licensed form in dictionaries:
(11)-ducible + -ceable (from the Corpus and/or OED) < or <~ -duce: adducible,
producible, reducible, seducible, reproducible; (from Internet pp.): conducible,
deducible, educible, inducible, traducible; -fectible + -able (from the Corpus
and/or OED) < or <~ -fect: affectible, effectible, infectible (from Internet pp.):
defectible, perfectible; -hensible + -hendable (from the Corpus and/or OED) <
or <~ -hend: comprehensible, reprehensible; (from Internet pp.): apprehensible;
-missible + -mittable (from the Corpus and/or OED) < or <~ -mit: admissible,
remissible, transmissible; (from Internet pp.): omissible, permissible; -rigible
+ -rectable (from the Corpus and/or OED) < or <~ -rect: corrigible, erigible
(dirigible ≠ directable), -vertible (from the Corpus and/or OED) < or <~ -vert:
avertible, convertible (+ n. only with -ible) (about eligible ≠ electable, cf. 2 par.
below); (from Internet pp.): controvertible, divertible, invertible, pervertible,
revertible, subvertible, transvertible, -escible < or <~ -esce: effervescible, evanescible, putrescible. About possible differences of meanings between adjectives in ‑able or in -ible derivable from the same base, e.g. eligible ≠ electable,
cf. 2 par. below)
Despite the criticism of purists, -able has even imposed its use on intransitive verbs (dependable < depend, laughable < laugh, reliable
< rely, cf. Fowler 1985 [1926]: 2–4). The predominance of -able is obviously consequential to the facility of usage of this suffix which some
dictionaries (e.g. D.com, Infoplease D. or Webster’s New World College
D., 4th Edition) consider as a subset of a generic -ble suffix. The -able
suffix does indeed aggregate to a base without any noticeable morphological transformation, except in the case of most -ate verb bases
of three syllables or more (tolerate/tolerable). It is therefore hardly
surprising that formations such as conceptible, whose morphological
analysis is not straightforwardly transparent, should be displaced by immediately recognisable variants such as conceivable.
237
Competition between -able and -ible has occasionally given rise
to different meanings in pairs apparently linked to the same base: admissible (“fit to be admitted”, especially of evidence) vs. admittable
(all s. linked to the verb), contractible (“capable of being contracted”)
vs. contractable (id. + “liable to be contracted”, of a disease), dirigible
(“capable of being steered”, dem.) vs. directable (all s. linked to the v.),
eligible (“qualified for or worthy of a position”) vs. electable (“capable
of being elected”), redemptible (“capable of being redeemed”, religious
s.) vs. redeemable (same s. + business s.), transmissible (all s. linked to
the v.) vs. transmittable (chiefly used in relation with a disease or a radio
wave) + with a separable prefix: incorrigible (“having bad habits and
not willing to change”, of someone) vs. uncorrectable (“not likely to
improve”, of a habit, etc. or “impossible to correct”, as of a paper, etc.).
Historically, about fifty adjectives in -able have been derived
from a noun, either directly in English or originally in French. Besides
strictly denominal formations (e.g. impressionable and palatable),
some derivatives have a base which is alternatively verbal. However,
the respective meaning of the noun and the verb leaves no ambiguity
about the derivational pattern in many cases: comfortable (“producing
ease or comfort”, no s. related to the v.), fashionable (“voguish”, id. <≠
v.), reasonable (“sensible” or “relatively good”, id. <≠ v.), seasonable
(“normal for the season” id. <≠ v.).
(12)
238
Corpus inventory
a. derivatives from n. (no homographic v.): commonable (< common, n.), duty­
able (< dut(y)), equitable (< equit(y)), giftable (< gift), heriotable (obs. <
heriot), knowledgeable (< knowledge), leisurable (< leisur(e)), marriageable
(< marriage), miscarriageable (not antonymic with carriageable < miscarriage (< mis- + carriage)), palatable (< palat(e)), pleasurable (< pleasur(e)), sal(e)able (< sale), statutable (< statut(e)), treasonable (< treason),
carriageable (r. < carriage), clergyable (obs. < clergy), doctrinable (obs. <
doctrine), oathable (obs. < oath,) + < O. or MF: charitable (<~ charity), customable (<~ custom), homageable (obs. <~ homage), merchantable (chiefly
Law <~ merchant), merciable (obs. <~ mercy), peaceable (<~ peace) + < L
miserable (<~ misery); + derivatives < n. in -ion: emotionable, fissionable
(1945), fashionable (< n. <≠ v.), etc., cf. §2(16);
b.denominal derivatives from bicategorial (n. and v.) bases: fin(e)able (< fine),
mailable (< mail), serviceable (< service), siz(e)able (< size), throttleable
(1960 < throttle), powerable (16th < n.,13th, in the sense of “to supply with
power”, by conversion from power (n.), was first recorded in 1990, earlier
it meant “make powerful” + < O or MF: comfortable (<~ comfort, n. <≠ v),
reasonable (<~ reason, id.), tenantable (<~ tenant).
As can be seen from the inventory in (12) denominal adjectivisation
in -able is still productive although relatively marginal (fissionable,
throtteable). Whereas no indications are given in the Corpus about the
syntactic category of the bases from which the ensuing adjectives have
been formed or may be assumed to have been formed, most have according to OED been directly derived from verbs: creditable (probably
partly < credit n., partly < credit v.), meritable (r. < merit, v.), pasturable (< pasture, v.), pocketable (< pocket, v.), priz(e)able (r. < prize, v.),
summable (< sum, v.), tollable (r. < toll, v.), trafficable (< traffic n. or v.),
voyageable (< voyage, v.).
The other adjectives in -able derivable from bicategorial nominal
and verbal words which are listed in the Corpus are all given in D.com
and/or OED as constructed from verb bases:
(14)
anchorable, beddable (1941, vulgar < bed), bridgeable, camouflageable,
censorable, censurable, challengeable, changeable, chargeable, colourable,
conjecturable, counselable, culturable, curable, damageable, demisable, dischargeable, documentable, exchangeable, farmable, figurable, garageable,
gaugeable, hazardable, husbandable, imageable, judgeable, lapsable, licensable, mappable, merchandisable, measurable, mentionable, microwav(e)able
(1977, 1961 for the v.), mortgageable, pawnable, picturable, pitiable, pledgeable, remediable, rentable, rescuable, rulable, tailorable, taxable, temperable,
testable, tradable, etc.
The ensuing adjectives have been taken from Latin or French: (a) L:
profitable; (b) OF: favourable (<~ favour, relatable to the n. in the s.
of “creating or winning favour”), hono(u)rable (<~ honour), manur­
able (<~ manure). About bicategorial items in -ion + -able: auctionable,
functionable, etc. cf. §2(16).
Memorable and personable are semantically demotivated. Futurable is an exceptional deadjectival derivation (D.com, not listed in
OED). Only four adjectives in ‑ible are synchronically derivable from
a noun base: accessible (175h < L <~ access, the null-conversion v. was
first recorded in the late 19th), contemptible (< L <~ contempt), defectible (1st par. below (7), same ch.), and gullible (< perhaps < gull = “a
239
dupe”, obs.). Perfectible (see 1st par. below (7), same ch.) is an exceptional deadjectival derivative. Directly taken from Latin, horrible and
scissible may be derived from respectively horror and scission, even
though this paradigmatic process is not found in other -ible adjectives.
According to D.com affix-replacement is historically recorded in vitrescible (< vitresc(ent) + -ible vs. < L stem + -ible in OED). Although it is
semantically related to conscience, conscionable is a solitary paradigm.
So is irascible (from L), synchonically linkable to ire.
There about 100 adjectives in- able (≈ 8% of unprefixed forms,
after deduction of items such as readjustable, etc., cf. §12.1 above) with
no transparent base, of which 40 are now labelled as archaic. Comparatively, opaque or obscure formations account for one third of adjectives
in -ible. The most common of these adjectives which have no putative
base are:
(15)
(The adj. in a. are classed according to their stress patterns)
a. -able: preceded by one syl.→ [100]: affable, arable, capable, culpable, durable, effable, equable, peccable, portable, pregnable, probable, scrutable,
semblable, tenable, tractable (<≠ tract), friable, liable, pliable (<≠ ply), viable (<≠ vie); preceded by -C2 → S-1: aspectable (dem. <≠ aspect), delectable, impeccable (insep., cont. s. <≠ peccable), incessable (id.), indomptable
(id.), ineluctable (id.), inflammable (id. = “burning easily”), intestable (id. =
intestate), redoubtable (<≠ redoubt); preceded by more than one syl. → S2:
amiable (-ION word), amicable, defatigable (insep. = “liable to be tired”),
domitable, dubitable, formidable (+ [0100]), habitable (<≠ habit), heritable, hospitable (+ [0100]), imperviable (-ION word), inhabitable (insep. =
“which can be inhabited”), mensurable, practicable (<≠ practise), pulverable, sociable (-ION word), superable (dem. <≠ super), venerable (dem. <≠
venerate), veritable (id. <≠ verity); exc: a'menable;
b.-ible (S-1): appetible (dem. <≠ appetite), audible, cessible (<≠ cess), cog­
noscible, comestible, compatible, credible, delible, docible, ductible (<≠
duct), edible, fallible (dem. <≠ fail), feasible, forcible (dem. <≠ force),
fragible, frangible, immarescible, impassible, indicible, legible, marcescible,
ostensible, plausible, possible, responsible (dem. <≠ respond/se), risible,
sensible (dem. <≠ sense), susceptible, tangible, terrible (dem. <≠ terror),
vincible, visible
Except for amenable, adjectives in -able which are not derivable
from a transparent base comply with Fudge’s S-1/2 stress-assignment
principle.
240
A very marginal variant of -able is -uble which may synchronically be likened to a morphophonological transformation of verbs in
-olve, paralleling that of the nouns dissolution, resolution, revolution,
solution (cf. §2(12b.): dissoluble, resoluble, revoluble, soluble. These
adjectives have actually been taken from Latin. Voluble, which closes
the inventory of adjectives in -uble has no putative base in synchrony.
12.3 Stress-neutrality and variation
As seen in §4.2, -ible is best treated as a stress-impossing affix, either
in synchronically separable formations (accessible, defectible, perfectible), although most match the deriving verb’s stress pattern (deducible
<~ deduce), or in words with a bound stem: compatible, comestible,
ostensible, responsible (<≠ respond), susceptible (in the last four cases
prefinal C2 stress-placement may also be appealed to).
Conversely, -able should be held as chiefly stress-neutral, as it is
in the literature: acknowledgeable < acknowledge, perishable < perish,
communicable <~ communicate, etc.
A number of adjectives do not preserve the stress of their putative
base, either as their only possible pronunciation, a rather exceptional
phenomenon, or most often in variation. A shift of primary stress to the
antepenult is thus always attested in variation when -able appends to a
verb in -(e/i)fy (cf. §2(9'b.):
(16)
Adjectives in -(e/i)fiable: stress-preserving derivation or shift to the antepenult,
as in 'certifiable or ˌcerti'fiable < 'certify and, on the same model, classifiable
< classify, electrifiable < electrify, falsifiable < falsify, identifiable < identify,
justifiable <~ justify, liquefiable < liquefy, magnifiable < magnify, etc.
The systematic variability of adjectives in -ifiable is confirmed by J. C.
Wells who, under the entry -fiable of his dictionary, makes the follow­ing
comment: “Although this suffix is usually unstressed in RP and GenAm,
in some other varieties it is stressed, and this variant is occasionally
heard in RP too: i'dentifiable or iˌdenti'iable”; (LPD2: 290).
241
The alternative stress patterns above are all the more remarkable as they cancel out the effects of the very efficient antepenultimate
stress-assignment rule of verbs in -(e/i)fy which, as has been seen in
§4.1, is subject to no exception. Let us recall that, according to Guierre’s
morphophonological model only a non-neutral affix is apt to prevail
over another non-neutral affix further to the principle of rightmost positioning in a word (ˌperio'dicity < ˌperi'odic <~ 'period, cf. §0(2)).
The stress variation noted in -fiable adjectives is part of a more general
phenomenon in Present-Day English, whereby alternative shift to the
antepenult occurs in -able adjectives appending to a verb with early
primary stress whose final syllable contains a free vowel:
(16')'analyse > 'analysable or ˌana'lysable, 'criticise > 'criticisable or ˌcriti'cisable,
'download > down'loadable, 'recognise > 'recognisable or ˌreco'gnisable, 'utilise >
'utilisable or ˌuti'lisable, at'tribute > at'tributable or ˌattri'butable (here with remetrification), 'extradite > 'extraditable or ˌextra'ditable, 'substitute > 'substitutable
or ˌsubsti'tutable, 'reconcile > 'reconcilable or ˌrecon'cilable, etc.
Burzio gives comprehensive validity to this variational principle, which
he extends to adverbs formed from deverbal adjectives in -ated or in
-ating (cf. §15(43)):
(17)
Stress variation
a. = (16') early stress verbs whose final syllable contains a free V + -able: ˌculti'vatable = executable, generalisable, realisable, oxidisable (Burzio: 233)
b. verbs in -ate adjectivised with -ed or -ing + adv. -ly: disˌcrimi'natingly =
accommodatingly, aggravatingly, agonisingly, captivatingly, deprecatingly,
devastatingly, etc. (ibidem: 243)
An even wider generalisation will be made in a further chapter, encompassing other adjectival suffixes (cf. §15(41–43)).
Another 20 or so adjectives in -able show a stress mismatch with
their putative base, either as their only possible pronunciation (there
again quite rarely so) or in variation:
(18)
242
Remetrified derivatives
a. strictly irregular: 'admirable <~ ad'mire, com'pensable <~ 'compensate, 'reparable <~ re'pair (cp. re'pairable, same s.), 'reputable < re'pute; (as'pectable
and im'pregnable should not be considered as irregular inasmuch as they have
no semantic relation with respectively aspect and impregnate in PresentDay English);
b. irregular in main pronunciation with a stress-preserving var.: 'cognisable
(+ [0100] < co'gnise, the derivation is regular in US: 'cognisable < 'cognise), 'comparable (+ [0100] <~ com'pare), con'fiscable (+ [1000] <~ 'confiscate), de'monstrable (+ [1000] 'demonstrate), ˌdia'grammable (+ [1000]
< 'diagram), ˌdocu'mentable (+ [10000] < 'document), 'ex'plicable (in GB +
[1000] vs.[1000] and [0100] in US <~ 'explicate), 'lamentable (+ [0100] <~
la'ment), 'preferable (+ [0100] < pre'fer, cp. de'ferable, in'ferable, re'ferable),
pro'grammable (+ [1000] < 'program(me), v., regular in US), 'revokable
(+ [0100] < re'voke), 'respirable (+ [0100] < re'spire);
c. regular in main pronunciation with a stress-shift var.: ap'plicable (+ [1000] in
GB, vs. [1000] + [0100] in US <~ ap'ply), des'picable (+ [1000] <~ des'pise),
dis'putable (+ [1000] in GB <~ dis'pute, v.), re'futable (+ [1000] <~ re'fute),
'transferable (< trans'fer, v. + 'transferable < 'transfer in US).
The adjectives compensable, confiscable, demonstrable, documentable, diagrammable and programmable are certainly indicative of a
conflict between the basic stress-neutrality of -able and the general
rule assigning penultimate stressing to most Latinate adjective affixes
(-al (+ var. -ar), ‑an, -ant/‑ent, -ary, -ate, -ive, -oid, -ous) preceded
by a consonant cluster (cf. §15.3). Compensable, confiscable and demonstrable may also be regarded as left-overs from the rule which,
as late as the 19th century, assigned penultimate stress to verbs in -ate
when they had a prefinal consonant cluster and subsequently to the
adjectives in -able they derived. Some variants have perpetuated this
former rule which seems to die out more slowly in American En­
glish (e.g. e'longate, im'pregnate (+ [100]), in'carnate, re'monstrate
(+ [100]), se'questrate (id.), cf. §13.1.2.2). It should however be noted
that, until its 14th edition, the EPD corpus recommended early stress
for demonstrable. Evidence that a conflict is at play in Present-Day
English is definitely provided by programmable, which is a relatively
recent word (1953).
It may thus be tempting to infer that adjectives in -able in which
the latter suffix is preceded by a consonant cluster are lining up with
other classes of Latinate adjectives in terms of stress assignment (e.g.
al'ternate, adj; vs. 'alternate, v., au'tumnal, adj. vs. 'autumn, n., co'lumnar, adj. vs. 'column, n., mol'luscoid, adj. vs. 'mollusc, n., su'burban, adj.
vs. 'suburb, n., etc.), all the more as other relevant items not recorded
in the Corpus (ˌargu'mentable < 'argument, ˌmani'festable < 'manifest,
ˌrecom'pensable < 'recompense) are noted in OED with penultimate
243
primary stress (the last two items having been updated in, respectively,
2000 and 2009)12.
Yet, the ensuing adjectives in -able have not brought forth any
variant with pre-cluster stress: ad'ministrable < ad'minister, 'comfortable < 'comfort, 'governable < 'govern, 'husbandable < 'husband, 'patentable < 'patent, 'registrable < 'register, 'tenantable < 'tenant, 'warrantable
< 'warrant.
When -able appends to a consonant cluster, the conflict between
stress-preservation of an early-stress base and shift to the penultimate
syllable is thus still unresolved. It is at this stage difficult to determine
whether or not a generalisation of the latter principle is now underway.
When taking regular variants into consideration, only three -VCable adjectives (admirable, reparable and reputable) remain immune to
stress-preservation.
12.4 Suffix stacking
As seen above, -able can append to a verb or or a noun which already contains a separable suffix: acidifiable, advertisable, carriageable, marriageable, etc., contrary to -ible, which does not concatenate to other suffixes.
Whether or not they have a free base (which is the case in 92%
of the -able corpus), -able and -ible adjectives are very productively
nominalisable with -ity and, less systematically (at least in the Corpus),
with its rival suffix -ness: availability, changeability, dependability, etc.,
(400 items); availableness, changeableness dependableness, etc. (200);
conducibility, contemptibility, digestibility, etc. (90); conducibleness,
contemptibleness, digestibleness, etc.(60).
A few adjectives in -able and in -ible (here again whether or not
they have a free base) have yielded nominalisations with -ism denoting
12
244
Conversely, the irregular 'lamentable has a variant conforming to precluster
stress assignment. Adjectives in -C2 + -able whose pre-cluster stress is ascribable to preservation of the oxytone pattern of a base (e.g. as'cendable < as'cend,
aug'mentable < aug'ment (v.), dis'cernable < dis'cern, pre'sentable < pre'sent
(v.), pre'ventable < pre'vent, etc.) are naturally not pertinent.
doctrines or theories, and with -ist, referring adjectivally to such a doctrine or theory or nominally to the adepts thereof (from the Corpus):
fallibilism (1914, “the philosophical doctrine that knowledge is hypothetical rather than certain”, Collins D.), miserabilism (“the quality of
seeming to enjoy being depressed, or the type of gloomy music, art,
etc., that evokes this”, Collins D.), possibilism (“the theory that human
behaviour, and therefore culture, is not merely determined by the environment but by human agency (Geography); “a belief in attempting
only realistically achievable reforms in society” (Politics), Collins D.),
perfectibilism (“the belief in the perfectibility of the human nature”,
Collins D.), probabilism (1929 in the following definition: “the doctrine, introduced by the Skeptics, that certainty is impossible and that
probability suffices to govern faith and practice” (Philosophy) + dem.
s. in Roman Catholic moral theology, D.com); (from other sources):
reliabilism (1979, “a theory of knowledge according to which a belief
is justified if it has been reached by a reliable cognitive process”, OED),
compatibilism (“the thesis that free will is compatible with determinism”, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
245
13. Verb suffixes
13.1 -ate
13.1.1 General features
The -ate affix (adopted via OF from the L past participial endings -ātus
(masculine), -āta (feminine) and -ātum (neuter), of verbs in -are) is
highly complex as it is alternately:
i. monocategorial or pluricategorial, namely:
a. strictly verbal (e.g. originate), adjectival (e.g. mandibulate) or
nominal (e.g. matriarchate; cf. §11.5),
b. verbal and adjectival (e.g. elaborate/elaborate, separate/separate),
c. verbal and nominal (e.g. advocate/advocate, duplicate/duplicate);
ii. stress-imposing or neutral, namely:
a. neutral when it attaches to a free base to denote an office, function or collective body (e.g. 'governorate < 'governor, 'mandarin­
ate <~ 'mandarin, cf. §11.5);
b. stress-imposing in adjectives with a prefinal consonant cluster
(al'ternate, in'testate) or in verbs, with a dialectal difference for
dissyllables (e.g. an'ticipate, GB and US; nar'rate, GB, vs. 'narrate, US);
iii.separable or bound in:
a. nouns denoting an office, function ordignity (patriarch + -ate vs.
legate, insep.),
b. verbs (fluorinate < fluorine + -ate, circa 1929, vs. ambulate);
iv. realised as a full or reduced vowel, namely with
a. a full vowel in verbs and chemical nouns: duplicate, separate,
phosphate, sulphate, etc.
b. a reduced vowel in other n. and in adj.: duplicate, separate, etc.
Barely 10% of the 1,000 verbs in -ate (300 of which equate with
a -ION sequence, ie -eate, -iate, -uate, cf. §2(1)) are synchronically
analysable as derived from a nominal or adjectival free base, by affix
juxtaposition or substitution:
(1)
v. in -ate
a.synch. indecomposable: ambulate, ameliorate, amputate, animate, annihilate, annotate, annunciate, anticipate, calcinate, calculate, etc. (≈ 900
items)
b. synch. analysable as constructed from a transparent base + ‑ate: acidulate
(< acidul(ous) + -ate vs. < L in OED), activate (< active, sep. in the s. of
“to make active”), amalgamate (< amalgam vs. < L in OED), arsenicate
(< arsenic), asphyxiate (< asphyxi(a)), assassinate (< assassin), brominate
(< bromin(e)), cannulate (< cannul(a)), calibrate (< calibr(e)), capacitate
(< capacit(y)), centrifugate (< centrifug(e)) + < L: accentuate (<~ accent +
-uate), alienate (<~ alien + -ate), etc. (≈ 100 items).
The verbs centuplicate, quadruplicate, quintuplicate, sextuplicate and
triplicate, which have been directly borrowed from Latin or imitated
from duplicate (< L), are synchronically assimilable to affixations from
respectively centuple, quadruple, quintuple, sextuple and triple with
insertion of a medial -ic-, as in multiplicity <~ multiple, simplicity <
simple (cf. §3.2).
15 verbs, most of them rare or obsolete, are analysable as derived
from a more common verb variant: conditionate (obs. now condition),
consolate (id. console), gangrenate (id. gangrene), occasionate (id.
occasion), orientate (= orient), perseverate (1912, a BF from perseveration), perturbate (obs. now perturb), predestinate (id. predestine), presentiate (id. = “to make present”), ponderate (r. = ponder), prolongate
(id. = prolong), remediate (= remedy), ruinate (dial. = ruin), sequestrate
(= sequester), strangulate (= strangle).
Semantically, the ensuing verbs in -ate are not directly or not at
all connected to what may be assumed to be their original base: beneficiate (= “process (ores or other raw materials), as by reduction”),
circumstantiate, commentate (a BF from commentary = “serve as a
commentator on radio or TV programmes”), decrepitate (= “roast or
calcine”, of minerals, etc.), effectuate, eventuate, fabricate (fabric is
now obs. in the sense of factory), liquidate, machinate, maturate (=
suppurate, r. in the s. of “to mature”), passivate (“to treat a metal so
248
as to make it less reactive”, cp. passivise = “to convert into the passive
form”), registrate (= register or, in organ-playing, “to arrange or draw
stops for playing”), rhetoricate (r. = “to play the orator”), sublimate (=
vaporize), supinate (“to turn or rotate (the hand or forearm) so that the
palm faces up or forward”), viscerate (= eviscerate).
The examination of dates of earliest known use reveals, that
whether bound or separable, the -ate verb affix has now limited prod­
uctivity. As shown by Plag (1999, chapter 5), -ate ranks last in the formation of neologisms, far below -ise and even -(e/i)fy which has as yet
barely yielded 250 items, or 25% of the overall number of -ate verbs.
The verbs in -ate derivable from a transparent base which have
emerged over the last hundred years are chiefly linked to scientific terminology, serving more precisely to express an action or transformation exerted by a chemical substance, a physical particle or a technical process.
In most cases, a synonymous variant in -ise is available in the lexicon:
(2)
decaffeinate (1934 < de- + caffeine + -ate, orig. a parasynthetic formation, although the adj. caffeinated was recorded earlier (1932) < caffeine + -ate + -ed vs.
< caffeine + -ated, in OED), fluoridate (1949, a BF from fluoridation vs. < fluoride
+ -ate, OED, = fluoridise), fluorinate (1931 < fluorine), formylate (id. < formyl =
formylise, found in several scientific Web pp.), hydroxylate (1951 < hydroxyl =
hydroxylise, findtheword.info), instantiate (1949 < L vs. < instance + -iate, OED),
mercurate (1922 < mercur(y) = mercurise), perseverate (1912, a BF from perseveration), protonate (1946 < proton = protonise), quantitate (1900 < quantit(y),
more spec. than quantify (19th) = “to determine the quantity of, esp. with precision”
(Biology and Medicine); quantitise is also found with the same s. on Web pp.)
As shown by the sample above, despite possible transparent bases, recently-formed verbs in -ate have often resulted from back-formations.
This process has also been at the origin of the verbs automate (1954
< automation = automatise) and cybernate (1962 < cybernation vs. <
cybernetic in OED, = cybernise).
13.1.2 Stress rules
-ate began to exist as a verb formative on the model of what was originally an adjectival ending, before becoming a suffix of its own, apt to
attach to nouns or adjectives.
249
As indicated above, the ending (and more rarely separable suffix)
-ate is governed by stress rules based on categorial, dialectal and syllab­
ic criteria.
13.1.2.1 Two-syllable words
As is well-known, in two-syllable words, a distinction is made in British
English between verbs, which take late stress, and words of other syntactic categories, which take early stress. In American English, verbs
and other categories take early stress, except for verbs with an inseparable prefix, in which -ate is part of pseudo-morphemic units not related
to the affix and thus subject to the inseparable prefix rule (cf. §0.2, iii.):
(3)
Two-syllable words in -ate
a. v. with an insep. prefix (not affixed with -ate) → [01] (GB and US): abate,
berate, collate (+ [10] in US), debate, deflate, derate, dilate (+ [10] in US),
elate, equate, inflate, rebate (+ [10]), relate, sedate, translate (+ [10] in US);
exc.: 'probate;
b. unprefixed v. → [01] in GB vs. [10] in US: castrate, chelate, create (id. in
US), curate (1934), dictate, donate, filtrate, frustrate, furcate, gradate, gyrate, hydrate, lactate, libate, locate, mandate, migrate, mutate, narrate, mutate, palpate, phonate, placate, prostrate, pulsate, quadrate, rotate, serrate,
stagnate, striate, truncate, vacate, vibrate;
c. n. and/or adj. (with or without an insep. prefix) [10]: agate, agnate, alate,
aurate, cerate, chelate (n. and adj.), climate, cognate (n. and adj.), connate
(+ [01]), crenate, crustate, curate, dentate, dictate, falcate, filtrate, frigate,
furcate, hydrate, legate, lunate (n. and adj.), magnate, mandate, oblate (n.
and adj. + [01] for the adj.), ovate, palate, palmate, pinnate, primate (both
s. “chief bishop or archbishop” or “animal belonging to the same group as
humans”), private, probate, prolate (+ [01]), prostate (n. and adj.), prostrate,
quadrate (n. and adj.), rebate, senate, serrate, striate, testate (n. and adj.),
tractate, truncate, undate + chemical n.: nitrate, phosphate, sulphate, urate,
etc.; exc.: [01] in debate (n., the v. is regular), elate (id.), estate, innate, irate,
ornate, sedate (n., the v. is regular).
Formerly noted with early stress in British English, the verbs filtrate,
lactate, mandate, palpate, rebate, stagnate, truncate have all adopted
a stress pattern complying with (3a.), which makes stress alternation
nearly systematic in bicategorial words: 'mandate, n. vs. man'date,
v. ( + [10]), etc.
250
Despite the dialectal difference between British and American
English, most unprefixed two-syllable verbs are noted in EPD and/or
LPD with a variant stressed on the stem in US English (e.g. 'narrate +
nar'rate).
As regards two-syllable adjectives, (3c.) entails a conflict with
the rule governing words with an inseparable prefix, whereby adjectives
are, in the same manner as verbs (cf. §0.2, iii.), supposed to be stressed
on the stem. In this perspective, the late stress of elate, innate, sedate
shows that, in these adjectives, the conflict has been resolved in favour
of the inseparable prefix rule. It will come as no surprise that the other
adjectives with an inseparable prefix listed in dictionaries with early
stress all have a variant conforming to the stressed-stem rule: connate,
oblate (+ [01] for the adjective, the noun retaining the early stress pattern), prolate, prostrate (the v. form of this item is always stressed regularly, ie [01] in GB).
13.1.2.2 Words of three syllables or more
The -ate affix imposes antepenultimate stress on words of three syllables or more, with the exception of adjectives in which -ate is preceded
by a consonant cluster:
(4)(+ = + adj. or n.)
a.[(-)100]: adjudicate, alternate+, anticipate, bifurcate+, consummate+, contaminate, decapitate, duplicate+, elaborate+, eradicate, fascinate, hypothecate, impregnate+, incarnate+, incurvate+, manipulate, participate, etc. (900
items); exc.: a'postate, ˌequi'librate (+ [0100]), 'peregrinate, 'tergiversate (+
[0100] in US, according to several dictionaries of the Corpus);
b. adjectives in C2 + -ate: [010]: alternate (cp. v., [100] in US), appellate, aristate,
bifurcate (cp. v.), consummate (+ [100], cp. v.), ecostate, edentate, impregnate
(cp. v.), incarnate (id.), incurvate (id.), insensate, intestate, obcordate, retardate
The stress patterns of (4b) proceed from a general rule linked to Latinate adjective affixes, which will be taken up in §15.
In the 19th century, the same penultimate stress pattern which had
hitherto been predominant for verbs in which -ate was preceded by a
consonant cluster, gradually converted to the more general antepenultimate stress-assignement proper to -ate words of three syllables or more
('compensate, 'condensate, 'demonstrate, 'exculpate, etc.). As seen in
251
the first par. below §12(19), the penultimate pattern is still lingering in
some verbs in US English: elongate, impregnate, incarnate, inspissate,
remonstrate, sequestrate. All are noted with a [100] variant, at least in
LPD.
The S-2 stress-placement brought about by -ate is generally coincidental with the -ION generalisation:
(5)
-eate: nauseate, permeate, procreate, recreate (“to take recreation” ≠ ˌrecre'ate
= “to create anew”), etc.; -iate: appreciate, depreciate, enunciate, negotiate,
etc.; -uate: attenuate, evacuate, evaluate, extenuate, graduate (v. and n.), infatuate, etc. (340 items)
The few conflicting cases between the -ate and -ION graphic rules ('alienate, a'meliorate, de'teriorate, 'etiolate, 'orientate, 'variagate) all allow and are preferably realised with compression of the bivocalic i +
V sequence (LPD), which makes them fall in line with the standard
antepenultimate stress pattern: ['e1li̬əne1t], etc. The nouns matriarchate
and patriarchate, in which -ate is neutral (cf. §11.5), coincide with the
‑ION generalisation.
Some authors (e.g. Burzio: 279) have inferred stress-neutrality
status for verbs in which -ate is separable from the examples of 'hydrogenate, 'oxygenate and 'peregrinate (< L <~ peregrine in the s. of
“travelling, migrating”). Whereas it is true that a fair number of the 100
verbs or so which are synchronically relatable to a free base may be
treated as neutral derivatives, cf. (1b.) above), either by affix-replacement or deletion of a neoclassical ending (a'cidulate < a'cidul(ous)
+ -ate vs. < L. stem + -ate in OED, as'phyxiate < as'phyxi(a) + -ate,
ca'pacitate < ca'pacit(y) + -ate, 'formulate < 'formul(a) + -ate), etc.)
or by juxtaposition (a'malgamate < a'malgam + -ate vs. < L. in OED,
as'sassinate < as'sassin + ate vs. < Med L in OED, etc.) other examples contradict this analysis: 'antiquate (< L <~ an'tique), ar'senicate
(< irreg. 'arsenic), ca'lumniate (< L <~ 'calumny (y > i) + -ate), ge'latinate (< 'gelatin), ha'bituate (conspiracy with -ION, < L <~'habit), (de)
ni'trogenate (1927 < 'nitrogen), o'riginate (probably a BF from origination vs. < post-classical L in OED, <~ origin + -ate), 'salivate (< L <~
sa'liva), tri'angulate (< L <~ 'triangle > ul + -ate, cf. adjectivisations
from other words in -Cle, e.g. cla'vicular <~ 'clavicle, fu'runcular/ous
<~ 'furuncle, §15.5). Synchronically, -ate is therefore best treated as
252
stress-imposing in all classes of verbs (synchronically indecomposable,
e.g. participate, or transparently suffixed, whether by juxtaposition, e.g.
gelatinate < gelatin, or by substitution, e.g. acidulate < or <~ acidul(ous)), as confirmed by the regular variants of hydrogenate (+ [0100])
and oxygenate (id.).
When taking regular variants into account, the only exceptions
to the principles set out in this subsection are: a'postate, de'bate (n.),
es'tate, 'probate (v.), 'peregrinate and 'tergiversate (in British English
since a regular variant is noted in US English, e.g. American Heritage
D., MWD.).
13.1.3 -ate’s stress rules extended to other sequences
13.1.3.1 -Vte
As noted by Duchet (1991: 21), the -ute sequence entails stress rules
which are identical to those induced by -ate. In fact, the stress rules
formulated for -ate are extensible to all -Vte words:
(6)
a.neutrality of sep. -ite n. suffix (cf. §10.4): 'jeffersonite (< 'Jefferson), 'labradorite (< 'Labrador), 'rooseveltite (< 'Roosevelt), etc.
b. insep. prefix rule in two-syl. v. and adj. (GB and US) → [01]: compete, complete, delete, deplete, discrete, effete, excrete, replete, secrete; excite, incite,
indite, invite, recite, requite; connote, devote, emote, promote, remote, acute,
commute, compute, confute, depute, dilute, dispute, impute, permute, refute;
exc.: 'contrite (+ [01]);
c. unprefixed two-syl. v. → [01]: ignite, pollute, salute, unite;
d. two-syl. n. (excluding those already covered by a.: Levite < Levi, Lyddite
< Lydd, Semite < Sem, etc.) and adjectives (excluding those already covered
by b.) → [10] (a)esthete, athlete, dispute (+ [01], cf. v.), compote, finite,
gadite, graphite, granite, hirsute, invite (cf. v.), marmite, minute (time unit),
samite, respite, statute + chemical terms designating a salt or ester of an acid
designated by an adjective in -ous, cp. -ic/-ate: chlorite, nitrite, sulphite, etc.;
exc.: astute, azote (+ [10]), capote, elite, minute (adj.), petite, polite, volute;
e. items of three syl. or more (with or without an insep. prefix) → [(-)100]:
absolute, attribute (n.), appetite, apposite, composite, constitute, convolute,
destitute, dissolute, erudite, execute, expedite, exquisite (+ [010]), extradite,
infinite, institute (n. and v.), involute, obsolete, opposite, perquisite, persecute,
prosecute, prostitute (n. and v.), recondite (+ [010]), resolute, satellite, substitute (n. and v.), etc.; exc.: at'tribute (v.), con'tribute (+ [100]), dis'tribute (id.)
253
The stress-imposing status of the -Vte generalisation is confirmed by (a) the stress-shifts it entails: 'definite (< L <~ define, in the
s. of “defining” or “clearly defined”), infinite (< id. <~ 'finite), 'requisite
(< id. <~ re'quire); (b) the fact that verbs and adjectives with an inseparable prefix of e. above are not subject to the rules proper to these
morphological classes (cf. §0.2, iii.). In this respect the initial-stress
variants now recorded for contribute and distribute are quite telling.
The only polysyllabic adjective in which -ite is preceded by a consonant cluster, recondite, vacillates like -ate adjectives (e.g. consummate)
between the general consonant cluster rule applicable to most Latinate
adjective suffixes (cf. §15.3) and the proparoxytone stressing which
characterises 97% of -ite words of three syllables or more.
A fair number of neoclassical constructions end with a combining form in -i/yte (cenobite, hermaphrodite, hypocrite, leucocyte, neophyte, parasite, phagocyte, theodolite, troglodyte, etc., cf. §18.1). These
constructions rarely come into conflict (e.g. 'heteroclite) with the rule
governing -Vte words.
13.1.3.2 -ment
As estabished in §7.2.3, most words in -ment are transparent deverbal
suffixed nouns, chiefly derived from verbs with an inseparable prefix
(appointment, employment, etc.). The nouns 'armament (< L <~ arms),
ar'bitrament (< id <~ 'arbitrate), im'pediment (< id. <~ impede) and
'temperament (< id. <~ 'temper) are the only transparent formations
where -ment cannot be held as separable.
Some three-syllable nouns in -ment with no recognisable base
in Present-Day English are stressed as if they should be derived from
a now non-existent verb base, which is only true, historically, for the
second of the ensuing items: apartment, compartment, department (<≠
depart), instalment (<≠ instal, however, a s. derivable from the v. instal(l), syn. with installation, is recorded in MWD and in OED). Such
items may be taken as confirming Fudge’s classification of -ment as a
“mixed suffix”, here subject to S-1 on account of the prefinal consonant
cluster. However, as a bound ending, -ment, which is recorded in about
90 words, is subject to the same rules as those governing -ate:
254
(7)
Insep. -ment → stress-bearing or S-2
a. two-syl. v. with an insep. prefix → [01]: dement (r., more com. in the adj.
form demented); exc: comment (+ [01] in EPD and OED)13;
b. unprefixed two-syl. v. → [01]: augment, cement, ferment ([10] in US), foment, fragment ([10] in US), lament, pigment ([10] in US), segment (id.),
torment (+ [10] in US);
c. two-syl. n. or adj. → [10]: augment, clement, comment, ferment, figment,
fragment, garment, moment, parchment (<≠ parch), pigment, segment, torment, vestment (<≠ vest); exc.: cement, lament;
d. stress in items of three syl. or more → [01]: [(-)100]: complement (n. and v.),
compliment (id.), condiment, decrement (n. and v.), detriment, document (n.
and v.), element, emolument, excrement experiment (n. and v), filament, firmament, fundament, implement (n. and v.), increment (id.), instrument (id.),
ligament, medicament, monument, nutriment, ornament (n. and v.), parliament, predicament, regiment (n. and v.), sacrament, sediment (n. and v.),
sentiment, tournament, etc.
The rules governing -ate and -ment do not only coincide in stress alternation between nouns and verbs in dissyllables, at least in British En­
glish (mandate/mandate, torment/torment, etc.), and in neutralisation
of the inseparable prefix rule ('extricate, 'obstinate, 'complement, 'compliment, etc.): both endings imply the same dichotomy between a full
vowel in verbs and a reduced vowel in nouns and adjectives, including
in homographic pairs:
(8)
Realisations of -ate and -ment
a.verbs → [e1t] / [ment]: appropriate, elaborate, graduate, etc.; complement,
compliment, document, etc.
b. adjectives or nouns → [1t] (or [ət]) / [mənt]: appropriate, elaborate, graduate, etc.; complement, compliment, document, etc.
13.1.4 Suffix stacking
Examination of the 100 or so verbs in -ate actually derived or synchronically analysable as derived from a free noun or adjective shows that, as
a separable suffix, -ate chiefly attaches to synchronically indecomposable bases, although concatenation to already suffixed forms (or lexemes
analysable as such) is licensed in relation with several of the affixes
listed below (? = no information on etymology):
13
A variant rejected as substandard by most native speakers.
255
(9)
i.deadjectival formations
a. -(i)an: Italianate (+ adj. < Italian, v. = Italianise);
b. -ant/-ent: accentuate (< L), differentiate (id.), eventuate (id.), potentiate
(id.);
c. -ic: detoxicate (< de- + toxic + -ate), fantasticate (< fantastic), metricate
(< metric) = metricise ≠ metrify), phlogisticate (r. < phlogistic) prolificate
(obs. < prolific), syllabicate (a BF from syllabification = syllabify) + < L
authenticate (<~ authentic), hereticate (<~ heretic), obstetricate (obs. <~
obstetric), pacificate (<~ pacific = pacify), prognosticate (<~ pronostic),
rusticate (<~ rustic); rubricate (<~ rubric in the s. of “red” is arch.) + <?:
arsenicate (<~ arsenic);
d. -ive: activate (< active), motivate (< motive); captivate (< L) and passivate
(1913 < passive) are demotivated);
ii. denominal formations
a. -ance/-ence: instantiate (1949 < L. stem + -ate vs. < instanc(e) + -iate in
OED), substantiate (< L <~ substanc(e) + id.), dissentiate (r. < L stem +
-ate = dissent), exponentiate (1970 < exponent, after differentiate, OED,
not listed in the Corpus); licensiate (< L. + n. = “holder of a license”;
b. -ion: fractionate (< fraction), conditionate (obs. < L OED), occasionate
(r. < id.), perfectionate (r. < perfection, v.), proportionate (r. < L); there
are also adj. in -ate derivable from n. in -ion: notionate (r. < notion), opinionate (< opinion, now more com. opinionated), passionate (< Med. L <~
passion), septentrionate (obs. < septentrional <~ septentrion);
c. -ule: granulate (< granule vs. < granula in OED), ovulate (< ovule vs. <
ovulum in OED) + < L angulate (<~ ang(le > -ul-) + -ate), pustulate (<~
pustule), triangulate (<~ triang(le > -ul-) + -ate);
d.-y: calumniate (< L <~ calumny + -ate), effigiate (< L <~ effigy, id.); cp.
facilitate (< facilit(y)), gravitate (< Neo-L <~ gravit(y)), mercurate (1922
< mercur(y) = mercurise), necessitate (< Med. L <~ necessit(y)), nobilitate (obs. < L <~ nobility);
e. “scientific” affixes -ide and -in(e): chloridate (< chloride = chloridise),
fluoridate (1949, a BF from fluoridation vs. < fluoride + -ate in OED,
= fluoridise); aminate (< amine), brominate (< bromine), chlorinate (<
chlorine = chlorinise), decaffeinate (1934 < de- + caffein(e) + -ate), defibrinate (< de- + fibrin + -ate = defibrinise), demyelinate (date? < de- +
myelin + -ate, not listed in OED or in MWD), fluorinate (1931 < fluorine),
gelatinate (< gelatin = gelatinise), iodinate (< iodine = iodize), resinate (<
resin = resinise), etc.; nouns of salts or esters are constructed with the -ate
suffix: albuminate (< albumin), alginate (< algine), etc.
The ensuing verb formations are analysable as resulting from juxtaposition of -ate to another separable suffix: (a) -(i)an: Italianate (< Italian < Italy); (b) -ic: metricate (< metric < metr(e)); (c) -ance/-ence:
256
differentiate14 (difference <~ different or difference and different <~ differ); (d) -ion: perfectionate (< perfection <~ perfect); (e) -ide: fluoridate
(< fluoride < fluor). Nobilitate must be excluded from the foregoing inventory since it is analysable as derived from nobility, itself analysable
as derived from noble, by affix-replacement (nobilitate <~ nobilit(y)).
As has been shown in previous chapters, the -ate verb affix is, in
synchrony, apt to combine with:
i. the agent noun suffix -or: refrigerator < refrigerate, etc. (450 items),
cf. §10.2.1;
ii. the noun suffix of action, process, state or result -ion: vaccination
<~ vaccinate, a suffixation process which can alternately be postulated to result from attachment of the independent suffix -ation
further to affix-substitution: vaccination <~ vaccin(ate) + -ation,
etc., cf. §2.3.1) (345 items);
iii.the adjectival suffix -able, by direct attachment when the base is
dissylabic (relatable < relate) and, as a general rule, by affix-replacement when it has three syllables or more (tolerate/tolerable,
see however exceptions, §12(4));
The -ate verb affix is finally combinable, again by substitution, with:
iv. the adjective suffix -ant: hesit(ate)/hesitant, toler(ate)/tolerant,
etc.;
v. the patient noun suffix -ee (amputee, 1910 < amputate, nominee <
nominate, etc., cf. §5.1.1).
Adjectives such as anticipative/anticipatory are alternately analysable
as suffixed to verbs in -ate by concatenation (< anticipat(e) + -ive/-ory)
or by affix-replacement (< anticip(ate) + -ative/-atory), cf. §15.7.1.2.
Since -ate is most often subject to affix-replacement, there are relatively
few examples of suffixes concatenated to a verb in which -ate is separable or analysable as such (etymological data have already been given
for most items below):
14
The only example of -ate attaching to an already suffixed word Fabb stated he
was aware of (: 533).
257
(10)
-ate, analysable as a separable suffix +
a. adj. suffix: motivate (< motive) > motivative) + < L authenticate (<~ authentic + -ate = authentify) > authenticatable, substantiate (<~ substance) >
substantiatable, substantiative
b. agent suffix -or: activate (< active) > activator (1904), amalgamate (< amalgam vs. < L. in OED <~ amalgam) > amalgamator, assassinate (< assassin
vs. Med. L in OED <~ assassin) > assassinator, calibrate (< calibre) > calibrator, chlorinate (< chlorine) > chlorinator (1930), fractionate (< fraction)
> fractionator, motivate (< motive) > motivator (1929), oxygenate (< oxygen)
> oxygenator, sulphurate (< sulphur) > sulphurator + < L: accentuate (<~
accent + -uate) ~> accentuator, alienate (<~ alien) ~> alienator, authenticate (<~ authentic) > authenticator, calumniate (<~ calumny) ~> calumniator, differentiate (<~ difference) > differentiator, officiate (<~ office, in the
s. of “religious ritual”) > officiator, pacificate (<~ pacific) ~> pacificator,
peregrinate (<~ peregrine) ~> peregrinator, pulsate (<~ pulse) > pulsator,
suffragate (obs. < L. <~ suffrag(e)) > suffragator (obs.); + BF: originate (<
origination vs. < L. in OED <~ origin) > originator, vaccinate (< vaccination vs. < vaccine in OED) ~> vaccinator, (reminder: verbs like facilitate are
not pertinent < facilit(y) + -ate),
13.2 -ise
13.2.1 General features
Recorded in Late Middle English (moralise 15th, organise id.), the -ise
suffix (from OF -iser, from L -izāre, from Gk -izein) nearly always attaches to a transparent base in verbs of more than three syllables (fanaticise, federalise, generalise, etc. vs. civilise (dem. <≠ civil), mobilise
(id. <≠ mobile), vulcanise (id. <≠ Vulcan), etc.
Judging from the dates of earliest known uses available, this suffix registered a spectacular rise in productivity in the second half of the
19th century, a period when it came into competition with -ate which, as
a separable suffix, had yielded relatively few verbs. Between 1850 and
1900 -ise contributed to the coinage of about 250 new verbs (e.g. burglarise, collectivise, conceptualise, concretise, continentalise, conventionalise, diphthongise, editorialise, exteriorise, externalise, immunise,
industrialise, institutionalise, etc.), superseding -ate as well as other
258
rival affixes and asserting itself as the most productive verb suffix in
English, a characteristic it has kept up to the present day. According to
Plag (1999, chapter 5), 284 new verbs in ‑ise joined the lexicon from
1900 to 1985. Further to verification in OED’s etymological notices, the
Corpus has returned about half of Plag’s number:
(11) aerosolise (1944), anodise (1931), balkanise (1921), bacterise (1949), banalise
(1949), bolshevise (1919), cannibalise (1943), cinematise (1916), collateralise
(1941, MWD), compartmentalise (1945), computerise (1960), containerise
(1962), contextualise (1934), conveyorise (1943), customise (1934), functionalise (1923), etc. (150 items).
Apart from breathalyse (1960, a contraction from breath analyser) and
electrolyse (19th < CF electro- + -lyse in analyse), learned verbs in -lyse
have been the product of back-formations, by imitation of analysis >
analyse, the first verb to have undergone this derivational process (16th).
(12)
analyse, atmolyse, autolyse (1903), catalyse, cryptanalyse, dialyse, h(a)emolyse (1901), hydrolyse, paralysis, photolyse (1925), plasmolyse, psychoanalyse
(1911), pyrolise (1919), thermolyse, etc. 13 items15 + from OED hystolise, proteolyse (1902), solvolyse (1916)
Synchronically, the pairs in -lysis/-lyse may be handled as subject to the
opposite derivational order (analyse ~> analysis, etc.), the remetrification of the nouns in -lysis being in this treatment ascribable to the S-1/2
stress-assignment entailed by the neoclassical -is affix (cf. §16).
Adding the verbs in (11) to those integrated into English in the
second half of the 19th century, above one third (400 of 1,100) of -ise
verbs have been coined in relatively recent English, a phenomenon paralleled in other languages making use of the same suffix. The ongoing proliferation of verbs in -ise has a direct impact on the creation of
nominal neologisms since they readily derive substantives in -ation (cf.
§2(14)).
15
The verbs in -ose which may likewise be held as the sources of nouns in -osis
are similarly back-formations from the latter: ankylose, diagnose, ecchymose,
metamorphose, necrose, phagocytose (1905), etc. (11 items).
259
13.2.2 Stress rules
13.2.2.1 Three-syllable verbs
The -ise affix imposes initial stress on three-syllable verbs, whatever
their morphological structure, namely whether or not there is a transparent base and, in the latter case, whether -ise merely concatenates
thereto (the most common process) or replaces another affix. Stress
displacement is therefore the norm when -ise attaches to a base with
final or penultimate stress ('immunise < im'mune, 'volcanise < vol'cano).
Statistically, however, the proparoxytone pattern of three-syllable verbs
in -ise most often coincides with stress-preservation since 80% of these
verbs are analysable as derived from an initially stressed lexeme (e.g.
equal > equalise):
(13)
260
Three-syllable v. in -ise → [100]
a. affixed by juxtaposition to two syllable-bases:
[01] or [10] > verbs in [100]: canalise (< ca'nal), divinise (< di'vin(e), adj.
vs. < F in OED), immunise (< im'mun(e)), Japanise (< Ja'pan), routinise (+
[010] < rou'tin(e)), pasteurise (< Pas'teur), Vietnamise (1957 < ˌViet'nam,
[100]: ['vjet.nə.ma1z] < [ˌvjet 'næm] + [0100] [vi:'et.nə.ma1z] < [201]
[ˌvi:ˌet'næm]); equalise (< equal), heroise (< hero), ghettoise (1939 < ghetto), jumboize (1956 < jumbo), Negroise (< Negro), Gothicise (< Gothic),
westernise (< western), winterise (1938 < winter), womanise (< woman),
etc.; exc: cocainise ([010] + [100] < co'caine)
b. affixed further to truncation of a (neo)classical ending or replacement of -y,
cf. §0(4b) & (6))
base in [(-)010] or [(-)100] > verb in [100]: analyse (BF < a'nalysis, cf. (12)
above), curarise < cu'rar(e), <e> = [i]), empathise (1924 < 'empath(y)), minimise (id. < 'minim(um)), nebulise (< 'nebul(a)), notarise (1922 < 'notar(y)),
platinise (< 'platin(um)), tantalise (< 'Tantal(us)), tellurise (< tel'lur(ium)),
volcanise (< vol'can(o), cp. heroise, ghettoise, jumboize, Negroise in a.
above; a solitary derivative is 'euthanise (1931) < ˌeutha'n(asia) [100] <
[201(0)0]); exc: sy'nopsise < sy'nopsis
c. paradigmatic relation with bound -ism/-ist nouns: (cf. §10.3.1)
exorcise (16th < L, cp. exorcism, 14th < Med. L, exorcist, id. < L), galvanise
(19th < F, cp. galvanism, 18th < id. dem. < ¹Gal'van(i), galvanist 19th < galvan(ism) + -ist), Hebraise (17th < Gk, cp. Hebraism, 16th < Gk, Hebraist, 18th
< Hebra(ise) + -ist), hyptnotise (19th < hypnot(ism) + -ise vs. < hypnotic in
OED, cf. next par. below), Judaise (16th < L, cp. Judaism, 15th < id., Judaist,
1850 < Juda(ism) + -ist), ostracise (17th < Gk, cp. ostracism, 16th < Neo-L <
Gk, ostracist, neologism, Urban D.), etc.
d. demotivated formations or v. in -ise with an opaque stem
authorise (<≠ author), civilise (<≠ civil), detonise (= detonate), mobilise
(<≠ mobile), monetise (sem. relatable to money?), pulverise, recognise (now
dem. ≠ cognise < recogn(ition) + -ise vs. re- + cognise in OED), temporise,
utilise (≠ utile), etc.; exc.: ag'grandise (+ [100]), a'mortise ([100] and [010]
in US), e'ternise(+ [100], OED, not updated); (a, b, c, d ≈ 390 items;
(13) shows that most three-syllable verbs in -ise are genuine suffixed
forms, derived from either nouns or adjectives. In three-syllable verbs,
when -ise attaches to an adjective or a noun in -ic, concatenation is the
rule with two syllable bases (criticise < critic, ethicise <~ ethic, Gallicise <~ Gallic, Gothicise < Gothic, Gnosticise < Gnostic, laicise <
laic, logicise < logic, lyricise < lyric, metricise < metricise, plasticise,
1925 < plastic, publicise < public, etc.) as opposed to affix-replacement
with three-syllable bases (stressed [010] in conformity with the -ic
rule, cf. §1: 'carbolise (< car'bol(ic) + -ise) and similarly 'dynamise (<
dy'nam(ic)), 'mechanise (< me'chan(ic)), 'narcotise (< nar'cot(ic)), 'necrotice (< ne'crot(ic)), etc. E'lectrise (< e'lectric) is seemingly the only
derivative of this class which does not comply with (13).
There is inconsistency in the affixation process of neoclassical
nouns in -e/i/u/um which, for many of them, are immune to base truncation when they form a verb with -ise: mediumise, museumise (1925),
pal(l)adiumise, radiumise (r. 1906), vacuumise (1939) vs. bacterise <~
bacter(ium), tellurise < tellur(ium).
Affix-replacement or truncation of neoclassical endings is otherwise compulsory when direct suffixation of -ise would produce identical onsets in the last two syllables of the resultant verb: appetise (< F <~
appet(ite)), feminise (< L <~ femin(ine) + -ise), hominize (20th <~ homin(in) or homin(id)), Lebanise (< Leban(on)), maximise (< maxim(um)
vs. classical L maxim(us) + -ise in OED), minimise (< minim(um) vs.
id. minim(us) + -ise in OED), optimise (< optim(um), id. optim(us) in
OED), etc.
(13) is extensible to verbs in which -ise is part of a pseudo-morpheme stem not related to the homographic affix. Contrary to suffixed
verbs in -ise, the ensuing words are not necessarily monocategorial and
not alternately spelled -ize (at least in standard British or American
English).
261
(13') -ise v. not related to the -ise affix (no spelling variant)
advertise (< MF v. of the second group), circumcise (< L), compromise (n. and
v. < MF), exercice (n. and v.< id.) + pseudo-morpheme -vise: improvise, supervise, televise
The stress-imposing status of the -ise sequence in three-syllable verbs
is indisputable since it overrules the stress-imposing principle of inseparable prefixes: 'exorcise, 'recognise, 'circumcise, 'exercise, 'improvise, 'supervise (as opposed to formations with a sep. prefix, e.g. dis/
en'franchise). As shown by the very same verbs (except improvise)
and further by items which do not contain an inseparable prefix (e.g.
'fraternise cp. fra'ternal, 'go(u)rmandise, 'modernise < modern, 'westernise < western), the occurrence of a prefinal consonant cluster cannot be appealed to in order to account for the paroxytone patterns of
ag'grandise (+ regular var.), a'mortise (id.), e'lectrise, and e'ternise (+
regular var.).
13.2.2.2 Verbs of four syllables and more
In verbs having more than three syllables (≈ 550 items once those with
a sep. prefix have been discarded: decentralise, overdramatise, recol­
onise, unsecularise, etc.), -ise is nearly always analysable as affixed to
a transparent base (540 items of 550; examples of non-transparent or
demotivated verbs: diabolise, semantically not directly relatable to diabolism or diabolic, sensibilise <≠ sensible). Historically, as is the case
for trisyllables, most (about 90%) of these 540 verbs are genuine suffixed forms, either by direct attachment of -ise to a noun or an adjective
or, in accordance with the general principles set out in §§0(4) & (6)
and 10(9) & (12), by affix-substitution or further to truncation of a neo­
classical ending. In all of these configurations, -ise is overwhelmingly
stress-neutral:
(14)
262
-ise v. of 4 syllables or more: stress preservation of the base
a. direct suffixation (juxtaposition to the base): externalise (< external), fictionalise (1925 < fictional), lexicalise (1937 < lexical), masculinise (< masculin(e)), miniaturise (1909 < miniatur(e)), modularise (1936 < modular),
phoneticise (< phonetic), suburbanise (< suburban), etc.
b.truncation of neoclassical endings or affix-replacement: apostrophise (<
apostroph(e) (e = [i])), economise (< econom(y)), epitomise (< epitom(e)
(e = [i])), geologise (< geolog(y)), hyperbolise (< hyperbol(e) (e = [i])),
hypothesise (< hypothes(is)), lobotomise (1952 < lobotom(y)), metabolise
(<~ metabol(ism)), metastatise (1907 < metastas(is)), metathesise (1946 <
metathes(is)), militarise (< militar(y)), monopolise (< monopol(y)), neologise (< neolog(y)), etc.
Most verbs of 14b are derived from a neoclassical construction made up
of three elements A, B and C, namely two consecutive combining forms
or a prefix and a combining form (A and B) and a bound ending (C), a
morphological combination which generally entails S-2 stress when C
= -y (cp. 'oxygenise < 'oxygen, which has no element C, cf. §§14.1.2.1
&16). The stress neutrality of -ise in verbs of four syllables or more
results in preproparoxytone and proparoxytone patterns ('federalise or
'militarise vs. ex'ternalise or sub'urbanise), paroxytone stress occurring
only in anthropomorphise (19th < ˌanthropo'morphous vs. < Gk stem
+ -ize in OED) and propagandise (< propaganda). Besides anthropomorphise, a few other verbs in -ise have been derived from an adjective in -ous by affix substitution according to D.com: homogenise (vs. <
obs. homogene in OED), homologise (vs. < homology in OED). Despite
the disagreements between D.com and OED about the etymologies of
these verbs, the -ise < -ous derivational pattern is validated in the latter
dictionary in the case of anonymise < anonymous. Even though it was
historically derived from synonym, sy'nonymise can synchronically be
treated as a stress-preserving derivative from sy'nonymous or sy'nonymy.
13.2.2.3 Stress-shifting derivatives
In the same manner as the adjective suffix -al (rhe'torical < 'rhetoric,
n.), the suffix -ise is known to regularise words which do not abide by
the -ic rule (cf. §1.2.2: a'rabicise (< 'Arabic), Ca'tholicise (< 'Catholic), po'liticise (< 'politic(s)). As in three-syllable examples ('narcotise
< nar'cotic, etc., cf. 1st par. after (13), same ch.), the verbs in -ise which
result from substitution of -ic with -ise do not preserve the penultimate
stress of the -ic adjective:
(15)
a'chromatise (< achromat(ic) + -ise) and sim. a'nesthetise (<~ anesthet(ic),
au'tomatise (< automat(ic)), ly'sogenise (1953 < lysogen(ic) vs BF < lysogenisation in OED), etc.
263
Usage is obviously capricious in the -ise verbalisation of -ic
adjectives, as shown by the ensuing inventory of verbs resulting from
direct attachment of -ise to -ic (“?” = no information on etymology):
(16)
academicise (< academic), aerobicise (1982 < aerobic, OED), antisepticise
(1910 < antiseptic), cosmeticise (< cosmetic), domesticise (< domestic, OED),
elasticise (< elastic), eroticise (1914 < erotic), (a)estheticize (< (a)esthetic,
OED), fanaticise (< fanatic), genericise (neologism, Urban D.), geometricise
(< geometric), grammaticise (< grammatic, adj. OED), Hebraicise (< Hebraic),
heroicise (< heroic), Hispanicise (< Hispanic), historicise ( < historic), Islamicise (< Islamic, OED), italicise (< italic), mathematicise (19th < mathematic
OED + var. 'mathematise 18th < mathemat(ic), id.), metallicise (< metallic),
neuroticise (< neurotic, OED), phonemicise (1940 < phonemic), phoneticise (<
phonetic), poeticise (< poetic), polemicise (< polemic), romanticise ( < romantic), somaticise (< somatic)
Hibernicise (< Med L vs. Hibernic(ism) + -ise in OED) has no underlying adjective in -ic.
In verbs which are synchronically derivable from nouns of classical origin in -ma16, -ise is preceded by a t, as occurs in the adjectives affixed with -ic and -ous (asthmatic <~ asthma, glaucomatous <~
glaucoma, cf. §§1.3 and 15(32'a.)). In this context there is stress co­
incidence between the noun and verb forms. This synchronic treatment
makes more sense than relating the ensuing verbs to corresponding
adjectives in -ic as in (15) above: a'nathematise <~ a'nathema instead
of <~ aˌnathe'matic (and similarly a'romatise <~ a'roma, cha'rismatise
<~ cha'risma, 'cinematise <~ 'cinema, ˌempy'reumatise <~ ˌempy'reuma, e'nigmatise <~ e'nigma + three-syllable verbs (cf. (13) above):
'dogmatise <~ 'dogma, 'dramatise <~ 'drama, 'stigmatise <~ stigma, 'traumatise <~ 'trauma. In the same manner as -atic vis-à-vis -ic
(problematic <~ problem, etc. cf. §1.3), -atise can synchronically be
held as a stand-alone variant of the generic -ise suffix in combination
with classical nouns which have lost the -a of the original -ma Greek
ending. In this precise context, displacement of the stress to the antepenult is nearly always recorded: ˌana'grammatise <~ 'anagram, ˌapoph'thegmatise <~ 'apophthegm, ˌaxi'omatise <~ 'axiom, em'blematise
16
264
Historically, however, all verbs of this type have been directly borrowed from
Greek or Late Latin.
(+ [1000]) <~ 'emblem, ˌpara'digmatise <~ 'paradigm, 'systematise
(+ [0100]) <~ 'system. The verbs 'problematise and 'symptomatise are
apparently the only occurrences of stress-preservation, with no [-100]
variant, in this class, at least in the Corpus and in OED. Verbs like
au'tomatise (< ˌauto'mat(ic) + -ise, cf. next par. after (13) above), 'mathematise (< mathemat(ic), id.) and le'gitimatise (< le'gitimat(e), adj.
+ -ise) are not pertinent.
Because of its meaning (“to carry on a dialogue”), di'alogise
must be considered as an irregular derivative from 'dialogue instead
of di'alogism (“a discussion in an imaginary dialogue or discourse”).
In contrast, there is no need to classify di'plomatise and e'pilogise as
irregular derivatives from respectively 'diplomat (historically, the actual base of the v. according to D.com vs. < Gk stem + -ise in OED)
and 'epilogue, as they are semantically and synchronically linkable to
respectively di'plomatism or di'plomac(y) + -ise (with the /s/ > [t] transformation occurring in words such as ecstatic <~ ecstasy, etc., cf. §1.3)
and e'pilogism17. Interestingly, the antepenultimate stressing postulated
by Guierre (1984: 117) for neoclassical combined forms made up of
A + B + C elements is no more an ironclad rule for -ise than it is for
-ist (cf. §10.3.7), as shown by the synchronic derivational sequences
'catalog(u)ise (< 'catalogue, no corresponding -y or -ism n.; the homographic v. var. catalog(u)e is however more common), 'metaphorise
(< 'metaphor), 'monologise (< 'monolog(ue) or monology; the homographic v. monologue = “deliver a monologue”, OED, whereas mo'nology = “the habit of monologising”, same source), 'monophthongise
(< 'monophthong), 'parallelise (< 'parallel). Finally, ˌatti'tudinise and
ˌplati'tudinise replicate the stress pattern of the adjectives ˌatti'tudinal
and ˌplati'tudinal (cf. §15).
The following verbs vacillate between stress-preservation and
shift to the antepenult: 'capitalise (+ [0100] < capital), ge'latinise (+
[1000] < 'gelatin + [201]), 'palatalise (+ [0100] < 'palatal), vo'latilise
(+ [1000] < 'volatile). The variation in bituminise ([0100] or [1000])
reflects that of the corresponding noun (bi'tumen/'bitumen). The initial
stressing of panegyrise (< Gk, cp.ˌ,pane'gyrist < Gk vs. < obs. panygere, n., in OED) is seemingly anomalous.
17
The verb epilogise has actually been borrowed from Greek.
265
13.2.3 Two-syllable verbs in ise
Dissyllabic verbs in -ise are few. Stylise is the only suffixed form listed
in the Corpus (1904 < style, n.). The indecomposable verbs 'baptise (<
F, cp. 'b/Baptism/-ist also < F), chastise (< MF vs. perhaps < chasty +
-ise in OED, if so now dem.), capsize (origin unknown, the [ps] medial
cluster is a strong indicator of an opaque compound) and cognise (BF <
cognisance) have late stress in British English and early stress in American English.
13.2.4 Suffix stacking
-ise’s unparalled productivity in verb formation is consequential to its
remarkable polysemy. As a matter of fact, this suffix is apt to form:
i. transitive verbs with semantic contents as varied as
a. “cause to be, become or conform to, convert into”: Americanise, computerise, crystallise, itemise, sterilise, etc.
b. “submit to or affect with a process or treatment”: brutalise, hospitalise, institutionalise, terrorise, tyrannise, etc.
ii. a heterogeneous set of generally intransitive verbs denoting any
kind of action or simply meaning “to make, do, perform, practise,
become that named by the base”: Americanise (as in The Germans
are Americanising, intransitive, cp. syn. The Germans are Americanising themselves, transitive = a.), apologise, philosophise, theorise, etc.
When there is direct attachment of -ise to a base (as opposed to affix
substitution as in economise < econom(y), etc.), there is no apparent
incompatibility with any noun or adjective affix it may already contain, whether the latter be bound or separable: -(i)alise (+ var. -(i)arise):
provincialise vs. initialise, linearise vs. peculiarise, etc. (250 items);
‑(i)anise: Egyptianise vs. pedestrianise, etc., 50), -ionise: abolitionise
vs. unionise, etc. (15); -icise (Gothicise vs. criticise, etc., 27); -ivise:
narrativise vs. incentivise, etc. (15), on condition the resulting verb does
not end with two identical onsets (cf. feminise, Lebanise, maximise,
266
etc.). The now rare abolitionise (= “to imbue with the principles of abolitionism”) does not violate token-blocking since it is not synonymous
with abolish.
Besides the affix-replacement principles set out in §§0(4) and
11(9) & (12) (jeopardise < jeopard(y), metabolise < metabol(ism)), it
should be reminded that -ise does not attach to a demonymic noun or
adjective in -ese: Serbian > Serbianise vs. Japan > Japanise, Vietnam >
Vietnamise, (cf. antepenult par. in §5.1.3). Although it has yielded few
relevant cases, the affix -ous is necessarily truncated when verbalised
(anonymise < anonymous), cf. §13.2.2.2).
As seen in previous chapters, suffixed verbs in -ise freely yield
further suffixations in:
(17)
a. -able: computerisable, criticisable, hybridisable, etc. (75 items, cf. §12.4);
b. -ation: computerisation, hybridisation, lexicalisation, etc. (450 items, cf.
§2(14));
c. -er (agent noun suffix): hybridiser, neutraliser, pluraliser, etc., 150 items, cf.
§9(1a.)).
Most nouns of class ii are recent coinages consequential to the formation of neologisms in -ise. It may however happen that the introduction
of a noun in -isation precedes that of the corresponding -ise verb (e.g.
Finlandise, back-formed from Finlandisation). Internet pages abound in
examples of verbs in -ise not recorded in the Corpus or in OED which
are as many testimonies of recent geopolitical upheavals: Croatianise (+
var. Croatise), Georgianise, Indonesianise, Moldov(i)anise, Persianise,
Serbianise, etc. (all of these being likely to yield antonyms or iteratives:
de-Georgianise, de-Serbianise, re-Georginaise, re-Serbianise, etc.). The
demonymic suffix -ic, which has only remained productive in conjugation
with names of countries or areas in -land (cf. antepenult par. in §1.5), is
still apt to yield verbs by direct attachment of -ise, although a synonymous verb formed by appendage of -ise to the -land constituent is always
available: Islandise or Islandicise, Finlandise or Finlandicise. Verbs in
-ise and their synonyms in -(i)fy correlative to names of countries or areas
yielding adjectives and nouns in -i are obviously formed similarly, rather
than by replacement of the -i suffix since -fy is not supposed to attach
to an already suffixed base (cf. §4.1): Iraq(ise/ify), Israel(ise/ify), Pakistan(ise/ify), Qatar(ise/ify), etc. (all from Internet pages).
267
13.2.5 An alternative view on -ise, a weak-preservation suffix
in three-syllable verbs?
In her effort to assess the pertinency of contemporary theories on
word-formation and phonology, Kaisse (2005) argues that -ise can hardly be held as a level II suffix since it is apt to attach to stems as well
as words. Kaisse goes on to show that -ise’s ability to attach to stems
allows it to avert stress-clash as well as the repetition of identical onsets,
giving the ensuing examples in support of her demonstration: (a) 'subliˌmise based on ˌsubli'mation rather than su'blime; 'immuˌnise based on
ˌimmu'nology rather than im'mune; (b) 'maxiˌmise (*'maximuˌmise, cp.
'radiuˌmise), 'appeˌtise (*'appetiˌtise, cp. 'parasiˌtise).
Besides the historical inconsistencies denoted by such examples
(immunise, 1889, was indeed formed from immune + -ise, D.com and
OED), whereas immunology was coined in 1906)18, the avoidance of
stress clash in -ise verbs (at least in American English, cf. the transcriptions of American Heritage D., MWD, etc., since no degree of stress is
assigned to the -ise affix in British dictionaries, cf. Collins D., OED,
EPD, LPD) can hardly be regarded as an ironclad phonological constraint, as evidenced by formations such as ˌanthropo'morˌphise (vs. no
stress assigned to -ise in GB), ˌpropa'ganˌdise (id.), ag'granˌdise (id.
+ var. [100]), e'terˌnise (id. + var. [100]), e'lˌectrise (id. + var. [100]),
sy'nopˌsise (id.), 'stylise (id.), see subsections above. On the other hand,
Kaisse is definitely right in her assumption that -ise verbs do not allow
repetition of identical onsets in their last two syllables (appetise instead
of *appetitise, etc.), cf. 3rd par. below (13) and 2nd par. in §13.2.4, above.
18
268
It is incidentally odd that, in the approach adopted by Kaisse, immunise was
not based on the more frequent ˌimmunisation (1889 < immunise + -ation)
which was additionally first recorded in the same year, an argument which, true
enough, is immaterial in a synchronic approach.
14. -y and -ism
14.1 -y
Once nouns formed with the affixes -acy, -cy, -ancy/-ency, -ary, -(e)ry,
‑e/ity, -ty, -ory and -atory (cf. relevant chapters) have been discarded,
about 3,650 nouns in -y (an affix of different origins, representing L -ai,
-ium, Gk -ia, -eia, -ion, F -ie, G -ie vs. “Represents ult., through F, com.
Romanic -ia = L -iā, which comprised under one graphic form the Gk
suffixes -ia and -ɛιɑ […], OED) are found in the Corpus. These nouns
subdivide into two classes.
First, about 40 items synchronically analysable as deverbal,
denominal or deadjectival derivatives in which -y behaves as a stress
neutral suffix. Second and foremost, some 3,600 neoclassical learned
constructions, synchronically analysable either as transparent suffixations with -y to pre-existing bases (e.g. monarchy <~ monarch, photography <~ photograph, etc.) or as containing the bound ending -y (e.g.
geography <≠ *geograph, philosophy <≠ *philosoph, etc.):
14.1.1 Stress-neutral noun suffix -y
Nouns in -y analysable as transparent suffixed forms which are not combining-form compounds can be reduced to the inventory below:
(1) Nouns in -y sync. analysable as derived from
a. v. in -er (cf. §11.6): bartery (obs. < barter + -y and sim. discovery (< discover), mastery (< master vs. < OF in OED), upholstery (< upholster); + < OF or MF: delivery (<~ deliver),
embroidery (<~ embroider), flattery (<~ flatter), recovery (<~
recover);
b. other v.: acquiry (r. < acquire = “acquirement”), en/inquiry (<
en/inquir(e)), entreaty (< entreat vs. < OF in OED), expiry (<
expir(e)) + < L: augury (<~ augur), injury (<~ injure, a BF from
the n.), usury (<~ obs. usure) + OF or MF: assembly (<~ assembl(e)), conjury, 19th = “the art of a conjurer” < conjure = “to
perform magic tricks”), destiny (<~ destin(e)), perjury (<~ perjure); modern formation: conjury (19th = “the art of a conjurer”
< conjure = “to perform magic tricks”)
c. n.: < L: rectory (<~ rector), satrapy (<~ satrap), victory (<~
victor); < OF: barony (<~ baron), county (<~ Count, partially
dem.), felony (<~ felon), gluttony (<~ glutton), seigneury (<~
seigneur), treasury (<~ treasure, partially dem.), villainy (<~
villain), warranty (<~ warrant); blasphemy is the only noun of
this kind showing a stress mismatch with its putative base (<~
blaspheme)19
d. < adj.: < L: difficulty (<~ difficult, act. a BF from the n.), leprosy
(<~ lepro(u)s), modesty (<~ modest); < OF: honesty (<~ honest),
jealousy (<~ jealous).
Morphologically, nouns in -acy (cf. §11.1) and -ancy/-ency (cf. §11.4)
analysable as transparent suffixed forms, have been treated by some authors (e.g. Burzio: 257, 292–93, Fabb:534, H&P: 1705, Udema, 2004:
13) as resulting from attachment of -y to bases in respectively -ate and
-ant/-ent, further to spirantisation of /t/: adequacy (< adequat(e) (/t/ →
[s]) + -y, legitimacy < legitimat(e) (id.) + -y, etc.; vagrancy < vagrant
(/t/ → [s]) + -y), residency < resident (id.) + -y), etc.20 This approach
is, however, fraught with several difficulties, one of the most critical
being that, if -y is to be held as the appropriate affix of items in -acy or
-ancy/‑ency, a special provision must be made to account for the S-3
stress-assignment of such nouns as contumacy, efficacy or chiromancy
where no underlying base in -ate or -ant can be postulated. Furthermore,
as acknowledged by proponents of this treatment, stress reassignments
such as di'plomacy <~ 'diplomat, de'mocracy <~ 'democrat, etc., have
to be left unexplained or lumped together as exceptions to stress neutrality. Regarding -ancy and -ency nouns as affixed with -y also implies
19
20
270
Robbery, given by Fabb (: 529) as analysable as robber + y is better treated as
affixed with -ery (rob(b) + -ery), cf. §11.6).
An analysis also applicable to idiocy <~ idiot (cp. syn. idiotcy < idiot + -cy) or
hypocrisy <~ hypocrite (both from L and ult. from Gk).
to apply a parallel treatment to their rival forms in -ance/-ence (competence <~ competent (/t/ > [s]) + -e or, as Fowler does (1985 [1926]: 82),
to define -ce and -cy as the appropriate suffixes in nouns in -ance/-ancy
and -ence/ ‑ency). In this perspective, however, -ance must be treated as
a suffix in its own right in items such as annoyance (< MF), clearance
(< clear + -ance) and similarly furtherance (< further), hind(e)rance (<
hinder), riddance (< rid), utterance (< utter), etc. which have no corresponding adjectives in -ant21. The same reasoning must apply to -acy
in conspiracy, graphicacy (1965 < formed on the model of literacy),
prolificacy and supremacy, the only cases of straightforward suffixation
in -acy recorded in the Corpus besides the facetious retiracy (cf. §11.1).
The neutral derivational model described above is somewhat
salvageable if Guierre’s general stress-rules on combining-form compounds (1984: §7) are accommodated into it (although with significant
amendments), as will be shown in the next subsection.
Nouns affixed with stress-neutral -y can derive adjectives in -al
and ‑ous, except of course when they are themselves deadjectival (jealousy, modesty). Since -al and -ous are denominal suffixes (cf. §15), two
interpretations are synchronically possible in cases such as baronial
since barony is itself analysable as denominal: barony + -al or baron +
‑ial. Historically, both types of suffixations have occurred: baronial (<
barony + -al), felonious (< felony + -ous), usurious (< usury + -ous, cp.
obs. usurous < id.) vs. rectorial (< rector), which qualifies the work of
a rector instead of his place of residence (rectory), satrapial (or, in variation, satrapal < satrap). Synchronically, a similar dual analysis may
apply to items directly taken from Latin or Old French, e.g. victorious,
interpretable as victory + -ous or victor + -ious).
Since -al and -ous adjectives are normally formed from nouns,
a denominal analysis should naturally be preferred when a noun in -y
may be regarded as either denominal or deverbal: injurious (< F <~ injury, rather than <~ injure, back-formed from the former, as specified in
(1b.)), perjurious (+ var. perjurous, id. perjury/perjure).
21
Annoyant is however recorded in informal usage in Web pages.
271
14.1.2 Stress-placing separable or bound noun affix
14.1.2.1 Typology and productivity of learned compounds in -y
There about 3600 learned compounds comprising two or more neoclassical combining forms + -y (e.g. A + B + C → meteorology < Gk
meteoron (“a thing in the air”, D.com, “celestia phenomena”, OED) +
linking -o- + -log(ue + -y (here -logy = “science”); A' + A + B + C →
cytopathology < cyt(e)- (= “cell”) + linking -o- + path- (= “suffering”
or “disease”) + linking -o- + -log(ue) + -y) or even a free morpheme +
a neoclassical combining form, also frequently conjoined with a linking -o-: mobocracy, climatology, etc. Although 135 different combining
forms are recorded as prefinal elements (or B-elements, according to
Guierre’s formulation, 1984: §7) in association with -y in the making of
the afore-mentioned 3,600 learned nouns, more than half of the latter
have been the product of 7 remarkably prolific sequences to which most
dictionaries of the Corpus have dedicated specific entries22.
(2)
-logy (“discourse, treatise, doctrine, theory, science”, Webster’s D. 1913), 640
items; -graphy (“a suffix denoting the art of writing or describing; also, the
writing or description itself; a treatise”, id.), 380; -metry (“a suffix denoting
the art, process, or science, of measuring” id.), 175 items; -pathy (“feeling or
suffering”, “an abnormal or pathological condition, disease”, “a mode of treatment or therapy”, id.), 125 items; -plasty (“formation, esp. with regard to plastic
surgery”, id.), 75 items; -scopy (“seeing; examining; observing, used in abstract
nouns corresponding to nouns ending in “-scope”, id.), 100 items; ‑(ec/s)tomy
(“cutting, incision, of an organ, as specified by the initial element”, D.com), 375
items; = 1870 (52%) of 3600 items.
The proliferation of sciences and technologies accounts for the high
numbers of items produced by these final sequences. Thus, more than
half of the nouns in -logy listed in the Corpus were coined in the 19th
and 20th centuries, for the purpose of naming a new science (or not
so uncommonly a pseudo-science, e.g. the now obsolete raciology =
“study of racial differences”, coined in the heyday of colonial power).
22
272
Some dictionaries of the Corpus define these sequences as suffixes, others as
combining forms. It is also not uncommon for some dictionaries to resort somewhat arbitrarily to either label, e.g. Webster’s D. 1913 in which -logy is defined
as a combining form and -graphy as a suffix.
(3)
n. in -logy, dates of earliest known use
a.20th century: anesthesiology (1914), codicology (1953), cohomology (1959,
MWD), cryology (1913), deltiology (1947), foetology (1965), Kremlinology
(1958), scientology (1951), ufology (1959), etc. (150 items);
b.19th century: actinology, Assyriology, cardiology, climatology, criminology,
dermatology, epistemology, eschatology, etc. (175 items)
With about one-third of their numbers first recorded over the same span
of time, the -graphy and -metry sequences are still scoring fairly high in
terms of neological production. Unsurprisingly, it is the domain of medical imaging which has the largest share in the count of recently-formed
nouns in -graphy, even though this learned sequence has a large range
of meanings: printing techniques (reprography, serigraphy, etc.), writing skills and characteristics (calligraphy, orthography, etc.), scenic and
visual arts (choreography, cinematography, photography, etc.), specialist writings (biography, hagiography, etc.), list of works (bibliography,
discography, filmography, etc.).
(4)
Nouns in -graphy, dates of earliest known use
a.20th century: discography (1933), filmography (1962), holography (1964),
renography (1911), reprography (1961), scintigraphy (1958), videography
(1972), etc. (60 items);
b.19th century: bibliography, cartography, lithography, oceanography, photography, etc. (75 items).
(5)
Nouns in -metry, dates of earliest known use:
a.20th century: allometry (1912), archaeometry (1958), biotelemetry (1960),
cytophotometry (1952), interferometry (1911), oximetry (1944), reflectometry (1920), etc. (15 items);
b.19th century: acidimetry, alcoholometry, algometry, interferometry, radiometry, refractometry, etc. (50 items).
As regards the lexemes made with the remaining sequences listed in (2),
all linked to medical terminology, very few dates of earliest known use
are provided in generalist dictionaries since most such items which their
authors have elected to list have been taken from medical terminology
databases, such as The On-Line Medical D. or Medical D., which do
not include etymological notices. To give a precise example, items in
-ectomy, a subset of the -tomy basic combining form denoting a surgical
removal, are dated in only 55 of 140 occurrences, all given as having
273
appeared in the previous two centuries. Most dated items of the ‑pathy,
-plasty and -scopy classes appeared over the same period.
(6)
Other productive CFs + -y, dates of earliest known use:
a. -pathy: 20th: retinopathy (1930), sociopathy (1918), etc. (10 items); 19th:
cardiopathy, encephalopathy, myelopathy, neuropathy, osteopathy, etc. (16
items);
b. -plasty: 20th: angioplasty (1926), mammoplasty (1957), tympanoplasty
(1955), etc. (10 items); 19th: anaplasty, arthroplasty, rhinoplasty, thoracoplasty, etc. (12 items);
c. -scopy: 20th: arthroscopy (1925), bronchoscopy (1903), colonoscopy (1957),
f(o)etoscopy (1971), etc. (20 items); 19th: endoscopy, gastroscopy, spectroscopy, etc. (32 items);
d.-(ec/o/s)tomy: 20th: embolectomy (1923), gyrectomy (1949), lumpectomy
(1972), thrombectomy (1910), lobotomy (1936), cystostomy (1910), tracheostomy (1945), etc.; (22 items); 19th: appendectomy, gastrectomy, urethrectomy, vasectomy, colostomy, enterostomy, ileostomy, etc. (33 items)
In sharp contrast with the strong productivity of the seven learned sequences examined above, 87 (66%) of the 135 combining forms licensed in prefinal position before -y have yielded less than 10 lexemes
(at least according to the Corpus). Among these, 28 are recorded in
barely one or two items: (e.g. -anthy, -chimy, -choly, -chondry, -crany,
‑dermy, -desy, -dipsy, -genesy, etc.). In these classes representative of
low populations, a good number of rare or obsolete lexemes are met
with, often rivalled or supplanted by identical element A + element B
combinations making use of another element C than -y, namely -ia, -ics,
-ism and -(ias)is: neuralg(y/ia), hypochondr(y/ia) (or hypochondriasis),
isomorph(y/ism), pyrotechn(y/ics), etc. Interchangeability and semantic
differences in -y and -ism pairs (bibliophily = bibliophilism vs. monarchy ≠ monarchism) will be dealt with in the next section.
Most of the 48 sequences having yielded more than 10 lexemes
are still productive (e.g. -archy, -anthropy, -carpy, -cephaly, -chromy,
‑chrony, -cracy, -dactyly, -gamy, -geny, -gony, -latry, -mancy, -megaly,
‑mony, -morphy, -nomy, -onymy, -pexy, -phagy, -phily, -phony, -ploidy,
‑pody, -thermy, -trophy, -topy, -typy.
Some, such as -cracy found in about 50 compounds in the Corpus
in the sense “rule, government, governing body” occur in many more
examples retrievable from Internet pages, not only with thousands of
274
hits but from perfectly respectable articles or essays: despotocracy, ecclesiocracy, ethnocracy, eurocracy, foolocracy, geekocracy, ghettocracy,
infantocracy, juntocracy, juristocracy, majoritocracy, mullahcracy,
netocracy, partocracy, philosophocracy, prophetocracy, robotocracy,
scientocracy, thugocracy, xenocracy, vaginocracy, etc. Quite a few of
the foregoing nouns are also listed in dictionaries not available from the
OL search engine (e.g. OED or Merriam Webster’s Unabridged D.)23.
Others like -latry are commonly used jocularly or disapprovingly to describe a form of blind or uncritical worship of a public figure (Obamalatry, Reaganolatry, etc. cf. -later, first par. of p. 197) but, despite their
potential productivity, are obviously to be held as nonce words. Another
interesting case is -mancy which was manifestly headed for obsolescence until it was revived in the late 20th century in fantasy media (comics, films, cartoons, role-playing or video games, etc., cf. -mancer, first
par. after §10.3.3 iii.).
The learned register of neoclassical compounds and their possible supplantation, in everyday language, by less abstruse words or
phrases (e.g. eye medicine instead of ophthalmology)24 should not overshadow their preponderant share in the formation of neologisms, all the
more as the 135 combining forms licensed in prefinal position before
-y (or other affixes, notably -ism) are apt to combine not only with hundreds of neoclassical formatives licensed initially (as A elements) but
also with free morphemes: bureaucracy, climatology, idolatry, interferometry, meritocracy, mobocracy, ufology, etc.
14.1.2.2 Stress-assignment of learned compounds ending in -y
In Guierre’s stress-rule system, immediate derivation (Guierre, 1979:
§5.7.8) is postulated in synchrony in all combining-form compounds
wherein removal of -y (and other affixes such as -ism, -ist, -er, -al,
-ous) leaves a recognisable, syllabically shorter base (e.g. horoscopy <
horoscope or stethoscopy < stethoscope, two examples which, indeed,
do mirror etymology). Guierre’s general rule (1984: 117) relating to
23
24
Some of these compounds have been revived after a period of obsolescence to
deal with current situations in world affairs.
This is not always true in English. Thus, entomology has prevailed over the
transparently formed insectology.
275
learned constructions states that, whether bound or separable, C-element affixes place stress on
i. the antepenult (in Guierre’s own words on “the last syllable
of element A”, ibid: 117) when element B ends in -VC (photography/photographer <~ photograph and sim. anglophilism
< anglophile, democratism < democrat, idolatry/‑later/-latrous
<~ idol, isochrony/-chronism/-chronous/-chronal <~ isochrone,
petroglyphy < petroglyph, psychopathy <~ psychopath, stroboscopy < stroboscope, telephony/-phonist, respectively <~ and <
telephone, etc.)25.
ii. the penult (in Guierre’s own words “on B”, ibid: 117) when the final
CF ends in -VC2, -V or -Vdig (= vowel digraph): pachydermous <
pachyderm and sim. isothermal, gymnosperm(al/ous), etc.
However, Guierre (ibid: 117) had to incorporate into his classifications many exceptional prefinal combining forms to account for the
initial or prefinal stress of such A + B + C compounds as 'cheiromancy
(no recognisable shorter base in sync.) / 'cheiromancer or 'monarchy
(sync. derivable from 'monarch), 'monarch(ism/ist) (sync. derivable
from 'monarch or, by affix-replacement, from 'monarchy), 'orthodoxy
(id. 'orthodox) and others (-chol-, ‑erg-, gog(ue), -gor-, -leps-, -manc-,
-typ-, -urg-). Among the prefinal combining forms he listed as violating his general S-2 rule, some do not have the predicted effect on -y
words (e.g. -morphy: 'ectomorphy (< 'ectomorph, OED), 'isomorphy
(LPD: 493), 'taxidermy cp. taxi'dermal). Furthermore, still in conjunction with -y, many more prefinal combining forms than those listed by
Guierre induce placement of primary stress before the last syllable of
element A:
(7)
-carpy: 'apocarpy, 'geocarpy, etc. (cp. adj. in -'carpal, ‑'carpous, etc.); -nasty:
'epinasty, 'hyponasty, etc.; -pexy: 'mastopexy, 'orchiopexy, etc.; -plasmy: 'heteroplasmy, 'homoplasmy, etc. (cp. adj. in -'plasmal); -plasty: 'angioplasty, 'mammoplasty, etc.; -plexy: 'apoplexy, 'cataplexy, etc.; -ploidy: 'diploidy, 'polyploidy,
25
This derivational order is, of course, often belied by diachronic data. Thus, bureaucrat (1836), synchronically analysable as the deriving form of bureaucracy
(1818), was actually adopted from French. Similar examples include democracy (16th) / democrat (18th), id.), psychopathy (1847) / psychopath (1864).
276
etc., -spermy: 'gymnospermy, 'polyspermy, etc. (cp. adj. in -'spermal, -'spermous), -thermy: 'endothermy, in'ductothermy, etc. (cp. adj. in -'thermal,
‑'thermous), -topsy: 'autopsy, 'biopsy, etc.; -tripsy: 'cephalotripsy, 'lithotripsy,
etc.26
Moreover, in an attempt to give more consistency to his rule system,
Guierre (ibid.: 117) had to further complexify it by defining such affixes
as -er, -ist, -ism, -ise, -al, -ous as “mixed suffixes”, alternatively neutral
when appended to “ordinary words” ('federal(ism/ist/ise) <~ 'federal)
and stress-imposing in association with neoclassical combining forms
(i'sochronism/-chrony/-chronous/chronal <~ 'isochrone)27. As stated
in previous chapters (§§9.2.2 and 10.3.2), it is economically more opportune to maintain neutral status for -er and -ist in all environments,
namely to consider all learned compounds ending with these affixes
as derivatives from -y or ‑ism nouns (a derivational pattern attested in
the history of the English language, e.g. taxonomer/-nomist < taxonomy), which amends Guierre’s system significantly since it implies a
redefinition of derivational ordering as follows: pho'tographer, derived
from pho'tography (with truncation of -y), itself derived from 'photograph, etc. Besides, since they are subject to their own stress-placing
rules (S-1/-2), the denominal adjective affixes -al and -ous need not
be given a mixed status in an overall account of stress-placement in
combining-form compounds (cf. ˌapo'carpous vs. 'apocarpy, etc., in
(7) above28. The stress discrimination rule set forth in (8) below makes
it possible to resolve mismatches such as 'apocarpy vs. ˌapo'carpous,
'polyspermy vs. ˌpoly'spermous, etc.
Guierre’s rules will be considerably simplified if -y (whether
bound or separable) is assigned stress-imposing status in learned
compounds causing primary stress to fall on the antepenult in lexemes
26
27
28
Contrary to their American colleagues, British lexicographers do not assign
a secondary stress to the element B of such compounds: 'taxidermy (EPD &
LPD) vs. 'taxiˌdermy (North-American dictionaries).
In Guierre’s treatment (ibid.: 115) auto-stressed and S-1 suffixes such as -ee,
-ese, ‑ic, etc., are naturally functional in learned compounds: ˌbiogra'phee,
ˌtelegra'phese, ˌtele'phonic, etc.
The opposite derivational order, namely derivation by affix-replacement of
learned compounds in -y from adjectives in -ous is however given in D.com in
several instances: 'apocarpy (not listed in OED) < apo'carpous, ˌbrachy'cephaly
(given in OED as derived from brachycephalic) < ˌbrachy'cephalous, etc.
277
having the ‑VCy structure and on element A in those in -VCCy or vowel
digraph + ‑y. In the latter context, the stressing of element A is subject
to rules proper to combining forms: o'neiromancy (V digraph), in'ductothermy (C2), cf. §18.1.
(8)
Learned words in -y, general stress rule
a.-VC + bound or sep. -y → [-100]: antinomy, autocracy, brachyology, colporraphy, diplomacy, epipaheny, geodesy, homonymy, isochrony, oligopoly,
orthography, neoteny, pathognomy, periphery, pharmacognosy, philately,
phillumeny, synonymy, taxonomy, telepathy, theodicy, etc.
b.-VCC or digraph + bound or sep. -y → primary stress on element A: (partially repeated from (7): -andry: 'polyandry, etc. (+ var. '-andry); -archy: 'monarchy, etc.; -argy: 'lethargy; -carpy: 'geocarpy, etc. ; -dermy: 'homodermy,
etc.; -doxy: 'heterodoxy, etc.; -ergy: 'allergy, etc.; -lepsy: 'narcolepsy, etc.;
-mancy: 'necromancy, etc.; -morphy: 'ectomorphy, etc.; -nasty: 'hyponasty,
etc.; -pexy: 'mastopexy, etc.; -plasmy: 'homoplasmy, etc.; -plasty: 'angioplasty, etc.; -plexy: 'apoplexy, etc.; -ploidy: 'diploidy, etc., -spermy: 'gymnospermy, etc. -taxy: 'biotaxy, etc.29; thermy: in'ductothermy, etc. -topsy:
'autopsy, etc.; -tripsy: 'cephalotripsy, etc.; -urgy: 'thaumaturgy, etc.30.
The immunity of nouns in (8b.) to the S-1 consonant cluster rule is consistent with the prevalent initial stress patterns of monomorphemic or
synchronically unsuffixed three-syllable words in -C2y: amnesty, Burgundy, calumny, carpentry, cavalry, chivalry, dynasty, embassy, faculty,
galaxy, industry, infantry (<≠ infant), jeopardy, liberty, majesty, organdy, poverty, property (<≠ proper), puberty, tapestry, travesty, sacristy,
etc. (exceptions e'poxy and e'querry (+ [100])).
The ensuing sequences do no abide by (8a): -chromy: 'heliochromy, 'monochromy. 'photochromy, 'polychromy, 'stereochromy; -gogy:
'anagogy, 'demagogy (or demagoguery), 'mystagogy (or mystagoguery),
'pedagogy; -gory: 'allegory, 'amphigory, 'category, with [-gəri] in GB and
[ˌgɔri] or -[ˌgoʊri] in US; -mony: 'acrimony, 'agrimony, 'alimony, 'antimony (not to be confused with an'tinomy), 'ceremony, 'hegemony (+ [0100]),
matrimony, palimony, parsimony, patrimony, prestimony, sanctimony,
29
30
278
Compounds containing the privative prefix a- + element B are sometimes not
functional, cf. a'taxy or as'phyxy, more com. as'phyxia. Another irregular class
is ‑pepsy: apepsy, dyspepsy, eupepsy (+ [100]), more common in the form
-pepsia: apepsia, dyspepsia, eupesia; eu'rhythmy is a solitary case.
Metallurgy is now subject to a variant in [0100].
testimony, with [-məni] in GB and [ˌmɔni] or -[ˌmoʊni] in US), to be
distinguished from the regular combining form -stemony (< Gk stēmōn
= “thread’: ˌiso'stemony, obˌdiplo'stemony) and from a'nemony, alt.
spelling of anemone; -typy: antitypy, autotypy, daguerreotypy, electrotypy,
heliotypy, homotypy, phonotypy, stenotypy, stereotypy.
14.1.2.3 Suffix stacking
Neoclassical compounds in -y are apt to yield31: (a) verbs in -ise (cf.
§13(14b.)); (b) nouns in -ist and/or -er (about distribution rules between
both suffixes, e.g. -grapher vs. -graphist, cf. §10.3.3); (c) S-1/-2 adjectives in -al, -an, -ent, -oid, -ous and S-1 adjectives in -ic. Suffixations of
types (a) and (b) entail truncation of -y whereas there is vacillation between direct concatenation to and deletion of the final vowel in type (c)
derivatives: analogous (<~ analog(y) + -ous) vs. ceremonious/-monial
(<~ ceremony + -ous/-al), cf. §15(5).
As will be shown in chapter 15, lexical blocking is obviously
not a relevant factor in adjectives in -al, -an, -ic, -oid and -ous formed
from learned compounds (whether or not they end in -y): arthro(podal/
podan/podic/podous), mon(archic/archal), poly(andric/androus), etc.,
a fact which is consistent with Hay’s theories on the influence of word
frequency in suffixation processes (2003).
14.2 -ism
14.2.1 General features
Originally from OF -isme, from L -ismus, from Gk -ismos, -ism is one
of the most wildly used nominal suffixes, so much so that it has become
a noun employed informally (and often derogatorily) in the sense “a
distinctive doctrine, system, theory or practise” (e.g. This is the age of
31
Not merely in a synchronic approach, authentic suffixations from learned -y
nouns (e.g. taxonomer/-nomist/-nomic < taxonom(y) + -er/-ist/-ic), are, as said
above, commonly attested in etymological notices.
279
isms, D.com; We all have got to come to grips with our isms, Joycelyn
Elders, MWD; He saw no place in art for abstractions and isms […],
OED). Besides its high potential productivity in the designation of a
political, religious, artistic, scientific or philosophical doctrine, system,
etc., often named after its founder or promoter (Darwinism, Lamarckism, Leninism, Maoism, Protestantism, Stalinism, Wesleyism, etc.), the
-ism suffix displays remarkable polysemy. Thus it is also apt to indicate:
i. behaviour, practise, inclination: absenteeism, absolutism, alarm-
ism, buffoonism, bullyism, careerism, conformism, corporatism,
defeatism, extremism, heroism, mannerism, puritanism, reformism,
etc.
ii.prejudice: ageism, fattism, lookism, racism, sexism, speciesism,
etc.
iii.pathological conditions: absinthism, alcoholism, caffeinism, cretinism, dwarfism, ergotism, giantism, invalidism, morphinism, senilism, strychtinism, etc.32
iv. a specific linguistic usage or mode of speech: Americanism, Britishism, Canadianism, colloquialism, Irishism, Latinism, Yiddishism,
vulgarism, etc.
1230 of the 1600 items in -ism recorded in the Corpus are derivable from
nouns or adjectives, both categories being able to yield nouns linked to
the various meanings of this suffix: capitalism vs. imperialism (doctrine, system, etc.); bullyism vs. extremism (i.); ageism vs. fattism (ii.);
cretinism vs. senilism (iii.); Latinism vs. colloquialism (iv.). Despite the
low number of relevant instances, direct attachment of -ism to a verb
base33 is also licensed (e.g. determinism < determin(e) + -ism, transformism < transform + -ism). Similarly to other languages making use
of this suffix (e.g. F je-m’en-foutisme, literally I-couldn’t-care-lessism,
jusqu’au-boutisme = diehardism), -ism also has the ability to attach to
standard or dephrasal compounds: (from the Corpus) ivory-towerism,
32
33
280
There again such nouns may be derived from the name of the discoverer of a
disease: Daltonism, Parkinsonism, etc.
Instead of affix-replacement with -ist or -ise, e.g. conformism (1926) < conformist (17th) < conform (14th).
old-maidism, welfarism; do-nothingism (examples from Web pages):
get-up-and-goism, go-it-alonism, happy-go-luckyism, etc.).
Some nouns in -ism have several of the possible meanings defined above. In this respect, the most striking items are those (often
formed from proper nouns) which may alternatively refer to a linguistic
peculiarity (iv.), with no possible -ist correlate, or to advocacy of or
loyalty to a specified culture (i.). In the latter set of meanings, a corresponding noun in -ist may be attested, e.g.: Americanist, a specialist in
American history, geography, arts or culture + a person supportive of
US culture, customs, policies, etc., cf. §10(10).
(9)
Partially reprised from (10), ch. 10
Africanism (“a word adopted from an African language” + “something characteristic of African, culture or ideals”), Americanism (“American expression”
or “loyalty to America”), Canadianism (“word or pronunciation used in
Canada” + “allegiance to or pride in Canada”), Celticism (“a Celtic idiom or
expression” + “fondness for Celtic culture”), cockneyism (“cockney peculiarity of speech” + “cockney quality or character”), foreignism (“any trait from
a foreign language” + “foreign custom, mannerism, etc.”), Irishism (“Irish
expression” or “custom, manner, practise of or loyalty to the Irish), Londonism (“mode of speaking, expression peculiar to London” + “characteristic of
Londoners”), etc. 40 items34.
In all its possible senses, the -ism suffix is still highly productive: ageism
(1969), cognitivism (1978), generativism (1965), permissivism (1961),
speciesism (1975), Thatcherism (1977), etc.
Compared with the huge numbers of learned compounds ending
in -y, -ism is only attested as element C (separable or bound) in 300
such items, selecting for potential hosts about 60 element-B combining
forms, the most productive combinations of this kind being -morphism
and ‑tropism with about 40 items each:
(10)
allomorphism, anachronism, anarchism, basophilism, demagogism, diplomatism, geophagism, monotheism, orthognathism, philanthropism, syndactylism,
synergism, synthetism, theosophism, thermotropism, etc.
34
Dictionaries are far from listing all such formations used in specialist writings:
Austrianism, Croatianism, Serbianism, etc.
281
Many items in (10) co-exist with nouns in -y made up of the same
A and B elements:
(11)
analogism/analogy,anomalism/anomaly, allotropism/allotropy, anarchism/anarchy, bibliophilism/bibliophily, biophagism/biophagy, demagogism/demagogy,
geophagism/geophagy, hyperdactylism/hyperdactyly, monarchism/monarchy,
philosophism/philosophy, philanthropism/philanthropy, polyphonism/polyph­
ony, synchronism/synchrony, etc.
The examination of such pairs brings out two possibilities: (a) patent
semantic differences, chiefly in relation with terms linked to doctrines
and systems: e.g. anarchy (“a state of lawlessness and disorder”) ≠ anarchism (“a political theory advocating the abolition of governments”),
biology (“science of life” or “life processes”) ≠ biologism (“use of biological principles in explaining human (esp. social) behaviour”), monarchy (“nation or state having a monarchical government”) ≠ monarchism
(“adhesion to monarchy as a political system”), philosophy (“academic
discipline” + “any system of belief, values, or tenets”) ≠ philosophism
(“spurious philosophy”), theosophy (“a mystical philosophy”) ≠ theoso­
phism (“belief in theosophy”35; (b) full synonymy in other contexts, at
least for one definition, one item of the pairs being often more commonly used than the other: ano(maly/malism), (r.)), iso(morphism/morphy),
ortho(gnathism/gnathy), phil(anthropy/anthropism), poly(dactyly/dactylism), syn(chronism/chrony) (+ (for the latter) linguistic s.), etc. The
prefinal combining form -the- (a var. of theo (“god”) before a vowel:
monotheism, polytheism, etc.) does not select for -y.
14.2.2 Stress rules
Similarly to -y, -ism is indisputably a “mixed suffix”, although not strictly in accordance with Fudge’s definition as regards indecomposable
nouns. Apart from items in which it is preceded by one syllable (whether the latter be representative of a free or bound morpheme) which
must have a proparoxytone pattern, since- ism itself never bears primary stress (baptism, brownism, buddhism, chartism, cubism, cultism,
35
282
See also §10.3.3.
faddism, nudism, papism, whiggism, etc., 110 items)36, nouns in -ism
are massively stress neutral when -ism is separable:
(12)
absenteeism, alienism, alcoholism, amateurism, analphabetism, apriorism,
auteurism, bachelorism, constitutionalism, conservatism, consumerism, cosmopolitism, dandyism, demonism, despotism, druidism, escapism, evangelism,
extremism, favouritism, federalism, feminism, fetich/shism, futurism, gangsterism, gentilism, hooliganism, Hindooism, hybridism, individualism, lobbyism,
mercantilism, modernism, nomadism, partyism, patriotism, pauperism, proselytism, puerilism, separatism, spiritism, terrorism, toryism, totemism, tribalism,
ultraism, vampirism, voodooism, voyeurism, etc.
Synchronically however, some -ism suffixations are not always so
obviously relatable to their bases, specifically when they have been
formed from proper names which may have fallen into oblivion or
be little known now: Ba'haism (a religion < Ba'hai), 'bantingism (a
weight-reduction method < 'Banting), 'baunscheidtism (a form of acupuncture < 'Baunscheidt), 'boehmenism (a mystical doctrine < 'Boehme), 'bletonism (a pseudoscientific doctrine < 'Bleton), 'chauvinism
(< 'Chauvin), 'fourierism (a social doctrine < 'Fourier), 'galenism (a
medical system < 'Galen), 'jansenism (a religious doctrine < 'Jansen),
'listerism (an antiseptic method < 'Lister), ly'senkoism (1948, a genetic doctrine < Ly'senko), 'malapropism (19th, from Mrs. Malaprop,
a character in Sheridan's play The Rivals, 1775), male'branchism (a
philosophical system < Male'branche), 'masochism (a psychiatric condition < (Sacher-)Masoch), mesmerism (< Mesmer), mo'nophysistism
(a theological doctrine < Mo'nophysite), mo'nothelism (id.< Mo'nothelite), pan'tagruelism (< Pan'tagruel), pythonism (< python, not “the
snake” but “a spirit or demon”), sta'khanovism (1936 < Sta'khanov),
etc. (about 100 items).
As in other contexts (Platonic, dogmatic, etc.), nominalisations
in ‑ism often insert an n when the base is a (neo)classical word ending in
-o (centonism < cento, Platonism <~ Plato, pyrrhonism <~ Pyrrho (two
notable counter-examples are egoism and heroism), cp. n. in -ism not derived from neoclassical bases: Castroism, Maoism, Shintoism, Taoism,
etc.) and a t after -ma or -m endings (with insertion of the -at sequence
36-ism is transcribed with secondary stress in some North-American dictionaries
(e.g. American Heritage D. and MWD).
283
in the latter case, cf. §§1.3, 15(32'b.) &2nd par. below §13(16)): dogmatism < L <~ dogma, schematism < Gk vs. Modern L. in OED <~ schema
spermatism < L. <~ sperm, stigmatism < stigmat(ic) vs. prob. < Gk in
OED <~ stigma, systematism < systemat(ize), traumatism directly < Gk
vs. < Gk stem + -ism in OED <~ trauma).
The few nouns in -ism resulting from truncation of the final -o
of a base in [-10] shift primary stress to the initial syllable: 'albinism
(< al'bino + r. var. al'binoism), 'volcanism (< vol'cano vs. < volcanic
in OED), 'pianism < piano, cf. 'pianist §10.3.7). Stress-displacements
in combining-form compounds (di'plomatism < 'diplomat, i'somerism
< 'isomer, etc.) will be dealt with in the last paragraph of this subsection.
According to Fudge, nouns in -ism with a bound stem apply
S-1/2 stress-assignment according to the usual criteria, ie S-1 when
the bound affix is preceded by a consonant cluster and S-2 otherwise.
However, when -ism is preceded by two syllables, such nouns display
S‑2 stress, even when there is a C2 in prefinal position (e.g. exorcism,
solipsism, saturnism, tarantism), a phenomenon which may be seen as
paralleling the S-2 stress assignment of three-syllable monomorphemic
or synchronically unsuffixed nouns in -y (industry, faculty, etc., cf. second par. of page 278):
(13)
#Syl + Syl + bound -ism → [1000]
altruism, aneurism (or -ysm), archaism, atavism, botulism, catechism, communism (dem. <≠ 'commune), donatism (id. Do'natus), dynamism, endemism,
euphemism, exorcism, galvanism (obviously dem. <≠ Gal'vani), gigantism (+
[0100]), hedonism, hypnotism, mechanism, mimetism, monachism, narcissism
(obviously dem. <≠ Nar'cissus), narcotism, nepotism, nihilism, onanism, optimism, ostracism, pacifism, paludism, pessimism, pointillism, populism, pragmatism, priapism (dem. <≠ Pri'apus), quixotism (chiefly dem. <≠ (Don) Quixote),
rheumatism, saturnism (dem. <≠ Saturn), solipsism, syllogism, syncretism, synergism (= synergy+ spec. s. in Theology and Pharmacology), tarantism (dem.
<≠ Ta'ranto), etc. (120 items).
The only words which do not abide by (13) are neoclassical compounds
containing the combining form -morph as element B (a'morphism,
di'morphism, tri'morphism, cf. (14b) below). Several items of (13) have
been derived from -ic adjectives by affix-replacement (e.g. 'mimetism
< mi'met(ic) + -ism, pacifism < pacif(ic) + id.). The remetrifaction of
284
these derivatives indicates that, formally, they are not perceived as
deadjectival suffixations37.
240 of the 250 remaining bound-stem nouns having more than
two syllables before -ism are neoclassical combining-form compounds,
which, for most of them, coincide with Fudge’s general dichotomy, assigning S-2 stress vs. S-1 when the bound affix is preceded by a consonant cluster (in the latter case, most relevant items are in ‑morphism):
(14)
Underived forms
a. -CVC + bound -ism, ism → S-2: CF compounds: anachronism, antagonism, anthropophuism, fissiparism, metabolism, monocrotism, monogenism,
plaiocephalism, pleochroism, polyphonism, theanthropism, ventriloquism,
etc. + averroism, diabolism, ecumenism (+ [10000]), recidivism + -ION n.:
meliorism, stibialism, cp. stress-preserving mes'sianism (< L. vs. < ˌmessi'anic in OED) <~ Mes'siah (+ var. 'messianism in US)
b.-C2 + bound -ism, -ism → S-1: CF compounds: -carpism: heterocarpism;
-mastism: polymastism, -morphism: anamorphism, geromorphism, hylomorphism, etc. + irredentism (< irredentist < It.)
However, for a complete account of stress-assignment in combining-form compounds Guierre’s treatment turns out to be more adequate
than Fudge’s since (a) synchronically transparent derivatives do shift
primary stress in this class of lexemes (cf. -y): ˌana'grammatism <~ 'anagram, de'mocratism < 'democrat, di'plomatism < 'diplomat, ˌepi'grammatism <~ 'epigram, i'somerism < isomer(ic) vs < 'isomer in OED38; (b)
the irregular sub-classes met with in ‑y nouns have the same impact on
-ism formations: 'demagogism (cf. 'demagogy), 'pedagogism (cf. 'pedagogy). One salient difference between combining-form compounds in
-y and those in -ism is that the -C2 rule given in (8) above is not systematically replicated in -ism formations, even when they have synonyms
in -y: ˌendo'thermism (cp. 'endothermy), ˌhetero'carpism (cp. 'heterocarpy), ˌiso'morphism (cp. 'isomorphy), etc. vs. 'hierarchism (cp.
37
38
The only stress-preserving noun in -ism of this type is pro'saism (+ [1000],
American Heritage D., MWD), a variant of the more common prosaicism. However, only 'prosaism is given in OED, updated 2007. Quite a few more of the
120 nouns relevant to (13) could synchronically be analysed as resulting from
this derivational process (Hebraism, hypnotism, synchronism, etc.).
Some derivatives from learned compounds are given in dictionaries with a neutral stress variant, e.g. 'polymerism, OED, updated in 2006.
285
'hierarchy), 'oligarchism (cp. 'oligarchy), 'orthodoxism (OED, updated
2004, not listed in the Corpus, cp. 'orthodoxy).
14.2.3 Suffix stacking
As reviewed in previous chapters, -ism (and its correlate -ist) have the
capability of combining with the greatest number of separable or bound
affixes.
(15)
Separable or bound affixes + -ism
a. adjective affixes: -(e/i/u)al (+ var. -ar): colonialism, spiritualism, structuralism, secularism, etc. (140 items); ‑(e/i/u)an: Europeanism, Italianism,
republicanism, nationalism, etc. (110); -arian: authoritarianism, unitarianism, etc. (30); -(i)ary: binarism, monetarism, etc. (8), -(a/i/)ble: probabilism,
fallibilism, etc. (5), cf. last par. of §12; -ic: cynicism, romanticism, etc. (85),
-icalism: evangelicalism, theatricalism, etc. (14); -ative, -ive: conservativism (more com. conservatism), constructivism, positivism, etc. (25);
b.noun affixes: -acy: conspiracism, supremacism (cp. Suprematism < Ru.
artistic movement); -(i)al: credentialism, revivalism, etc. (5 items); -ary: plagiarism; -ee: absenteeism, presenteeism, yankeeism39; -eer: careerism, volunteerism; -er, -o(u)r: consumerism, muckerism, pauperism, behavio(u)r­ism,
tutorism, etc. (25); ‑(at/it/ut)ion: protectionism, assimilationism, intuitionism, evolutionism, etc. (60), -oid: parasitoidism, thyroidism (8); -ster: gangsterism, hipsterism, hucksterism, shysterism40.
Nouns in -ism with no free base in synchrony have yielded adjectives
in ‑al, -ic and -oid: aphorismic (<~ aphorism), asterismal (< asterism),
baptismal (<~ baptism), catechismal (< catechism), embolism(al/ic) (<
embolism), erythrism(al/ic) (<~ erythrism), exorcismal (< exorcism),
organism(al/ic) (< organism), rheumatism(al/oid) (< rheumatism), solipsismal (< solipsism, cp. syn. solipsistic < solips(ism) + -istic <~ solipsist + -ic).
Direct attachment of -ic to -ism bases is however pretty exceptional (4 items in the Corpus) since nouns in -ism are wont to adjectivise
with -ic’s allomorphic variants -atic or -istic, cf. §1.3 (in the latter case
39
40
286
And similarly Parseeism, Phariseeism, etc.
Reminder: although no relevant examples are found in the Corpus, Internet
pages show that -ism can also attach to lexemes affixed with -nik and -scape.
when there is no noun in -ist to which the primary suffix -ic may semantically be postulated to have aggregated, e.g. parallelistic (< parallelist
(in the s. of “an adherent of the metaphysical doctrine of parallelism”)
+ -ic vs. parallel + -istic in OED), mechanistic (< mechanist, in the s.
of “an adherent of the theory of mechanism”) + -ist vs. < mechan(ics)
or mechan(ism) + -istic in OED), organicistic (< organicist + -ic, in
the sense of “an advocate or supporter of organicism”), probalistic (<
probabil(ism) + -istic vs. < probabilist + -ic in OED), solipsistic < solips(ism) + -istic <~ solipsist + -ic (cf. preceding par), vs. anachronistic
(<~ anachron(ism) + -istic, since, semantically, the adjective should relate more directly to the noun in -ism, than to the rare noun anachronist,
which is however given in OED as the base of anachronistic, cf. §1,
footnote 4), euphemistic (id. <~ euphemism, despite euphemist, also
a rarely used n.), etc. Other adjectives in -istic derivable from an -ism
form, whether semantically or for want of an -ist noun counterpart, have
been listed in §1.2.2 i.-ii. Albinistic is the only adjective in -istic of the
Corpus derivable (and actually derived, here by substitution) from a previously suffixed noun in -ism: < albin(ism) (< albin(o) + ‑ism) + -istic.
287
Part IV
S-1/2 suffixes
15. Adjective suffixes
It has been established in previous chapters that adjective affixes are
neutral when Germanic (consonant-initial suffixes -ful, -ly, -most,
-some + vowel-initial suffixes -ish and -y: plentiful, slovenly, outermost,
troublesome, yellowish, senewy, etc.) and stress-imposing when corresponding to the separable suffixes, bound endings or generic sequences
-ic (geographic), -ION (Canadian), -ible (accessible), -C'C'e (bizarre),
-V'V'(C) (genteel), -ese (Chinese), -esque (Pinteresque). Evidence has
also been adduced that, despite its overwhelmingly neutral status, -able
is apt to entail stress shifts (at least in variation) when attaching to a
consonant cluster or a final syllable containing a free vowel (compensable, organisable, etc.).
The adjectival affixes which must be held as inducing complex
stress rules are: -al (+ allomorph -ar), -an, -ant/-ent, -ary, -oid, -ous (+
doublet -ose). As has been extensively described in the literature, they
all share the same basic feature, placing stress one or two syllables back
(S-1/2). This stress-distribution system is endorsed by Roach et al and
Wells in the specific entries they have dedicated to some of these affixes
(e.g. “-al: when forming an adjective, this suffix imposes stress one or
two syllables back (ˌuni'versal, 'personal). When forming a noun, it is
stress-neutral (ˌdisap'proval)”, LPD). In contrast with straightforward
stress-placing affixes or sequences such as -ic, -V'V'(C), etc., the adjectival affixes generating this alternative S-1/2 distribution are subject
to an intricate set of rules, that best described in the literature being
assignment of stress one syllable back when the affix is preceded by a
consonant cluster (C2).
Besides the famed dichotomy between remetrification (e.g.
pa'rental <~ 'parent, 'hydrogen < hy'drogenous) and what Burzio very
aptly named “weak preservation” (e.g. exˌperi'mental < ex'per­iment,
ˌpachy'dermous < 'pachyderm) of deriving forms, it will be held here
that a comprehensive account of stress-imposing S-1/2 affixes calls for
the consideration of a wider range of parameters, and more particularly
for the necessity of (a) assessing in what circumstances strong (e.g.
au'roral < au'rora) or weak (e.g. ˌchromo'somal < 'chromosome) preservation is supposed to prevail; (b) determining whether separable and
bound suffixes may entail different stress patterns, an approach which
was attempted by Fudge but which, in some instances, led the author
to inappropriate conclusions; (c) verifying the validity of additional
secondary rules for these affixes, being understood that these rules are
not necessarily identically applicable to each of them.
15.1 #Syl + -al, -an, etc.
Regardless of their status as transparently suffixed or opaque-stem
formations, adjectives in -al, -an, etc. take initial stress when they
are preceded by a single syllable. This principle also applies to noun
correlates, e.g. Cuban, or forms which are strictly nominal, e.g. claimant).
(1)-al (+ allomorph -ar): anal, bridal, brutal, central, clonal, neutral, normal,
phrasal, tidal, bulbar, lobar, palmar, polar, etc. (280 items):, -an: Cuban,
Incan, Roman, Texan, Tongan (id.), etc. (45); -ant: blatant, boyant, claimant, constant, coolant, distant, dopant, errant, flagrant (100); -ent: absent,
ardent, decent, frequent, latent, recent, silent, etc. (55); -ary: boilary, boundary; bursary, datary, diary, glossary, granary, plenary, primary (80); -oid:
algoid, android, aphthoid, bantoid, blastoid, blennoid, cancroid, centroid,
chancroid, cuboid, cycloid, cystoid, etc. (160), -ous: bulbous, famous, grievous, heinous, jealous, troublous, zealous (110) + ‑ose doublet: frondose, globose, ramose (50), to which can be added adjectives (+ n. correlates) in -ive
and in -ory: active, captive, dative, furtive, massive, passive, pensive, cursory (36);.
Exceptions to (1) are: ba'nal (+ [10]), con'trary (in the s. of “stubbornly against”), gal'lant (+ n., in the s. of “attentive to women”), na'ive
(recognisable as a loan when spelt with an umlaut), con'tent (+ n. (≠
'content = “something contained in”) and v.), in'tent (+ n.), per'cent.
The presence of an inseparable prefix in the last three items does no
suffice to account for their oxytone pattern, as evidenced by 'absent
292
(cp. v. [01]), 'decent, 'present (+ n. cp. v. [01]), 'recent. In American
English, the French loans bouffant, couchant and croissant have final
stress.
It must be observed that, in two-syllable adjectives derivable
by affix-replacement from a verb in -ate, the general rule set out in
(1) entails a stress mismatch in British English: 'migrant (mi'gr(ate)
(as opposed to US 'migrate) + -ant), 'mutant (id. mu'tate vs. US '-),
'stagnant (id. stag'nate vs. US '-), 'vibrant (id. vi'brate vs. US '-).
Contrary to its alternative form -ous, which is always reduced
([-əs]), the less productive -ose doublet (also from L -osus)1 is always diphthonged and even auto-stressed in erose, jocose, morose,
verbose and virose (= “fetid”, “poisonous” ≠ virous = “charged with
virus”)2. Chiefly used in botany to describe shapes of plants and flowers, the -ose affix is most often synonymous with -ous (110 out of 165
items, e.g. adipose/adipous, carnose/carnous, comatose/comatous),
despite a few semantically distinct items such as callose (“furnished
with protuberant or hardened spots”) vs. callous (“having a callus”
or “emotionally insensitive”), cumulose (r. “full of heaps”) vs. cumulous (“resembling cumulus clouds”), nervose (“nerved”, Botany) vs.
nervous.
A good number of items of (1), many of them connected with
anatomical terminology (anal, caudal, crural, dental, dorsal, dural,
neural, pleural, rectal, renal, (r)rhinal, sacral, spinal, ventral, venous,
etc.), come into the formation of bipartite adjectives, in association with
a separable prefix or a neoclassical combining form. Such compounds
retain primary stress on the embedded adjective.
(2)[(-)10]: ad'renal (< ad- + renal), an'hydrous (< an- + hydrous), ˌcerebro'spinal
(cerebro- + spinal), ˌcircum'polar (< circum- + polar), ˌendo'venous (endo- +
venous), ˌepi'dural (< epi- + dural), ˌextra'mural (< extra- + mural), ˌgymno'rhinal (< gymno- + rhinal), ˌperi'anal (< peri- + anal), ˌuni'ramous (< uni- +
ramous), ˌuro'sacral (uro- + sacral), etc.
1
2
The scientific noun suffix -ose was originally extracted from glucose.
Given with late stress in Webster’s 1913, the rare morbose and nimbose are
stressed [10] in MWD. In OED only the latter adjective is given with initial
stress, with no variant (update 2003).
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15.2 -ION adjective affixes
As stipulated in chapter 2, whether separable or bound, affixes assim­
ilable to a -ION sequence place primary stress one syllable back,
which results in penult stress when there is palatalisation of the
preceding consonant (financial, sufficient, etc.) and optionally penult
or antepenult stress in other cases (Canadian [kə'ne1.djən].or [kə'ne1.
di.ən], etc.). Phonologically speaking, however, -ION adjectives are
to be analysed as subject to S-2 assigned by the basic suffixes -al, -an,
-ous, etc.
(3)
-(i/u)al: adversarial, categorial, financial, aspectual, conceptual, etc. (870
items); -(i/u)an: Canadian, Italian, reptilian, (1330); -(e/i/u)ant/-ent: insouciant, luxuriant, convenient, sufficient (180), -(i/u)ary: auxiliary, pecuniary,
residuary, (80), -(e/i)oid: bacterioid, scorpioid (20), ‑(e/i/u)ous: orchideous,
porcellaneous, alimonious, luxurious, ambiguous, conspicuous (980), exc.:
ge'nial (“of the chin”), spiritual, spirituous.
Remarkably efficient, the -ION generalisation is however held in check
by two subclasses, namely adjectives and/or nouns in -eal and in -ean
(i'deal vs. e'thereal; ˌEuro'pean vs. 'Chilean, cf. §2.2.1).
15.2.1 -ial, -ian, etc. vs. -an, -al, etc., basic principles
Providing clear-cut rules of usage between the basic affixes -al, -an,
etc. and their allomorphs in -ION without resorting to etymology and
an exhaustive presentation of Latin morphological constructions is
an arduous undertaking. A considerable number of words are synchronically analysable as resulting from direct attachement of a -ION
suffix to a free base, even if etymology often shows that the e, i, or
u of such sequences were part of the original Latin stem: aspectual, conceptual, contextual, contractual, effectual, contemptuous, incestuous, tumultuous, etc. Authentic suffixations in -ial, -ual, -iary,
-ious, etc., are also commonly recorded as will be exemplified in the
samples below.
294
15.2.1.1 -ant/-ent
It must be reminded that the adjective and/or noun suffixes -ant/-ance
(cf. §10.1 for etymology) preserve the stress of two-syllable verbs with
a final -y realised as [a1] (cf. §2.2.3): compliant/ance (adj. < comply),
defiant/ance (< F), reliant/ance (adj. < rely). 'Suppliant (cf. supplicate)
is not connected with supply. However, the noun sup'pliance is attested
in the sense “act, method or process of supplying” (D.com and OED).
Two adjectives and one noun derived from longer verb bases in -ify are
listed in the Corpus. All vary between strong preservation and penultimate patterns: calorifiant, personifiant, signifiant (cf. §4, footnote 2).
Other adjectives and/or nouns in -iant are chiefly derivable from
(a) -iate verbs, further to affix-replacement, a suffixation process still
active in Present-Day English as evidenced by some of the ensuing
examples: alleviant (n. < allevi(ate) + -ant), asphyxiant (n. and adj.
< asphyxi(ate)) vs. < asphyxi(a) + -ant in OED), defoliant (id.1940–45<
defoli(ate)), exfoliant (id. 1983 < exfoli(ate)), inebriant (n. and adj. < L
<~ inebri(ate)), irradiant (adj. < id. <~ irradi(ate)), etc. (b) nouns with
a characteristic neoclassical ending further to deletion thereof (asphyxiant, depending on analysis, < asphyxia or asphyxiate, cf. preceding
sample, euphoriant, n. and adj., 1947 < euphori(a) + -ant), deliriant (n.
and adj. < deliri(um)), etc. (about contrariant, variant, deforciant and
renunciant, cf. §15.2.2.1 below). Very few words in -iant have no recognisable base in Present-Day English. All are stressed in conformity
with the graphic ‑ION generalisation: allegiant (<≠ allege), insouciant,
naiant (Heraldry), suppliant, valiant.
Contrary to -iant, -ient is chiefly found in adjectives and/or nouns
which have no recorded or recognisable base in Present-Day English:
allicient, ambient, ancient (+ n.), aperient (+ n.), audient, coefficient (+
n. ≠ adj. co- + efficient), consilient, convenient (dem. <≠ convene), deficient, ebullient, efficient, emollient (+ n.) , esurient, excipient (+ n., r.),
expedient (+ n., both dem. <≠ expedite), incipient (≠ n. Heb. Gram.),
insipient, lenient, nescient, omniscient, patient (+ n. ≠ adj.), proficient,
salient, transient (+ n.), etc., (100 items) + constructions in -facient:
abortifacient, absorbefacient, algefacient, calefacient, etc. (20 items).
The few items which may synchronically be analysed as derivatives
are nearly all linkable to verbs with an inseparable prefix in (a) -sent:
295
assentient (+ n.), consentient, dissentient (+ n.); (b) -vene: advenient,
intervenient (+ n.), prevenient, supervenient; (c) (with a complex morphophonological transformation) -ceive: concipient, percipient (+ n.),
recipient (chiefly n.). Three more adjectives in -ient, all adopted from
Latin, may be interpreted as derived from an existing base: obedient <~
obey, resilient <~ resile, sufficient <~ suffice).
Whether semantically opaque or transparent, all the adjectives
and/or nouns in -ent listed in the Corpus have been directly borrowed
from Latin.
15.2.1.2 -oid
-eoid and -ioid are the only possible -ION sequences containing the -oid
affix (from Gk -oeidēs < eîdos = “shape” vs. classical and post-classical
L and its Gk etymon in OED). A typically scientific affix used nominally (= a member of a family, class, order, etc.) and/or adjectivally (= “resembling”) in animal or floral taxonymy or in medical terminology, -oid
attaches to a transparent base in 42 of the 50 words listed in the Corpus
in which it is preceded by e or i. In most cases, it replaces a neoclassical
ending attached to a stem with a final i (about blennioid < blenny and
gobioid < goby, cf. next subsection). Like most scientific suffixes, -oid
is still productive:
(4)
-ioid: amioid (< Ami(a) + -oid) and sim. Australioid (< Australi(a) + var. Australoid), bacterioid (< bacteri(a) + var. bacteroid), chorioid (< chori(on) +
var. choroid), endometrioid (< endometri(a) + var. -ial), endothelioid (< end­
otheli(um)), epithelioid (< epitheli(um)), fistularioid (< Fistulari(a)), gonid­
ioid (< gonidi(um) + var. -ial), h(a)emophiliod (< haemophili(a)), hernioid (<
herni(a)), etc. (30 items); -eoid: cho'reoid (< cho're(a)), 'clupeoid (< 'clupe(a)),
cy'cadeoid (< 'cycad), ge'phyreoid (< ge'phyre(a)), 'nucleoid (+ n. < 'nucle(us)),
etc. (12 items)
The ensuing items have been constructed on the association of a Greek
bound combining form and -oid): angioid, cardioid (n.), cleoid (id.),
geoid (id.), histioid (+ histoid), osteoid, saurioid (+ sauroid).
15.2.1.3 -i/y + adjective affix
As generally suggested in the literature, adjectives such as actuarial, and
similarly adversarial, commissarial, estuarial, glossarial, secretarial,
296
territorial, Burgundian, Djiboutian, Kentuckyan, Malayan, Sicilian,
blennioid, gobioid, ceremonious, efficacious, glorious, mysterious, prodigious, etc.), are best analysed as resulting from direct attachment of
the basic suffixes -al, -an, -ant, -ous or -oid to a base in -i or -y, the latter
undergoing the usual graphic transformation y > i in the derivational
process (Burgundian < Burgundy, etc.).
Whilst the historical relevance of such derivational patterns is indeed confirmed for a fair number of words in etymological notices (e.g.
blennioid < blenny, glossarial < glossary, notarial < notary, vagarious
< vagary, D.com and OED), it must be noticed that D.com and OED
disagree on the origins of many items, the former dictionary being more
inclined to give adjectives in -ial or -ious as suffixations from nouns
in ‑y, as opposed to OED where the same adjectives are often given as
loans from Latin or French (e.g. monasterial < monastery + -al vs. <
post-classical L in OED synchronically analysable as monastery + ‑al).
Truncation of -y is generally compulsory in conjugation with
neoclassical combining forms: peripheral (< Gk vs. < peripher(y) +
-al in OED), idolatrous (< idolatr(y) + -ous vs. < idolat(e)r + -ous
in OED), etc. (cf. three par. below), and is seemingly the norm with
bases in -(e)ry: barratrous (< barratr(y)), chivalrous (< OF <~ chivalr(y) + -ous), rivalrous (< rivalr(y)), sorcerous (< sorcer(y)), treacherous (< OF <~ treacher(y)), cp. cemeterial (< cemetery + -al vs. < L
stem + -al in OED) and similarly monasterial (< or <~ monastery, cf.
preceding par.), mysterious (< mystery vs. < MF in OED), presbyterial
(< presbytery vs. < L stem + -al in OED) whose putative bases are
not, historically, nouns in -(e)ry (cf. F cimetière, mystère, monastère,
presbytère vs. baraterie, chevalerie, rivalerie, sorcellerie, tricherie).
Adjective suffixation from nouns in -y also occurs, or is synchronically postulable, further to deletion of -y, in adulterous (< arch. adulter
<~ adultery, orig. a n. in -ery but not recognisable as such sync.),
jeopardous (< OF <~ jeopardy), mercurous (< mercury), scrutinous
(< MF <~ scrutiny).
A remarkable case is that of dissylabic nouns in -ty, which yield
adjectives in -eous: beauteous (< MF <~ beaut(y) + -eous), bounteous
(< OF <~ bounty), duteous (< duty), piteous (< OF <~ pity), plenteous
297
(< id. <~ plenty). Another noteworthy class if that of -ity nouns which,
when they derive adjectives in -ous, undergo a truncation of the second syllable of the affix if the latter is preceded by c, which results in
producing composite ‑ious formations as illustrated hereafter: atrocious (< atroci(ty) + ous vs. < F in OED), and similarly audacious (<
audaci(ty) vs. < L stem + -ity in OED), capacious (< capaci(ty), id.),
perspicacious (< perspicaci(ty), id.), pertinacious (< pertinaci(ty) vs.
MF in OED), sagacious (< sagaci(ty), vs. < F in OED), tenacious (<
tenaci(ty) vs. < L in OED.), veracious (< veraci(ty), vs. < F in OED.),
vivacious (< vivaci(ty) vs. < OF in OED), voracious (< voraci(ty) vs.
< F in OED). This unusual truncation process stands in sharp contrast
with that of -ous adjectives formed from -ity nouns with mere truncation of the final -y of the affix (cf. §3(1)), a process which is still
potentially active as confirmed by duplicitous (1961 < duplicit(y)) and
serendipitous (1958 < serendipit(y)).
It is quite evident from the foregoing that juxtaposition of -ous
to a noun base in -y is a minority word-formation process. There is
vacillation between -ous and -ious in association with the -phony
combining form whether the relevant adjectives be real denominal
suffixed forms or synchronically analysable as such: cacophonious
(more com. cacophonous < Gk <~ cacophony), euphonious (< euphony + euphonious, r. < id.), symphonious (< symphony vs. < L stem +
-ous in OED) vs. homophonous (< Gk <~ homophony), polyphonous
(< id. <~ polyphony).
As stated in the first paragraph of this subsection, the -y of
learned compound nouns is generally truncated when such lexemes
form adjectives in -al, -ous, etc. (e.g. of authentic suffixed forms
or adjectives < Gk or < L sync. interpretable as such: analogous
<~ analog(y), anomalous <~ anomal(y), anthropophagous <~ anthropophag(y), autonomous <~ autonom(y), idolatrous < idolatry (<
-lat(e)r in OED), macrocephalous <~ macrocephaly, monogamous <~
monogamy, polyandrous <~ polyandry, peripheral (< Gk vs. < periphery in OED) etc.. Adjectives in -podial are derivable, further to
truncation of the neo-classical ending, from nouns in -podium which
designate anatomical parts in ichthyology or stem types in botany
(epipodial < epipodium, gonopodial < gonopodium, mesopodial <~
298
mesopodium, metapodial < metapodium, monopodial < monopodium,
sympodial < sympodium, etc.), to be compared with items in -podal,
-podous or -podan which relate to nouns in -pod or in -pody (arthropod(al/an/ous), gastropod(al/an/ous), etc.).
From the data returned by the Corpus, it can at least be stated
that direct attachment to a noun in -y is systematic for -an when the
base is a place name and for -al and -ous when it ends with the affixes
-acy, -ary, -ory or the sequences -igy, -lony, -mony and -ody (whether
or not representative of the neoclassical combining forms for the latter
two):
(5)
-acy: contumacious, efficacious, fallacious; -ary: actuarial, adversarial, commissarial, estuarial, glossarial, notarial, ovarial, secretarial, vagarious; -ory:
accessorial, constitorial, glorious, inventorial, laboratorial, offertorial, repertorial, purgatorial, territorial, victorious; -igy: effigial, prodigious; ‑lony: colonial, felonious; -mony: acrimonious, alimonious, antimonial = antimonious,
ceremonial, ceremonious (+ s. of “elaborately polite”), harmonious, matrimonious (r.) = matrimonial, parsimonious, patrimonial, sanctimonious, testimonial
(+ n.); -ody: custodial, melodious (= -ic), psalmodial (= -ic), prosodial (= -ical),
threnodial (= -ic); place names (-y + -an): Burgundian, Kentuckyan, Sicilian.
15.2.1.4 -ian
Since neoclassical endings are nearly always replaced in affixations
(axial < ax(is), delirious < deliri(um), malarious < malari(a), American < Americ(a) + -an, etc.), etymological notices often apply the same
derivational pattern to demonymic lexemes such as Dalmatian (< Dalmati(a) + -an), even though it is unanimously admitted that -ian has
become a suffix in its own right in the adjectivisation of proper names
(Canadian < Canada, Churchillian < Churchill, etc.), so much so that
it has now all but displaced the primary -an form (from L -ānus, -āna,
‑ānum), cf. 2nd par. in §5.1.3. Affixation with -ian is also the norm (alt.
with -ist) in nouns formed from -ic adjectives: academician, syntactician, etc. cf. §1.2.1.3
3
About -andrian, -gamian, -gorian, -gynian, etc. cf. penult par. of §10.3.4.
299
15.2.2 Other contexts yielding -i + adjective affix
15.2.2.1 -(n)ce
The use of an i-initial allomorph is systematic with -al (< L ālis, -āle),
‑ary (< id. ārius, -āria, -ārium) and -ous (< id. -ōsus) when these suffixes attach to a base in ‑(n)ce4. The -c + -ION affix context is, as is wellknown, indicative of palatalisation. Graphically, the original c is most
often retained when the base ends in -VCe or in -ance and transformed
into a t when it ends in -ence. The use of an -i- + affix sequence rather
than direct appendage of -ous to the mute e of the base (avaricious
vs. *avariceous, contrary to what happens in some adjectives derivable
from bases in -ge: courageous, umbrageous, cf. (7b.) below), may have
resulted from the necessity to establish a distinction with the ‑aceous
composite suffix, which is correlative to the -aceae or -acea taxonomic
affixes (designating respectively floral and animal classes: gallinaceous
<~ Gallinacea, etc.) or used independently with other learned bases
(acanthaceous < acanth(us) + -aceous and sim. acinaceous < acin(us),
alliaceous < alli(um), amaranthaceous < amaranth, camphoraceous <
camphor, etc. 300 items in all).
(6)-Vce, -ance > -c + -ial, -iary, -ious: commercial (< commerce, as a n. commercial has a spec. s.), financial (< finance), orificial (< orifice), policial (< police),
racial (< race) + < L: artificial/-ious (<~ artifice), auspicial/-ious (<~ auspice),
beneficial (<~ benefice, beneficiary = n.), edificial (<~ edifice), prejudicial/-ious
(<~ prejudice), provincial (<~ province), justiciary (<~ justice ≠ -ious, dem.),
officiary (<~ office ≠ -ial, -ious, dem. <≠ office), sacrificial (<~ sacrifice), spacial (<~ space); spacious (≠ spacial/tial); < OF, MF or Anglo-F: avaricious
(<~ avarice), gracious (<~ grace), malicious (<~ malice), vicious (<~ vice);
< It.: capricious (<~ caprice), -ence > -ential/iary/ious: conferential (< conference), deferencial (< deference), excrescential (< excrescence vs. < L stem +
-al in OED) and < L: circumferential (+ n. <~ circumference), confidential (<~
confidence), conscientious <~ conscience), differential (<~ difference, as a n.
differential is mostly used in sciences (Maths, Physics, etc.) and commerce),
evidential (<~ evidence), existential (<~ existence), evidentiary (<~ evidence),
penitentiary (<~ penitence, adj. = penitential, as a n. penitentiary is dem..), residentiary (+ n. <~ residence), pestilentious (obs. <~ pestilence = pestilential),
sapientious (id. = sapiential <~ sapience), sententious (<~ one s. of sentence),
4
300
As always, these suffixational processes may be confirmed by etymology or
interpretable as such in synchrony.
silencious (r. <~ silence), etc. (85 items); graphic exceptions (t instead of c):
preputial (< L <~ prepuce), circumstantial (id. <~ circumstance), Venetian
(id.<~ Venice). The spellings spacial and spatial are indifferently used.
There are only five adjectives in -ciant. Two of them, deforciant (< L <~
deforce) and renunciant (id. <~ renounce or renunciate, v., OED, not recorded in The Corpus) may be incorporated into (4) whilst appreciant,
dissociant, officiant (n.) are derivable from -ate verbs by affix-replacement. Insouciant has no putative base, contrary to sufficient, adopted
from Latin, which is derivable from suffice (cf. penult par. of 15.2.1.1
above). Semantically, beneficent (< benefic(ence) + -ent, formerly beneficient) cannot be linked to benefice whilst maleficent (< L, formerly
maleficient) is more directly derivable from malefic than from malefice.
As seen in §15.2.1.1 above, other adjectives and/or nouns in -(n)cient
are either opaque or demotivated formations (efficient, proficient, etc.).
15.2.2.2 -ge
Bases in -ge, a graphic representation of the palatal sound [dʒ], also
yield -i + al, -ary, -ous affixations, although -ous adjectives of this kind
are evenly distributed between the -eous and -ious sequences:
(7)
Adjectivisations of nouns in -ge
a. -gial/ous < or <~ -ge: adagial (< adage vs. < L stem + -al in OED), sortilegious (< sortilege); < L: ambagious (<~ ambage), collegial (<~ college), prestigious (<~ prestige), sacrilegious (<~ sacrilege), spongious
(<~ sponge), vestigial (<~ vestige);
b.-geous < or <~ -ge: advantageous (< advantage vs. < MF in OED), demiurgeous (< demiurge), hugeous (< huge), lungeous (< lunge), rampageous
(< rampage), umbrageous (< umbrage vs. < F in OED); < L spongeous
(<~ sponge = spongious); < O or MF: courageous (<~ courage), outrageous
(<~ outrage)
The only occurrences of words in -giary are the nouns congiary (dem.
rel. to congius) and plagiary.
15.2.2.3 -er and -or
Whether bound or separable, the -er and -or agent affixes normally adjectivise with i + V:
301
(8)
accusatorial, adaptorial, agitatorial, ancestorial (r. = ancestral), assertorial,
auditorial, cantorial, commentatorial, compositorial, conductorial, conservatorial, conspiratorial, contributorial, curatorial, dictatorial, directorial, editorial (as a n. editorial has taken on a specific meaning), electorial, equatorial,
examinatorial, executorial, factorial (as a n. only used in Maths), gladiatorial,
imperatorial, inquisitorial, inspectorial, managerial, ministerial, censorian (=
censorial), senatorian (r. = senatorial), stentorian (= stentorious), censorious
(= censorial), inquisitorious (= inquisitorial), vicarial (≠ vicarious), victorious,
etc. (80 items).
Some adjectives are recorded as allowing both the -al and -ial variants. Whilst no difference of usage is given in dictionaries for doctor(al/
ial) and inspector(al/ial), the form in -ial is apparently preferred in the
following pairs: cantor(ial/al), prefector(ial/al), rector(ial/al) and sector(ial/al), although the putative base of the last adjective is not an agent
noun. Conversely, protectoral is more common than protectorial whereas electorial has been supplanted by electoral. Pastoral has no -ial variant, whether as a real suffixed form (= “rel. to a pastor”) or in its other
senses in which -or is bound (“rural, rustic”, etc.).
The meaning of inventorial leaves no ambiguity about the different nature of its morphological structure (< inventory vs. < L stem + -al
in OED <≠ inventor). However, burglarious and victorious may indifferently be derived from burglar and victor as in (8) or from burglary
and victory, as in (5). About other adjectives in -erial or -orial derivable
from nouns in -y (monasterial, etc.), see §15.2.1.3 above. The ensuing
adjectives in -oral, in which -or cannot be interpreted as a bound agent
affix, have been derived from neoclassical nouns with, as is normally
the rule, deletion of the ending: clitoral (< clitor(is) + -al), criterial (<
criteri(on) + -al).
15.2.2.4 -ion > -ious
The paradigmatic relation between nouns in -ion and adjectives in -ious
(and sim. between n. in -ion and adj. in -ive) mirrors an historically
attested suffixation process by affix-replacement. The etymological notices of dictionaries hesitate between the -i(on) > -ious and -(ion) >
‑ious paradigmatic patterns, in other terms between mere attachment of
-ous to the i in the final syllable of the base, further to deletion of -on,
or total replacement of -ion by the -ious variant of -ous. Both models
302
are found in D.com: compunctious (< compunct(ion) + -ous) and sim.
flirtatious (< flirtat(ion)), infectious (< infect(ion)), ostentatious (< ostentat(ion)),etc. vs. cautious < cauti(on) + -ous) and sim. disputatious
(< disputati(on)), fractious (< fracti(on)), precautious (< precauti(on)),
vexatious (< vexati(on)), etc. The former paradigmatic process is
recorded for most relevant items in OED.
Presumptuous (< L <~ presumption) is the only adjective derivable from a noun in -ion with an -uous ending. Historically, suffixed
adjectives in -itious of nouns in -ion other than in -ition have also existed. Most items of this class are now obsolete or archaic: addititious
(<~ addition), collatitious (<~ collation), direptitious (<~ direption,
obs.), rejectitious (<~ rejection), subventitious (<~ subvention), etc.
Adjectives of this type still in use include fictitious (< L <~ fiction) and
surreptitious (id. <~ surreption).
Until the 19th century, the -itious suffix also yielded some rare adjectives by direct attachment to a noun base: artefactitious (< artefact +
-itious) and sim. cementitious (< cement), excrementitious (< excrement
= -mentous or -mental vs. < L. stem + -ous in OED), pactitious (< L
<~ pact), recrementitious (< recrement), satellititious (< satellite). Adjectivisation in -itious of bound-stem nouns in -ment has been rivalled by
direct affixation with the basic -ous suffix and alternately with -al and
-ary, the latter two processes being apparently the norm in recent coinages: atramentous (< atrament vs. < L in OED, = -al), excrementous (<
excrement vs. < L stem + -ous in OED, = -al or -itious), filamentous (<
filament), jumentous (r. < jument), ligamentous (< ligament = -al), medicamentous (< medicament vs. < MF in OED, = -al), momentous (< moment
= -al ≠ -ary), pigmentous (< pigment = -al or -ary), sedimentous (< sediment, id.).
Under the influence of adjectives such as audacious, vivacious,
etc., a somewhat pejorative suffix in -acious has existed in US slang
since the 18th century, even though is has had a marginal impact on
the lexicon: bodacious (< bo(l)d + (aud)acious), hellacious (< hell +
-acious), predacious (< pred(atory) + -acious), splendicious (<
splend(id) + (del)icious, according to Urban D.).
There are only 7 adjectives in -iose: ariose, foliose (= -ious),
grandiose, labiose (= -iate), otiose, religiose (r. = -ious), spongiose (=
‑ious or -eous).
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15.2.3 -e + adjective affixes -al, -an, -ous, etc.
Sequences in -eal, -ean, etc. are first and foremost supposed to result
from derivation, by affix-replacement or further to truncation of neoclassical segments, from bases with an e-initial ending.
15.2.3.1 -eant
Three of the eight adjectives in -eant (*-eent is not licensed) are ascribable to the same derivational pattern: creant (r. < L <~ create, counted
in (1)), permeant (id. <~ permeate), procreant (id. <~ procreate). Nauseant, was formed as a noun (now also adj.), denoting a medical agent
(cf. asphyxiant, etc. §10.1) and is as such best analysed as nause(a) +
-ant. Miscreant (+ n.) and recreant (id) have been inherited from the
Latin verb crēdere (= “believe”, cf. creed). The last two monomorphemic adjectives in -eant (segreant and sejeant (the latter has been counted in (1)) recorded in the Corpus are only used in Heraldry. Pageant (<
L) and sergeant (< OF), also counted in (1), are the only non-adjectival
items in -eant in the Corpus.
15.2.3.2 -eal, -ean
Adjectives in -eal and -ean are quite numerous. About 40% are derivable from a neoclassical base containing an e-initial ending, with two
possible synchronic interpretations: (a) deletion of the segment(s) following -e (‑a, -i, -s, -um, -us, etc., ie. corneal < corne(a) + -al, asteroidean < Asteroide(a) + -an), a derivational pattern endorsed in D.com’s
and OED’s etymological notices); (b) replacement of the whole ending
by the allomorphic variants -eal and -ean or -al and -an (ie corneal <
corn(ea) + -eal, asteroidean < Asteroid(ea) + -an). About the assignment of primary stress in adjectives and nouns in -eal and -ean, cf.
§2.2.1.:
(9)
304
Derivatives from neoclassical bases with an e-initial ending
a. -eal, -ean < -ea, -ean: areal (< area vs. < L in OED), cochlear (< cochlea,
id.), corneal (< cornea), foveal (< fovea), tracheal (< trachea vs. < L in
OED), trochlear (< trochlea, id.), etc. + asteroidean (< Asteroidea, Zool.),
cestoidean (< Cestoidea, id.), crinoidean (< Crinoidea, id.), ctenoidean
(< Ctenoidei, id.), cystoidean (< Cystoidea, id.), nematoidean (< Nematoidea,
id.), pycnaspidean (< Pycnasped(a)ea, id..), taxaspidean (< Taxaspidea,
id.), etc.
b. -eal, -ean < -es: Achillean (<~ Achilles), Archimedean (< Archimedes),
Dam­oclean (< Damocles), Hebridean (< Hebrides, + -'bridian), Heraclean
(<~ Heracles), etc.
c. -eal, -ean < -eum: ileal (< ile(um)), luteal (< (corpus) lute(um)), mausolean
(< mausole(um)), perineal (< perine(um)), peritoneal (< peritone(um)), etc.
d. -eal, -ean < -eus: nuclear (< nucle(us)), Morphean (< Morphe(us)), Orphean (< Orphe(us)), peroneal (< peroneus), Promethean (< Promethe(us)),
etc.
e. other examples: -ean < -e (realised as [i:] in classical names): Euterpean
(< Euterpe), Terspichorean (< Terspichore ); -eal/-ean < -ee: apogeal
(<~ apogee + -eal = -ean, -eic), epigeal (<~ epigee = -ean, -eous), Pharisean
(< Pharisee = -aic), cp. adj. from non-classical names Milwaukeean, Tennesseean; -eal < -eon: otosteal (<~ otosteon); -ean < -eas: Augean (< Augeas);
-ean < -ees: Maccabean (<~ Maccabees), Pyrenean (<~ Pyrenees); -ean
< -ei >: Holostean (<~ Holostei, Zool.); -ean < -eo: Bornean (< Borneo),
etc. (a-e = 130 items)
Adjectives in -eal are otherwise derived, still further to truncation of
neoclassical endings, from learned nouns in -physis and -osis: apophyseal (< apophys(is) + -eal = ‑ial) and sim. diaphyseal (< diaphysis =
-ial), epiphyseal (< epiphysis = ‑ial), hypophyseal (< hypophysis = -ial),
ectosteal (< ectost(osis) + -eal), parosteal (<~ parost(osis)), etc. (30
items).
A particular case is that of classical nouns in -x forming their
plural in -ces or in -ges. The latter produce adjectives in -eal, a paradigmatic pattern which replicates that of proper nouns in -es (Periclean
< Pericles, etc., cf. (9.b.) above). Another remarkable feature of these
adjectives is that they preserve the alternative morphophonological
transformation of the consonant even though a regular plural variant in
-xes is always licensed (calyxes, larynxes, etc.): appendiceal (<~ appendices, alt. pl. of appendix), calyceal (<~ calyces, id. calyx = calicinal)
and similarly coccygeal (<~ coccyges < coccyx), laryngeal (<~ larynges < larynx = -al), phalangeal (<~ phalanges < phalanx), pharyngeal
(<~ pharynges < pharynx), syringeal (<~ syringes < syrinx) (35 items).
Aurorean (< auror(a) + -ean = -al) is a solitary derivative.
In modern adjectivisations, -ean is still found when the base ends
in -e, normally mute in English or Anglicised names (e.g. Delawarean,
Donnean) and variously realised in names of obvious foreign origin: (a)
305
[ə] for German names, e.g. Goethe, Nietzche; (b) [i] or [e1] for Italian,
Spanish, Portuguese or Amerindian names, e.g. Chile, Dante, Shoshone; (c) mute or realised as [ei] in French, the latter pronunciation being
encountered when the base has a diacritic accent (e.g. Voltaire vs. Solutré).
Adjectives of this class may be held as comparable to those in y >
i + -an (Burgundian, Kentuckian, etc., cf. (5) above), namely as resulting
from mere appendage of -an to -e: Apachean (< Apache), Belizean (< Belize), Boolean (< Boole), Chilean (< Chile), Creolean (< Creole = -ian),
Dantean (< Dante), Delawarean (< Delaware), Donnean (< Donne),
epicurean (< epicure), European (< Europe), Goethean (< Goethe =
-ian), Melvillean (< Melville), Nietzschean (< Nitzchean), Sartrean
(< Sartre), Shakespearean (= -ian), Shoshonean (< Shoshone), Singaporean (< Singapore), Solutrean (< Solutré = -ian), Voltairean (< Voltaire = -ian), Zairean (= -ian), Zimbabwean (< Zimbabwe). On the same
model there are also derivatives (or items parseable as such) from common nouns such as paradisean (<~ paradise = -al), subterranean (<~
sub- + terrane + -ean), superterranean (<~ super- + id.) and, for -al, lineal, linear (<~ line), loreal (< lore), pineal (<~ pine (cone)), vineal (<~
vine). Another notable derivative is Aristotelean (< Aristotle = -ian).
For various historical reasons, -ean has also served to adjecti­
vise many other neoclassical nouns (many of them proper names whose
ending has lost the e they had in their classical form, e.g. Adōnēus, now
Adonis). It should be noted that some of them have generated a more
appropriate variant in -ian: Adonean (<~ Adonis = -ic), Aeschylean
(<~ Aeschylus), Argean (<~ Argo = Argoan), Atlantean (<~ Atlas or Atlantis), Cabirean (<~ Cabiri = -ian, -ic), Cadmean (<~ Cadmus = -ian),
Carolean (referring to the Stuart monarchs, < Carolus), Cerberean
(< Cerberus = -ic), C(a)esarean (< C(a)esarus = -ian, about C(a)esarean <~ Cesar, cf. (10a.) below), colossean (<~ colossus = -ian), cyclopean (< Cyclopes = -ian), epiglottidean (< epyglottis = -al, -ic), Etnean
(< Etna), Heraclitean (<~ Heraclitus = -an), laryngean (<~ larynx =
-eal), lyncean (<~ lynx), Mazdean (< Mazda), Medicean (<~ Medici),
Oedipean (< Oedipus), Pegasean (<~ Pegasus), Priapean (<~ Priapus
= -ic), Protagorean (< Protagoras), Pygm(a)ean(<~ Pygmy), Pythagorean (<~ Pythagoras), Sab(a)ean (<~ Saba = -ian), Sisyphean,
306
(<~ Sisyphus = -ian), Tartarean (<~ Tartarus ≠ Tartarian < Tartar), Taurean (< Taurus), Tempean (< Tempe), Theocritean (< Theocritus). To
this list, must be added the ensuing adjectives in which -ean (and more
marginally -eal) are synchronically analysable as independent suffixes:
(10)
adj. formed from
a.proper names (reprised from §2(5)) Aram(a)ean (<~ Aram), Caribbean
(< Carib or Caribbee), Cesarean (<~ Cesar), Euclidean (<~ Euclid = -ian),
Gorgonean (= -ian, Zool. or rel. to the Gorgon), Mozartean (< Mozart +
-ian), Pandean (< Pan, with apparently arbitrary insertion of -d-, OED), Salvadorean (< Salvador = -ian and -an), Tyrolean (= -ian and -ese);
b. common nouns: anconeal (< ancon), bracteal (< bract), ethereal (<~ ether,
in one s.), nectar(eal/ean) (<~ nectar = -an, -ous), nymphean (<~ nymph =
-al), orchidean (<~ orchid = -aceous), pholadean (< pholad, Zool.), polypean (< polyp), trappean (< trap = “trap-rock”), subhyoidean (< sub- +
hyoid + ‑ean).
About 50 adjectives in -eal or -ean have no recognisable base in Present-Day English: arboreal (= -eous), balneal, corporeal, cuneal, cutaneal (= -eous), empyreal (= -ean), funereal (≠ funeral, funerary),
gramineal (= ‑eous), heterogeneal (= -eous), homogeneal (= -eous), hymeneal (dem. <≠ hymen), ideal (+ n. dem. <≠ idea), lacteal (+ n. syn.
with lacteal in the s. of “like milk”), marmoreal (= -ean), osteal, pectineal, purpureal <≠ purpura), sidereal, vinereal; arch(a)ean (initial
CF arch- + -ean), Asmonean, Assidean, cerulean, eburnean, empyrean
(= -eal), extemporanean (= -eous), gigantean, jaspidean, Kuchean (+ n.
= “a dialect of Tocharian”), lactean (= -eal), Mand(a)en (+ n. = “Aramaic dialect or people”), marmorean (= -eal), Mediterranean, Musk(h)
ogean (+ n. = “family of Amerindian languages”), petrean, plumbean
(= -eous), roborean + nouns cereal (< L), cochineal (ult. < It. or Modern L), ordeal (< OE), ocean (ult. < Gk), ossean (“a species of fish”).
There are only six adjectives in -eary, five of which are used as
variants of adjectives in -al/-ar: cochleary (< cochlea = cochlear), interlineary (< interline = interlinear), tracheary (< trachea = tracheal),
trochleary (< trochlea = trochlear). Alveary and balneary (cf. balneal)
have no recognisable base in Present-Day English.
307
15.2.3.3 -eous
Three types of affixations in -eous have already been dealt with above
(a) the composite learned affix -aceous, which is still productive, being recorded in 250 of the 400 adjectives in -eous, whether it may be
correlated to an -acea ending or may be analysed as a stand-alone suffix (ceataceous < Cetacea vs. orchidaceous <~ orchid); (b) the -eous
suffixation of dissyllables in -ty (beauteous, bounteous, duteous, piteous, plenteous); (c) the adjectives in which -ous is seemingly directly
attached to an ending in -ge (advantageous, courageous, demiurgeous,
hugeous, outrageous, rampageous, umbrageous, spongeous, vs. ambagious, prestigious, sacrilegious, sortilegious, spongious.
Contrary to adjectives in -eal and -ean, adjectives in -eous derivable from a neoclassical base with an e-initial ending (further to
deletion of the segment or segments following -e) are few (at least in
the Corpus5, relating for most to floral or animal orders: gramineous
(<~ Gramine(ae) + -ous) and sim. plumbagineous (<~ Plumbagineae),
scitamineous (<~ Scitamineae), testudineous (<~ Testudinidae) + succidaneous (<~ succedaneum), uveous (<~ uvea).
Synchronically the -aneous sequence (which has not been given a
specific entry in the dictionaries of the Corpus) may be postulated to be
a stand-alone suffix variant having spawned a few items. This sequence
is indeed defined as a suffix in OED, with also provides concrete etymological data about it (“< classical Latin āneus (extended form of -eus
[…] Earliest in the 15th and 16th centuries in borrowings […]”): Apart
from instantaneous and momentaneous (chiefly used in linguistics), the
adjectives of this class which are linkable to an attested base are how­
ever obsolete: absentaneous, limitaneous, precedaneous, presentaneous, rejectaneous (about succidaneous, see preceding paragraph).
The remainder of adjectives in -eous analysable as suffixed forms
do not lend themselves to rational classifications. Most of those that
are relatable to a noun with a neoclassical ending had a different base
in Latin, namely with an e-initial ending, from the one now used in
English (cf. classical form Adōnēus, now Adonis, last par. before (10)
above).
5
308
Many more items of this kind are naturally listed in more specialised diction­
aries.
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citreous (now more com. citrous < L citreus <~ citrus) and sim.: cupreous (cupreus <~ cuprum), ferreous (ferreum <~ ferrum), gypseous (gypseus
<~ gypsum), ligneous (ligneus <~ lignein), miscellaneous (miscellaneus
<~ miscellany), rameous (= ramal, rameus <~ ramus), siliceous (siliceus
<~ silica), spacidiceous (spadicea <~ spadix); but aqueous (<~ aqu(a) + ‑eous);
about albugineous (<~ albugo cf. (34b.) below) = albuginous).
In the ensuing adjectives -eous is analysable as an independent suffix,
which is historically true in several cases: gaseous (< gas + eous) and
sim. glaireous (< glair = glairy or glairous), inducteous (< induct) +
< L ethereous (<~ one s. of ether = -eal), gemmeous (<~ gem), nectareous (<~ nectar + -eous = -ean ≠ nectarial < nectary + -al), orchideous
(<~ orchid = orchidaceous), plumbeous (<~ plumb(um) = -ean), porcel(l)aneous (<~ porcela(i)n = porcelainous < porcelain), sulfureous
(<~ sulfur), tartareous (<~ tartar + -eous +. tartarous < tartar).
Attachment of -ous to a base ending with mute e is recorded in
several adjectives, with or without deletion of the e: azureous (< azure,
n. and adj.), membraneous (< L stem + -ous or -eous <~ membrane =
membranous < MF), nacreous (< nacre = nacrous), ochreous (< ochre
= ochrous), pileous (< pile vs. < L stem + -eous in OED, = pilous or
pilose).
The adjectives cuprous, ferrous, plumbous (counted in (1)) and
sulphurous coexist with cupreous, ferreous, plumbeous and sulphureous with a more specialised meaning, indicating in chemistry the degree of valence of an element in contrast with a form in -ic: cupric,
ferric, plumbic, sulphuric (cf. § last par. of §1).
No less than 70 adjectives in -eous have no recognisable base in
Present-Day English. Very few (e.g. erroneous (< OF), hideous (id.)
simultaneous (< L), spontaneous (< id.) belong to relatively current
vocabulary. Most are learned words directly borrowed from Latin or
Greek: allogeneous, araneous, arboreous, arundineous, calcareous,
cassideous, cinereous, coetaneous, cutaneous, extraneous, homogeneous, lacteous, mediterraneous (r. = “inland, remote from the coast”),
sericeous, subereous, temporaneous, vitreous, etc.
There is only one adjective in -eose in the Corpus: araneose
(= -eous) = “having the aspect of a spider’s web, especially as a plant”.
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15.2.4 -u + adjective affixes -al, -an, -ous, etc.
With close to 200 words, adjectives and/or nouns in -ual, -uan, -uous,
etc. are, in comparison with e- or i- initial sequences, representative of
relatively limited populations. The derivation rules and paradigmatic
principles set out for e- or -i initial sequences are, mutatis mutandis,
applicable to u + V adjectives.
15.2.4.1 -uant/-uent
The ensuing adjectives are synchronically analysable as suffixed by
substitution from a verb in -uate: evacuant (< L + n., Medicine),
fluctuant (< L), menstruant (+ n. < menstruum). Attenuant (+ n.) is
demotivated (= “a thinning agent” (n.) or “blood thinning” (adj.) <≠
attenuate). So is, to a certain degree, the phonetic term continuant
(n. + adj.), designating a consonant which can be prolonged (“continued”) without closing the vocal tract. The stress-preserving adjectives
ensuant and pursuant are derivable from the verbs with an inseparable
prefix ensue and pursue (cf. §0.2, iii.). Issuant, which is used only in
Heraldry, has no contemporary semantic link with the verb issue. Suant (<≠ sue) and truant (counted in (1)) are otherwise the only adjectives in -uant in which no base can be identified or postulated. About
eluant, cf. next paragraph.
Verbs in -lute and -stitute can be analysed as apt to derive adjectives in -uent further to deletion of -te, a suffixation process attested in two examples according to D.com vs. one in OED: eluent (1941
< elute vs. < L in OED, + spelling var. eluant) and reconstituent (+ n.
< reconstitute) vs. < L constituent (+ n. <~ constitu(te) + -ent), diluent (<~ dilu(te)), substituent (+ n. <~ substitu(te)). Note however dilutant (n. <~ dilute), pollutant (id.) and non-pollutant (adj.) from pollute.
Obstruent (n. and adj. < L <~ obstruct, Medicine and Phonetics) and
diminuent (r. < id. <~ diminish) are solitary paradigms.
Except for maffluent (a blend from mass and affluent), other adjectives in -uent are synchronically opaque loans from Latin, most of
them based on the same root, ie fluent (= “flowing”): affluent (+ n.), circumfluent, defluent, diffluent, effluent (+ n.), fluent, influent, interfluent,
mellifluent, profluent, refluent, rorifluent, subterfluent, transfluent (the
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last -uent adjectives in the Corpus are abluent (+ n.) annuent, congruent,
irruent, also borrowed or adapted from Latin).
15.2.4.2 -ual, -uan
The few adjectives in -uan listed in the Corpus are derivatives from
proper nouns, where -an substitutes with the ending -a (Gargantuan <
Gargantua, Mantuan <~ Mantua, Papuan < Papua (New Guinea), Quechuan < Quechua) or where -an juxtaposes to a base in -u (Nauruan <
Nauru + -an). A remarkable case is Siouan (< Siou(x) + -an). Adjectives
such as Antiguan (< Antigua) and Nicaragua (< Nicaragua) are not u +
V forms, being made up of the consonant digraph -gu- + -an replacing
-a).
Very few adjectives in -ual are derivable from a base in -u,-us,
-u + neoclassical ending or -uate: censual (< L <~ cens(us) + -ual),
consensual (consens(us) + -ual), decidual (< decidu(a) + -al), cornual
(< L <~cornu + -al), menstrual (<~ menstru(ate) + -al) = -uous). In
most adjectives analysable as derived forms, -ual can be seen as a suffix
in its own right, a status confirmed in several of the ensuing derivatives: artefactual (< artefact), consentual (< consent ), conflictual (1961
< conflict), factual (< fact, see also counterfactual, 1946), instinctual (1924 < instinct, more com. instinctive), perceptual (< percept vs.
< L stem + -ual in OED.) and < L: accentual, adventual, arcual (<~
arc Math.), aspectual, conceptual, contextual, contractual, conventual,
effectual, habitual, intellectual (+ n.), obitual (<~ obit), sexual, spiritual
(≠ spirituous), tactual (still <~ one s. of tact), textual.
No consistent morphological rules can be drawn from the adjectives above. Whereas it can be ascertained that, except for arcual
and sexual, they seemingly or genuinely result from suffixation to a
base ending with a -t, nearly as many formations resulting from juxtaposition of -al to such bases are attested: cataractal (< cataract),
ductal (< duct), edictal (< L <~ edict ), epactal (< Gk stem + -al
<~ epact), digital (< L <~ digit), orbital (id. <~ orbit) + combining
form -lect: acrolectal (1971 < acrolect, 1965), basilectal (1977 < basilect, 1965), dialectal (< dialect), idiolectal (1949 < idiolect, 1948),
mesolectal (1976 < mesolect, 1971). To this list must be added the adjectives derived, further to truncation of the ending, from Neo-Latin
311
bases in -tus/-tum: detrital (< detritus), ictal (1950 < ictus), rectal
(< rectum), rictal (< rictus), septal (< septum), tectal (1926 < tectum,
1907).
Three adjectives, all taken from Latin, can be interpreted as
resulting from attachment to an attested base further to deletion of
mute e: continual (= continuous in one s.), residual (+ n. ≠ residuary), ritual (+ n.). These adjectives must not be confused with deverbal nouns constructed with the neutral suffix -al (cf. §11.3): accrual
(< accrue), construal (< construe), misconstrual < misconstrue), pursual (< pursue), subdual (< subdue). Relatable to one definition of
grade (= “a step or stage in a course or process”, D.com), gradual
(actually from L) is a solitary case. Bound-stem adjectives in -ual
have all been borrowed from Latin. Many of them, as exemplified
hereafter, may be interpreted as semantically demotivated: actual
(<≠ act), annual, casual (<≠ case), eventual (<≠ event), individual
(+ n.), lectual (r.), manual (+ n.), mutual, perpetual (<≠ perpetuate),
punctual (<≠ punctuate), sensual (<≠ sense, cp. sensuous), usual (<≠
use), vidual, virtual (<≠ virtue, cp. virtuous), visual (+ n). The highly
irregular pronunciation of the noun and verb victual ([v1təl]), which
has existed for centuries, is competing with a spelling-to-sound variant ([v1kt∫uəl] which, according to EPD and LPD, is now becoming
widespread.
15.2.4.3 -uary
There are only eleven adjectives in -uary in the Corpus. Six are analysable as suffixed forms (orbituary (r. < L OED <~ orbit = orbital), residuary (+ n. < L, legal terminology ≠ residual), statuary (+ n. < L),
textuary (+ n. < id. = textual); tumultuary (< id. = -uous), usufructuary
(+ n. < id.) and five as synchronically indecomposable: mulctuary (r.),
obituary (+ n. dem. <≠ obit), promptuary (r. <≠ prompt), sumptuary,
voluptuary (+ n.).
The other words in -uary extracted from the Corpus are nouns. Except for abortuary (1983, act. a blend from abort + (mort)uary, n.) these
nouns have no recognisable base in synchrony: actuary (<≠ act), annuary
(n., the adj (= annual) is obs.), electuary (n. <≠ elect), estuary, February,
fructuary, January, mortuary, mutuary (Legal Terminology), natuary (r.),
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noctuary (r. = “a nightly journal”, after diary), ossuary, portuary (r. = “a
breviary”), ruptuary (r. = “a roturier”), sanctuary, septuary.
15.2.4.4 -uous
Barely a dozen adjectives in -uous can be interpreted as suffixed forms.
All have been directly borrowed from Latin. Among these adjectives,
two are analysable as resulting from affixation of -ous to a base with a
u-initial ending: menstruous (<~ menstru(ate) + ous = -ual), vacuous
(<~ vacu(um) + -ous); five as affixed with -uous: contemptuous, incestuous, spirituous (≠ spiritual), tempestuous, tumultuous; three as juxtaposing to a base further to deletion of mute e: continuous (= continual,
in the s. of “without interruption or cessation”), sensuous (still linkable
to one meaning of sense ≠ sensual which is dem.), virtuous (≠ virtual,
id.); two as derived from a Latin noun in -tus further to replacement of
the ending -us by -uous: impetuous (still linkable to impetus in one s.),
halituous (<~ halitus). Strenuous (also from L) is probably interpretable
as derived from strain (from OF v. estreindre). As seen above, presumptuous is the only irregular adjective derivative from a noun in ‑ion. Here
again, no consistent morphological system emerges from the corpus at
hand.
All but two (namely anfractuous, a BF < anfractuosity and tenuous < tenuity, according to D.com vs. < L in OED) of -uous adjectives with an obscure or opaque stem have been directly borrowed
from Latin: ambiguous, arduous, assiduous bicornuous (= bicorn(ate/
uate)), cernuous, circumfluous (= -uent), (in)congruous, conspicuous,
contiguous, deciduous (<≠ decide), dulcifluous (r.), exiguous, fastuous, fatuous, flexuous, fructuous, ingenuous, irriguous, mellifluous,
(in)nocuous, occiduous (r.), perspicuous, prociduous, promiscuous,
sanguifluous, septemfluous (r.), sinuous (= -ate), succiduous (r), sumptuous (≠ sumptuary), superfluous tortuous, transpicuous, unctuous,
voluptuous.
There are only five adjectives in -uose in the Corpus: anfractuose
(= -uous), flexuose (id.), infructuose (r.), sinuose (= -uous), tortuose
(id., r.).
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15.3 Consonant clusters + adjective affixes -al, -ous, etc.
The stress-imposing role of consonant clusters in association with affixes such as -al, -ous, etc. has been thoroughly described in the literature,
notably in SPE, Fudge, Poldauf (1984) and Burzio. The efficiency of
this rule is however variable for each affix concerned. It is thus highly
reliable with -al, -an, -ant/-ent and -ive, whether these affixes be attached to opaque stems or reflect transparent suffixations. In this context, however, only ‑al, -ive and -ous suffixations are indicative of large
populations.
15.3.1 -al, -an
The validity of the S-1 stress-assignment rule is close to 100% for both
affixes whether they are bound or separable:
(12)-C2 + al, -an → penult stress (sample sorted by cluster rhymes)
a.-al (+-ar), direct concatenation to free bases with early stress: mo'narchal <
'monarch and sim. hierarchal, matriarchal, monarchal, oligarchal, patriarchal, diphthongal, monophthongal, triphthongal, organismal, phantasmal,
rheumatismal, cataclysmal, paroxysmal, autumnal, columnar, sepulchral,
universal, acrolectal, dialectal, accidental, occidental, environmental, monumental, oriental, affixal, prefixal, suffixal, etc.; affix-replacement or truncation of neoclassical endings: orchestral (< 'orchestr(a)), etc.; exc.: 'pubertal
(< 'pubert(y)); opaque stems: diurnal, external, fraternal, hibernal, infernal
(dem. <≠ inferno), internal, maternal, paternal, etc.; exc: 'sinistral (cf. r. s.
of 'sinister = “of the left”)
b.-an: direct concatenation to free bases with early stress: in'sectan (<~ 'insect), mol'luscan (<~ 'mollusc), Plu'tarchan (< 'Plutarch = -ian), su'burban
(< 'suburb and, by imitation, exurban < 'exurb c. 1955), etc.; truncation of a
neoclassical ending (or an ending graphicaly interpretable as such) = strong
preservation: A'laskan (< A'lask(a) + -an) and sim. Andorran (< Andorr(a)),
Anguillan (< Anguill(a)), Athabascan (< (Lake) Athabasc(a)), Atellan (<~
Atell(a)), Augustan (<~ August(us)), Calcuttan (< Calcutt(a)), Lucullan (<~
Lucull(u)s = -ian), Majorcan (< Majorc(a)), Minorcan (< Minorc(a)), Moroccan (< Morocco)), Nebraskan (< Nebraska)), Ugandan (< Uganda)), etc.
314
Whether or not they are derivable from a free base, by juxtaposition or further to truncation of its ending (mo'narchal < 'monarch,
ˌmeta'carpal < ˌmeta'carpus, ˌpoly'glottal < 'polyglot, ˌcoeno'sarcal
< 'coenosarc, ˌiso'thermal < 'isotherm vs. < F in OED, etc. vs. baseless
adj. ˌento'glossal, eˌlectro'dermal, etc.), neoclassical combining-form
compounds account for a great number of -C2al adjectives, as is the case
with -ous: -archal, ‑carpal, -cercal, -coccal, -dermal, -dextral, -glossal,
-glottal, -lectal, -lingual (gu = consonant digraph), -phthongal, -sarcal,
-spermal, -thermal (150 items in all).
15.3.2 -ant, -ent
Most adjectives in -C2ant/ent are synchronically analysable as
stress-preserving derivatives from verbs with an inseparable prefix,
stressed as the rule has it on the stem (cf. §0.2, iii.).
(13)(+n = + n.) abundant, acceptant, accordant, appendant, ascendant+n (n. = diff.
s.), assistant+n, attendant+n, concordant, conservant, conversant, convulsant+n,
defendant+n, dependant+n, depressant+n, descendant+n, discordant, dispersant+n, expectant, interpellant+n, intersectant+n, observant, oppugnant+n, relaxant+n, reluctant, repellant+n (+ ‑ent), repentant, resemblant, resistant+n (the
n. has a spec. s), resultant, retardant+n, revertant+n
The pre-cluster stress-assignment rule prevails in adjectives in -ant
derivable by affix-replacement from a verb in -ate, at least in British
English which preferably assigns initial stress to this class of verbs:
co'ruscant (< L <~ 'coruscate) and similarly (all from L) al'ter­
nant (+ n. <~ 'alternate, v.), ex'siccant (<~ 'exsiccate), hu'mectant
(+ n. <~ 'humectate, [010] in US), im'pregnant (r. <~ 'impregnate,
+ [010] in. US, also sep. im + pregnant), inundant (<~ 'inundate,
id. US), re'monstrant (<~ 'remonstrate vs. [010] in US), se'questrant
(<~ 'sequestrate id. in US), su'surrant (<~ 'susurrate), ˌtergi'versant (<~ 'tergivers(ate) + var. [0100] in US English, cf. last par. of
§13.1.2.2).
However, no displacement occurs with adjectives derivable from
verbs in which -ate is preceded by a double l: 'flagellant + adj., 'scintillant, 'vacillant (about 'libellant, n., cf. next par.). Primary stress is
315
otherwise displaced in tri'umphant, in conformity with the presence of
a prefinal C2 (< L <~ triumph + -ant, cf. tri'umphal).
Many transparent formations in which -ant is preceded by a consonant cluster are nouns which have yielded no adjective by conversion. All
can be treated as neutral deverbal derivatives: ac'quaintant, af 'firmant,
at'testant, at'tractant, con'fessant, con'sultant, con'testant, de'mandant,
di'gestant, dis'cussant (1927), in'formant, in'jectant, 'libellant, 'ministrant (<~ minister, v.), pro'pellant (<~ pro'pel), pro'tectant, re'actant,
'registrant (<~ register, v.), sup'pressant, trans'ductant (cp. bound-stem
or demotivated nouns: ac'comptant, 'circumstant (dem. <≠ circumstance
= “standing or placed around”, in'tendant (dem.), sur'factant (1950, actually a shortening of surf(ace)-act(ive) a(ge)nt), ˌcomman'dant (dem.)
and 'Protestant (id. a penultimate pattern is given in D.com and OED in
the rare s. of “one who protests”, more com. a protester).
Opaque-stem or demotivated adjectives in -C2ant all comply
with the penultimate-stress rule: a'berrant, a'dumbrant, am'plectant,
an'nectant (= -ent), ap'pellant, a'spectant (dem., Heraldry), im'peccant,
im'portant (<≠ import), in'cessant, in'dignant, ̩multi'versant (<≠ 'multiverse, in Astrophysics), o'bumbrant, re'dundant, re'g(u)ardant (dem.
Heraldry), re'montant, re'naissant, re'pugnant (dem. <≠ re'pugn),
re'spectant (dem. Heraldry).
The -ent affix, which does not adjectivise verbs in -ate, is also
analysable as forming adjectives from verbs with an inseparable prefix.
Most of these adjectives have been directly borrowed from Latin participials (+n = + n.):
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Bases with an insep. prefix, [(2)01] > [(2)010]: adsorbent+n (< adsorb), coexistent (< co- + existent) and < L <~ verb base: absolvent+n, abhorrent, absorbent+n, abstergent+n, ascendant+n (n. = diff. s.), a(d)stringent+n, concurrent+n,
convergent, correspondent+n (n. = diff. s.), dependent+n (= -ant), descendent+n
(= -ant), despondent, detergent+n, deterrent+n, effulgent, emergent+n, excernent
(<~ excern), existent+n, impellent+n, impendent+n, insistent, insurgent+n (<~ insurge, r.), intermittent, occurrent, persistent, propellent+n (= -ant), recumbent,
recurrent, reflectent, repellent+n (= -ant), resolvent+ (n. = dem. medical use),
resorbent, respondent+n, resplendent, resurgent, subsistent+n (n. = diff. s.), transcendent+n (n. = diff. s., Math.); exc.: 'excellent (< L <~ ex'cel).
Opaque or demotivated adjective formations in -C2ent also comply with
penultimate stress-assignment: advertent (dem. ≠ advert), annectent
316
(= -ant, Zool.), assurgent, attollent, circumfulgent, consistent (dem.),
contingent (+ n. = diff. s.), decumbent, decurrent, delinquent (+ n.), demulcent (+ n.), emulgent (the v. emulge is obs.), excurrent (the v. excur
is obs.), inadvertent, incumbent (+ n.), incurrent (<≠ incur), indulgent
(<≠ indulge in the s. of “to allow oneself to follow one’s will”), insolvent, interfulgent, interscendent, percurrent, prepollent, procumbent,
profulgent, refringent, refulgent, retromingent (+ n.), revellent (<≠ revel
= revulsive), secernent (<≠ secern) succumbent (dem.), transplendent.
The noun evolvent (< L) is demotivated (= “the involute of a curve”).
As seen in §11.4.2, -ent is chiefly recorded in the -Vscent sequence, whether the latter be attached to an opaque or obscure stem
or analysable as derived from a verb in -sce (many verbs of this class
are however back-formations, cf. §5.1.4). Out of 90 relevant adjectives
(and/or nouns, e.g. adolescent), primary stress only fails to strike the
penult in concupiscent (which has however a regular [2010] var.): adnascent, depascent, renascent, concupiscent, dehiscent, reminiscent,
reviviscent, acaulescent, accrescent, acescent, acquiescent, adipescent,
adolescent, alkalescent, arborescent, etc.
15.3.3 -ary
As regards pre-C2 stress placement, this affix, classed by Fudge as a
“mixed suffix”, is particularly complex, necessitating the distinction of
two classes.
When it attaches, to a base of three syllables or more with early
or antepenult stress, assignment of primary stress before a consonant
cluster is systematic, resulting in most cases in weak preservation (ˌcomple'mentary < 'complement) since it would otherwise circumvent -S1/26.
An immense majority of relevant adjectives are analysable as derivatives from nouns in -ment (cf. §7.2.3). This analysis mirrors etymology
in most cases: additamentary (< additament), complementary (+ n. <
complement = -al), complimentary (id. < compliment), condimentary (<
condiment = -al), developmentary (< development = -al), documentary
6
In its entry dedicated to -ary LPD makes the following commentary: “The
stress may fall either one or two syllables further back: ex'emplary, ˌanni'versary; 'mercenary, ˌinter'planetary.
317
(+ n. < document, adj. = -al.), explementary (< explement = -al), filamentary (< filament), impedimentary (< impediment = -al), integumentary
(< integument = -al), ligamentary (< ligament = -al or -ous), parliamentary (< Parliament), rudimentary (< rudiment + -al), sedimentary
(< sediment = -al), supplementary (< supplement = -al), tenementary
(< tenement = -al), and < L alimentary (<~ aliment = -al), elementary
(<~ element, general s. = “rel. to an element” = -al + spec. s. = “simple or
uncompounded”), instrumentary (r. <~ instrument = -al), sacramentary
(<~ sacrament = -al), tegumentary (<~ tegument = -al), testamentary
(<~ testament -al). ˌCodi'cillary (< 'codicil vs. < L in OED) is a solitary
derivative. ˌArma'mentary (< L <~ armament) is a noun.
The noun documentary has spawned several portmanteau neologisms: (from the Corpus) jockumentary, mockumentary (1965),
rockumentary (1969), shockumentary (1970); (from other sources)
crockumentary (Urban D.), webumentary (id.), stalkumentary (id. +
The Word Spy). As shown by the inventory in the foregoing paragraph,
the -ary and -al suffixes can nearly always be used interchangeably in
conjugation with bases in -ment. Whether they have no recognisable
base or are analysable as transparent suffixed formations, the few nouns
in -C2ary of five syllables or more7 also have primary stress before the
cluster: ˌanni'versary, ˌexi'gendary (r. = exigenter, Old English Law),
ˌrefe'rendary (<≠ ˌrefe'rendum), eˌvange'listary (<~ e'vangelist).
Conversely, stress-preservation is the norm in transparently
suffixed adjectives in which -ary is preceded by only two syllables:
an'tennary (< an'tenn(a) + -ary), 'fragmentary (+ [0100] < 'fragment),
'segmentary (< segment) + < L e'xemplary (+ [1000] <~ ex'ample), 'legendary, 'momentary, 'pigmentary, 'secondary. The same principle applies to nouns: 'commentary (< L), dis'pensary (id.), in'firmary (id.),
'insectary ([01(0)0] < 'insect). Adjectives and nouns with no recognisable base remain unpredictable: (adj.) de'cennary + n., qua'ternary +
[1000], sub'lapsary vs. 'consectary, 'necessary, 'sedentary, 'voluntary;
(n.) ac'cessary (= accessory, Law), e'lectary (= e'lectuary) vs. 'adversary (+ adj.), 'columbary, 'commissary, 'emissary, 'janissary, 'prebendary (<≠ 'prebend, cp. remetrified adj. pre'bendal).
7
318
It must be reminded at this stage that British English generally compresses the
-ary affix into one syllable.
Another complex issue is the dialectal difference which occurs
for four-syllable adjectives in -llary, whether they are derivable from
a noun or have no recognisable base. American English assigns initial
stress to these words as opposed to British English which settles for
pre-cluster stress in ampullary (<~ am'pulla), ancillary (no transparent base), armillary (id), axillary (<~ a'xilla), bacillary (<~ ba'cillus),
capillary (+ n., no transparent base), corollary (id.), mammillary (<~
mam'milla), maxillary (+ n. < ma'xilla), medullary (<~ me'dulla), ocellary (< o'cellus), papillary (<~ pa'pilla), vexillary (+ n. < ve'xillum),
vitellary (+ n. < vi'tellus = -ine). In the preceding adjectives which are
genuine suffixed forms (or can synchronically be analysed as such),
British English pronunciation merely results from stress preservation
from a Neo-Latin base, further to the usual truncation process. Contrastively, adjectives in which l gemination mirrors an internal morphemic
boundary have initial stress in both dialects: 'carpellary (< 'carpel# + l
+ -ary vs. GB ma'xillary < ma'xill(a) + ‑ary, no morphemic boundary
between the geminates) and similarly 'pupillary (< pupil, “relating to
the pupil of the eye” and “relative to an orphan who is a minor” < the
Civil Law s. of pupil), 'sigillary (<~ 'sigil).
15.3.4 -ive
This affix (from L -ivus, brought into English via Nor. F) is defined in
dictionaries as carrying the senses “tending to, pertaining to” or “indicative of a quality”.
The Corpus contains close to 350 adjectives in which -ive is
preceded by a consonant cluster. All but three are noted with penultimate stress. A sizeable majority (≈ 240)8 of these -C2ive adjectives are
interpretable as stress-preserving derivatives. Synchronically, two types
of derivational processes can be observed in conjugation with -ive adjectivisations:
i. immediate juxtaposition of the suffix to a verb or a noun with,
when needs be, deletion of mute e: adjustive (< adjust), adaptive
8
After discardment of 90 compounds (photoreactive, etc.) and adjectives with a
separable prefix (ineffective, nonrestrictive, unattractive, etc.).
319
(< adapt), agentive (< agent), connective (< connect), dismissive (<
dismiss), enhancive (< enhance), evincive (< evince), impressive (<
impress), obsessive (< obsess), etc.
ii. replacement of the -ion noun affix by -ive, a process which corresponds to historic reality in English word-formation: according to
D.com: emissive (< emission), intermissive (< intermission), inversive (< inversion), transmissive (< transmission), etc.
According to D.com about two-thirds of the 170 adjectives in -ive relevant to class i. are authentic suffixed forms whilst half of those analysable as possibly derived from -ion nouns by affix-replacement have
historically resulted from this process. As regards the latter class of
adjectives, D.com’s etymological notices are in dire contradiction with
those of OED, which gives nearly all relevant items as inherited from
Latin or French. The historical validity of the -ion/-ive replacement process should however not be altogether dismissed as it is confirmed in a
few cases in OED itself (e.g. abvective < abvection, cf. next par., chi­
lylifactive < chylyfaction, durative < duration, legislative < legislation,
perfusive (in sense 2a) < perfusion, pre-emptive < pre-emption).
Deverbal and denominal adjectivisations with -ive (and sim. with
‑ative, -itive, -utive, cf. §15.7) have not shown much productivity in
recent English. Indeed about 90% of the adjectives in -ive, -ative etc.
came into the language between the Norman Conquest and the 18th century, with a significant peak in the Renaissance, a very fertile period
in the renewal of cultural and scientific concepts. Regarding -ive more
precisely, this suffix is potentially still active, at least in scientific vocabulary, as shown by the ensuing formations: advective (1909 < advection, Meteorology), ambiversive (1920s < ambi + version, not listed
in OED, Psychology), bijective (1962 < bi- + (in)jection, MWD and
OED, Math., not listed in D.com), injective (1952 < injection vs. < inject in OED, Math.), surjective (1964 < surjection vs. sur- + (in)jection
in OED, Math.).
Semantically, there are cases where an -ive adjective is only
derivable from a noun in -ion demotivated vis-a-vis its putative verb
source collective (+ n. < L <~ collection <≠ collect), revulsive (+ n. id.
<~ revulsion <≠ revulse). In other cases, finally, two deriving forms can
be postulated from an adjective with different meanings: per'fective (<
320
L “rel. to the gram. aspect”, ie 'perfect (n. + adj.), vs. per'fective, also <
L, = “conducive to perfection)”, sus'pensive (< id., “rel. to suspension”
vs. “rel. to suspense”).
Quite a few -ive adjectives have generated a noun by conversion
(cf. samples above and below). Though less common, the opposite conversion pattern (noun > adjective) has occasionally occurred (e.g. perspective < Med. L perspectiva).
Despite the fact that most items in which -ive is preceded by a
consonant cluster preserve the stress of a verb or noun base, the stress
assignment proper to such clusters is nonetheless functional with this
affix, as evidenced by the inventory below:
(15)C2 rule
(<? = no information on etymology; +n = + n.)
a.remetrification: ad'junctive+n (< 'adjunct vs. < L in OED), ˌimper'fective+n
(< im'perfect, Gram), in'gressive (< 'ingress vs. < L stem + -ive in OED),
in'stinctive (< 'instinct, id.), pen'dentive+n (< 'pendent vs. < F in OED),
pre'scriptive (< 'prescript vs. L stem + -ive in OED); agentive+n (< 'agent)
is transcribed with penult stress in American Heritage D. vs. 'agentive in
Collins D. and OED, update 2012; + < L: af 'fective (<~ 'affect, n.), e'ductive
(<~ 'educt), ge'rundive+n (<~ 'gerund), per'fective+n (<~ 'perfect, n. and adj.,
Gram. or s. of “conducive to perfection”, cf. three par. above), per'ceptive
(<~ 'percept), pre'ceptive (<~ 'precept, pro'missive (<~ 'promise)
b. weak preservation: ˌarchi'tective (<? <~ 'architect), ˌcircum'spective (< 'circumspect vs. < L stem + -ive in OED), ˌintel'lective (< L vs. < MF in OED <~
'intellect), ˌretro'spective+n (< 'retrospect vs. < L stem + -ive in OED).
The remetrified or weakly-preserving items in (15) are seemingly never
deverbal. Three adjectives listed in the Corpus have escaped both the
S1–2 and the prefinal C2 stress rules ('influencive, 'recompensive and
'temulentive). The anomalous initial-stress transcription of these rare
adjectives is confirmed in OED for influencive (labelled as archaic in
MWD and r. in OED) and recompensive (updated in 2009 in OED).
Conversely, temulentive (labelled as obsolete in OED) is only given
with regular precluster stress in the same dictionary.
Semantic specialisation has been quite frequent with -ive words,
either further to semantic drifts between the meanings of an adjective
and its homographic noun or with additional senses affecting one or
both categories:
321
(16)
Lexicalised forms
a. adj. ≠ n.: elective (adj. all senses linked to v. elect vs. n. elective: “an optional subject or course”), perspective (adj. rel. to n. in the s. of “method of
showing distance or volume in a picture” ≠ in the s. of “way of considering
something”);
b. additional spec. senses: comprehensive (“comprehending mentally” + “inclusive”), extensive (“of great extent” + “large”, “lengthy”, “comprehensive”), permissive (chiefly dem., though a s. linked to permission is still
given in dictionaries, e.g. a permissive nod, D.com), respective (“showing
respect”, e.g. respective of authority + “associated with each considered in
turn”), subjective (“rel. to the subject of a sentence” + “based on feelings,
thoughts, emotions”), traductive (r. = “derivable” now a r. or obs. s. of “to
traduce”);
c. demotivated: accessive (“additional”, accessive in the sense of “characterised by access is obs., OED), adventive (“not native”, in Botany or Zool.),
benefactive (+ n. 1945 = “a verbal aspect denoting the person or persons for
whom an action is performed”), corresponsive (obs. “corresponding, correspondent”), exortive (r. = “of the rising sun”), immersive (of a computer
or video display “generating a 3-D image which appears to surround the
user”, the s. related to “immersion” is obs.), impassive (“without emotion”,
yet from im- + passive), objective (adj. and n), susceptive (“receptive” <≠
susception “acception, undertaking”), traductive (r. = “passing on to another,
derivable” now an. obs. s. of “to traduce” + “pertaining to traduction” in the
s. of “transition from one order of reasoning to another”, Logic); infestive is
a negative adj. (<≠ infest = “not festive”, r., the s. relating to the v. “to infest”
is obs.)9
Adjectives (and/or nouns) in -C2ive with no recognisable base overwhelmingly abide by the penult stress-rule. This goes for all the items
listed in the sample above, accessive, adventive, subjective, etc.), as
well as for the ensuing adjectives with an opaque stem: < L abjunctive
(r. = “exceptional”), adessive (+ n. = “rel. to the locative case”), arbustive (r. = “related to shrubs”), decursive (r. “running down”), discursive
(“digressive”), incentive (+ n.), invective (+ n. < L vs. < F in OED, sync.
relatable to inveigh?), ostensive (= “denotative, demonstrative”, chiefly
9
322
Lexicalisations are similarly numerous in the -VCive structure, which will
be examined below: conclusive (= “tending to terminate” + “decisive”, “convincing”), decisive = “having the power of deciding” + “definite”, “resolute”,
“commanding”, precisive (= “distinguishing a person or thing from another”),
suppletive (< L. <~ supplete, e.g.: suppletive troops + Gram.), occasive (r. =
“rel. to the setting sun”), etc.
in Logic, obs. as a syn. of ostensible), perspective (+ n.), subjunctive (+
n.) + nociceptive (1904, a blend from L root noci- (= “harm”) and (re)
ceptive), subsultive (r. = “moving by jerks and starts” < L = -ory < id.),
superstructive (r. < L stem + -ive <~ superstruct).
Adjective (adj. and n.) and substantive (id.) are exceptionally
stressed on the first syllable. A variant in [0100] exists, chiefly in British English, for the adjectival form of substantive, in the sense substantial.
15.3.5 -ory
For centuries, adjectives in -ory (an affix adopted from OF -oire, from L
-ōrius) and in -ive have arisen, often simultaneously, with interchangeable meanings. According to etymological notices, this process of synonymy dates back at least to the 15th century. About 250 ‑ive and -ory
pairs (including 200 in -ative and -atory, about the latter, cf. §15.7), are
listed in dictionaries with a similar definition, the only restriction to potential synonymy between both affixes being that adjectives in -ory never qualify a linguistic phenomenon (e.g. concessive/concessory, used
interchangeably in the sense of “tending to concede” but never in the
grammatical sense = “expressing concession, e.g. the adverb though”).
Another major difference between both affixes is that -ory is in several
instances strictly nominal.
Adjectives in which -ory is preceded by a consonant cluster are
subject to the same derivational patterns as those defined for -ive. As
is the case for adjectives in -C2ive, the penultimate stress pattern in the
adjectives below is ascribable to strong preservation.
(17)-C2ory adj. analysable as derived from a transparent base by
a.juxtaposition: as'sertory (= -ive, both < assert vs. < L in OED) and sim.
astrictory (r. = -ive, both < L <~ astrict), conductory (r. = ‑ive, both < L),
conflictory (= ‑ive, both < L <~ conflict, v.), correctory (r. = -ive, both < L
vs. resp. < L and F in OED), defensory (= -ive, both < L), detractory (r. =
-ive, resp. from L and < OF <~ detract), enactory (= -ive, both < enact),
interdictory (= -ive, both < L), predictory (= -ive, resp. < predict and < L),
preemptory (= -ive < pre-empt(ion) <~ pre-empt, act. a BF < pre-emption),
'promissory (+ -'missory = pro'missive, both < L), remissory (= -ive, both
< L), repulsory (< L = -ive < repulse vs. resp. < L and F in OED), etc.; +
323
stress-shifting denominal formations ([10] > [01(0)0]: pre'ceptory (= -ive,
both < L + n. = “commandery of the Knights Templars”);
b. replacement of -ion: ˌbene'dictory (= -ive, both < L) and sim. calefactory (+
n. = -ive (not n.), all < L), chylifactory (= -ive, both < chylifaction), deceptory (r. = -ive, both < L), introductory (= -ive, id.), maledictory (= -ive, id.),
manuductory (= -ive, id.), olfactory (= -ive, id.), redemptory (= -ive, both <
redemption vs. both < L in OED), reprehensory (= -ive, both < L), etc.
Stressed on the first syllable (with a regular variant in [0100]), promissory is the only adjective extracted from the Corpus whose first stress
pattern differs from that of its synonymous form in -ive (pro'missive,
which is however chiefly used in Gram.).
Besides the adjectives which have no alternative form in -ive, at
least in the Corpus (interjectory < interject, dejectory < deject, depulsory, obs. < L (depulsive < L, obs. is also recorded in OED) <~ depulse),
emictory < emiction), sensory < sense vs. < L in OED + < L: emunctory,
r. <~ emunction, intercessory <~ -ion, rescissory (id.), satisfactory (id.),
valedictory + n. (id.), etc.), there are also significant cases of semantic specialisation between adjectives which can formally be inferred to
share the same base: compulsory(< L, analysable as a bound allormorph
of the v. base compel ≠> compulsive < L, relatable to compulsion), concessory (< n. con'cess, obs. = concessive < L, analysable as a bound
allormorph of the v. base concede, in the s. of “conceding” ≠ concessive, Gram., cf. first par. of this subsection), contradictory (“asserting
the contrary” < L ≠ contradictive “inclined to contradict” < contradict
vs. < L in OED, the n. contradictory is used in Logic), possessory (< L
= “relating to possession” ≠ possessive < L vs. < MF in OED, Gram.,
or “opposed to someone’s independence”), suspensory (+ n. < the adj.
relates to the n. (“a supporting bandage, muscle, ligament, etc.”) or =
-ive, both < L <~ suspension, no s. linked to suspense).
Opaque or demotivated adjective formations in -C2ory also abide
by S-1: < L accessory (+ n. = -ive, r. <≠ access), dimissory, discursive
= ‑ory, r.), percursory, peremptory (+ [10(0)0)]), perfunctory, refractory
(“strongly opposed to” ≠ refractive “refracting light” < refract, the n. refractory refers to materials withholding high temperatures), subsultory
(= -ive, r.), with the exception of 'desultory.
Opaque or demotivated noun formations in -C2ory are less regularly stressed before the cluster: ac'cessory (+ adj., cf. preceding par.),
324
con'sistory, de'scensory (r. “a vessel used for distillation”), de'sponsory (r. “written pledge of marriage”), di'rectory (≠ n. directive, the adj.
directive and directory are defined as synonymous, D.com and OED),
os'tensory (n. (r.) = “monstrance” cp. ostensive adj.), pre'ceptory (r.
“commandery of the Knights Templars”, cf. (17a.) above), tra'jectory
vs. 'inventory (+ [010], cp. adj. in'ventive), 'offertory, 'promontory, 'repertory.10
Semantically, few nouns in -C2ory can be related to a transparent
base. All of the latter are stress-preserving: 'incensory (r. “a container in
which incense is burned”, more com. censer), pro'tectory (< protect +
‑ory cp adj. protective), re'fectory (<~ refection, in the r. s. of “repast”).
15.3.6 -ous
Neoclassical combining-form compounds have the lion’s share (230
of 285 items) in the inventory of -C2ous adjectives. All such formations have primary stress on the penult, whether or not they are derivable from a transparent base (generally with “weak preservation”):
ˌchloro'phyllous < 'chlorophyll, ˌcoeno'sarcous < 'coenosarc = -al,
ˌpachy'dermous < 'pachyderm = -al or -ic, ˌpoly'glottous < 'polyglot
= -al, etc. vs. bound formations cla'danthous, ˌpenta'delphous, etc.
In such compounds -ous is regularly in competition or interchangeable with -al or -ic: acanthous (6 items), -adelphous (7), -anthous (13
cp. 7 for -anthic), -androus (19 cp. 4 for -andric), -arthrous (1 cp. 4
for -arthric), -carpous (35 cp. 14 for ‑carpal, 18 for -carpic), -cercous
(1 cp. 6 for ‑cercal), -coccous (5 ≠ ‑coccal or ‑coccic, rel. to -coccus, =
“a spherical bacterium”), -cornous (7), -dermous (2 cp. 14 for -dermal,
18 for -dermic), -dextrous (1 cp. 2 for -dextral), -(o)estrous (5), -galactous (2 ≠ -galactic = “pertaining to a galaxy”), -histous (1), -glottous
(1 polyglottous ≠ -glottal or -glottic, also used in the adjectivisation of
(epi/supra)glottis), -morphous (30 cp. 50 for -morphic), -nyctous (1),
-ophthalmous (2 cp. 5 for -ophthalmic), -pelmous (4), -perdous (1),
10
As pointed out in §11.9, whereas violations of the C2 stress-assignment rule are
observed when the penult syllable is closed by /s/ or by a sonorant, this principle
is statistically far from convincing (cf. or'chestral, e'ternal, pa'rental, mo'narchal, e'normous, mo'mentous, por'tentous, etc.).
325
‑phyllous (35 cp. 3 for -phyllic), -phthongous (1cp. 3 for -phthongal,
1 for -phthongic), -proctous (1 periproctous = periproctal or periproctic < 'periproct), -sarcous (5 cp. 2 for -sarcal), -spermous (20 cp. 2
for -spermal, 9 for -spermic), -tactous (1: heterotactous = heterotactic
<~ heterotaxis, 9 in -tactic), -thermous (5 cp. 20 for -thermal, 25 for
-thermic).
40 of the remaining 56 adjectives in -C2ous can synchronically be
analysed as suffixed forms. However precluster stress fails to obtain in
about one third of them. This, together with occasional cases of stress
coincidence with a base in [010] (e.g. disastrous, meandrous) may have
contributed to Fudge’s assumption that -ous was predominantly neutral
when attaching to a free base. In his thorough revisitation of Fudge’s
classifications, Burzio (: 289) came to the opposite conclusion, namely
that -ous basically denotes the same remetrifying characteristics as -al,
a position fully endorsed in the present study. Given the huge number of combining-form compounds (with or without a prefinal C2, e.g.
pachydermous, cf. 1st par. of this subsection vs. hydrogenous, etc.) in
adjectives in -ous, it is obvious that, as a separable suffix, -ous, overwhelmingly entails repositioning of primary stress further to S-1/2, triggering in this process either weak preservation of the metrical structure
of the base or full remetrification thereof: ˌpachy'dermous < 'pachyderm
vs. hy'drogenous < 'hydrogen) The table below, which lists all -C2ous
adjectives which are not combining-form compounds, shows that most
instances in which precluster stress fails to obtain equate with specific
grapho-phonemic sequences:
(18)
326
I. precluster stress
a. strong preservation (concordant with S-1/2)
truncation of typical L ending: cerebellous (< ˌcere'bell(um) + -ous) and
sim. molluscous (< mol'lusc(um) + < Mollusc(a)), molybdous (< mo'lybd(enum) + -ous + more standard var. molybdenous (< mo'lybden(um)),
morbillous (<~ mor'bill(i)), papillous (< pa'pill(a) = -ary), polymeniscous
(< poly- + me'nisc(us)) vs. concatenation to a base (with final or prefinal
stress): catarrhous (r. < ca'tarrh, more com. -al), disastrous (< F <~ di'sast(e)r + -ous), enormous (< e'norm, arch. < vs. < L in OED), meandrous (<
me'and(e)r, id.);
b. primary-stress shift
remetrification: bi'valvous (r. < 'bivalve = -ular), co'baltous (< 'cobalt),
ju'mentous (< 'jument), mo'mentous (< 'moment ≠ -ary), pig'mentous
(< 'pigment = -al or -ary), un'guentous (< 'unguent = -uary) + < L por'tentous (<~ 'portent), sar'mentous (= -ose <~ 'sarment); weak preservation:
ˌcata'ractous (< 'cataract = -al), ˌexcre'mentous (< 'excrement = -al,
-itious), ˌfila'mentous (< 'filament = -ary), ˌliga'mentous (< 'ligament =
-ary), ˌpedi'palpous (< 'pedipalp), ˌsedi'mentous (< 'sediment = ‑al, -ary);
II. failure of precluster stress (preservation of the initial stress of a two- or threesyllable base)
a'carpellous (< a- + 'carpel + l + -ous), 'libellous (< libel), 'revelrous (<
revelry), 'rivalrous (< rivalry), 'hazardous (< hazard), 'jeopardous (obs. <
jeopardy); < O or MF: 'marvellous (<~ marvel); 'chivalrous (<~ chivalry),
'cowardous (r. or obs. <~ coward = -ly); < L: 'cavernous (<~ cavern), 'sinistrous (<~ one s. of sinister = “of the left” = -al), 'tyrannous (<~ tyrann(y)
= -ical)
From (18II.) it is obvious that the gemination of l obtaining in derivatives from two-syllable bases with early stress does not function as a
consonant cluster, as is the case with -ary words (British English 'pupillary vs. a'xillary): a'carpellous, 'libellous, 'marvellous, to be compared with primary stress-preserving ˌcere'bellous (< ˌcere'bellum),
mor'billous (< mor'billi), pa'pillous (< pa'pilla) and the combining form
‑phyll (sometimes spelt with one l): chloro'phyllous < 'chlorophyll. The
American English spelling of these adjectives (libelous, marvelous11) is
consistant with the general S-2 rule governing the -VCous sequence (cf.
§15.6.7). The affixes -ard (cf. §10.5.1) and -ry (separable or inseparable, cf. §7.2.5) disallow stress shift in combination with -ous (cowardous, hazardous, jeapardous, chivalrous, revelrous, rivalrous). Whereas
cavernous, sinistrous and tyrannous are solitary derivatives, it can be
noted about the latter two that (a) sinistrous mirrors the exceptional
stress pattern of its variant in -al (cf. (12a.) above); (b) tyrannous, which
is synchronically analysable as derived from 'tyranny, markedly differs
from the combining form tyranno- which does impose stress (primary
or secondary) before the geminate consonant cluster (ty'rannosaur, ty­
ˌranno'saurus, tyˌranno'sauroid/ea, cf. (20c.) below).
Besides combining-form compounds such as cladanthous, pentadelphous, etc. (cf. 1st par. of this subsection), 18 adjectives in ‑C2ous,
characteristic of specialist terminology for most of them, have no recognisable base in Present-Day English. All but two have penultimate
stress: adipsous, aduncous, argentous (<≠ argent), bifurcous (= -ate),
11
Quarrel(l)ous is chiefly US (OED).
327
bisulcous (r. = -ate), exsuccous, hirtellous, horrendous, nefandous (r.),
pedetentous (r.), procellous (r.), stupendous, tremendous, velamentous
vs. 'cancellous (= -ate <≠ cancel) and ho'momallous. Hardly recognisable as such now, ginormous (1948) and humongous (1970) are supposedly fanciful coinages from respectively gigantic + enormous and huge
+ monstrous.
There are only 11 adjectives in -C2ose in the Corpus: (strong preservation) fi'brillose (<~ fi'brill(a) = -ar, cp. 'fibrillar <~ 'fibril), la'mellose (< la'mell(a) = -ar), pa'pillose (+ [100] < pa'pilla, cf. 'papillary
(GB)), to'mentouse (<~ to'ment(um) = -ous); (weak-preservation)
ˌchloro'phyllose (<~ 'chlorophyll = -ous); remetrification: co'rymbose
(<~ 'corymb), sar'mentose (<~ 'sarment = -ous); with an opaque stem:
a'cervose (r.), 'capillose (r.), 'paxillose, 'strigillose).
15.3.7 -oid
Primarily a learned affix, -oid is chiefly adjectival (600 of 720 items,
of which 160 are alternately nominal) in the sense “like or similar to”
with sometimes a notion of imperfect resemblance, or even of pejorative intensification as in nerdoid. A huge majority (370 of 400) of
-oid adjectives semantically relatable to a transparent base are genuine suffixed forms. The recognition of the bases at the origin of such
suffixations often implies what could be best termed as encyclopedic
knowledge, chiefly in the terminologies of Anatomy, Botany, Medicine
and Zoology, which there again illustrates the issue of the ideal speakerhearer as evoked in SPD. Whether they have no recognisable base or
are interpretable as transparently suffixed, most -C2oid adjectives have
precluster stressing:
(19)C2 rule
a.strong preservation → [-10]: truncation of neoclassical endings: amianthoid < ˌami'anthus), carangoid (< ca'rangid), cysticercoid (< ˌcysti'cercus),
dermestoid (< der'mestes), eutectoid (< eu'tectic), lepidodendroid (< ˌlepido'dendron), etc., vs. concatenation to a base with late stress: ellipsoid (+ n.
<~ el'lipse) (50 items in all);
b.primary-stress shift → [-10]: weak preservation: (affix-replacement)
ˌapo'plectoid (<~ 'apoplexy, about /s/ > [t], cf. §1.3), ˌepi'leptoid
328
(< 'epileptic), etc. ˌ(concatenation) ele'phantoid (<~ 'elephant), ˌepi'dermoid
('epiderm + -al, -ic(al) also <~ ˌepi'dermis),ˌrheuma'tismoid (< 'rheumatism,
more com. -al),ˌsala'mandroid <~ 'salamander, etc.; remetrification: cy'lindroid (+ 100 < Gk <~ 'cylinder cp. ˌsala'mandroid in the foregoing examples), hel'minthoid (+ 100 < 'helminth), etc.
As with -ary and -ous, the gemination of l in derivatives from twosyllable bases with early stress does not reflect a functional cluster: 'berylloid (< 'beryl) and similarly 'coralloid, 'crystalloid, 'metalloid, 'satelloid, to be compared with ˌchloro'phylloid (< 'chlorophyll)
and strongly preserving derivatives such as ma'milloid (< ma'milla),
sa'belloid (< sa'bella), ˌturri'telloid (< ˌturri'tella), in which ll has
no internal morpheme boundary. Transparently suffixed adjectives in
which precluster stress fails to obtain are 'belemnoid (< 'belemnite) and
'cushingoid (< Cushing’s disease). -C2oid adjectives with an obscure or
opaque stem are also subject to precluster stress: acanthoid, ancistroid,
odontoid, etc.
15.4 Vowel digraphs + -al, -an, etc.
Adjectives in which -al, -an, etc. attach to a non-reduced digraph are
subject to S-1. It can be noted from the sample below that, in many cases, such adjectives may be analysed as abiding by strong preservation:
(20)
Non-reduced digraph + -al, -an etc. → S-1:
a. strong preservation: -al/-an: hy'p(a)ethral (<~ hy'paethr(os)), mon'soonal
(< mon'soon), the'saural (<~ the'saur(us)) + < -rrh(o)ea (cf. §5.4.5):
aˌmeno'rrh(o)eal (< aˌmeno'rrh(o)ea = -ic), ˌblennorrh(o)eal (< ˌblennorrh(o)ea = -ic), ˌdiarrhoeal (< ˌdiarrh(o)ea = ic), ˌgonorrh(o)eal
(< ˌgon­orrh(o)ea = -ic), etc.; A'ch(a)ean (<~ A'ch(a)ea), a'm(o)eban
(<~ a'm(o)e-ba = -ous), Ar'ch(a)ean (<~ Ar'ch(a)ea), Chal'd(a)ean (<~
Chal'd(a)ea), Lin'n(a)ean (< Lin'n(a)eus), ˌMyce'n(a)ean (<~ ˌMyce'n(a)ea),
Ni'c(a)ean (<~ Ni'c(a)ea), ˌScara'baean (<ˌScara'baeus); -ive: ap'peasive
(< ap'pease), ap'plausive (< ap'plause), ap'pointive (< ap'point), as'saultive (1955 < as'sault), en'treative (< en'treat), ex'haustive (< ex'haust),
ex'ploitive (< ex'ploit = -ative); -oid: a'm(o)eboid (<~ a'm(o)eba), chi'maeroid (< Chai'maera), ˌcory'phaenoid (<~ ˌCory'phaena), mu'r(a)enoid
329
(< Mu'r(a)ena), ˌscara'b(a)eoid (< ˌScara'b(a)eus), ˌsciae'noid (< ˌsci'­
aena), scor'paenoid (< scor'paena); -ous: a'm(o)ebous (< a'm(o)eba),
ˌamphi'sbaenous (< ˌAmbhi'sbaena), ˌperi'chaeous (< ˌPeri'chaeum),
ˌpoly'chaetous (< ˌPoly'chaeta);
b.remetrified: -al/-an: cen'troidal, chan'croidal, cho'roidal, col'loidal,
con'choidal, co'noidal, etc. (35 items), Bis'cayan (< 'Biscay), Ma'layan (<
'Malay + [01]), Pyg'm(a)ean (<~ 'Pygmy), Sa'b(a)ean (<~ 'Saba); -ous:
pro'teinous (< 'protein ['prəʊti:n]). Given with initial primary stress in all
dictionaries of the Corpus where it is listed 'mi(ˌ)grainous (< 'migraine) is
transcribed as regular in GB in OED (mi'grainous, updated 2002);
c. weak preservation (concordant with S-1/2): -al/-an: ˌmeno'pausal (< 'menopause), ˌPenta'teuchal (< 'Pentateuch) + -oidal < -oid: ˌade'noidal (< 'adenoid), ˌalka'loidal (< 'alkaloid), ˌanthro'poidal (< 'anthropoid), etc. 65
items; ˌPara'guayan (< 'Paraguay), ˌUru'guayan < 'Uruguay, -oid: < CF
saur(us):ˌichthyo'sauroid (< 'ichthyosaurus), ˌplesio'sauroid (< 'plesiosaur
or ˌplesio'saurus), -ous:ˌoligo'ch(a)etous (<' Oligoch(a)ete)
As obvious from the sample above, many neoclassical nouns and their
related adjectives have a variant in which the digraphs <ae> and <oe>
have reduced to <e>, which means the loss of a precious diacritic clue
for the assignment of primary stress. However, most of these graphically simplified alternate forms are justifiable by other rules (cf. §16).
Opaque, obscure or demotivated adjective formations ending in a
non-reduced digraph + -al, ‑an, etc., also entail S-1: abeyant, clairvoyant,
complaisant, flamboyant, foudroyant, obeisant, ondoyant, surveillant
(cf. -ance) + learned combining forms ‑coelous (acoelous, amphic(o)
elous, dicoelous, etc. 10 items), -g(a)eous (epig(a)eous, hypog(a)e­ous),
-oicous (autoicous, dioicous, heteroicous, etc., 8 items), aryt(a)enoid.
In contrast with (20), adjectives in which -al, -an, etc. attach to
a reduced digraph imply stress preservation on condition there is no
violation of S-2: 'flavourous (GB English) < 'flavour (GB English),
'glamorous < 'glamour (id.), 'mischievous < 'mischief, 'mountainous <
'mountain, 'villainous < 'villain (exception: circuitous ([sə'kju:.1.təs])
<~ circuit (['sз:.k1t]) vs. por'celainous (< 'porcelain).
330
15.5 -ul- + adjective affixes -ar, -an, -ous, etc.
In this context, -al is represented by its variant -ar which normally occurs when the base contains an -l in the final or prefinal syllable (e.g.
columnar vs. autumnal or bacillar vs. antennal).
-ul + adjective affix sequences systematically entail antepenultimate stress. They may reflect (a) a composite affixation in which -ar,
-an, -ous, etc. append to the separable suffix -ule (cf. §11.7), as in glandulous (< L <~ glandule < gland), (b) suffixation to an opaque-stem
word in -ule or in -Cle, with a morphophonological transformation in
the latter context (cf. §0(4c.') and last par. of §11.7): ridiculous (< L
<~ ridicule, n.), miraculous (< id. <~miracle), (c) suffixation to a Latin base in -ula, -ulus,-ulum, which also always entails antepenultimate
stressing with, as is usually the rule, truncation of the neoclassical ending: scrofulous (< scroful(a)), (d) a formation with no recognisable base
in Present-Day English: garrulous (< L).
In a dozen formations, -ular, -ulent and -ulous can be analysed as
independant suffixes, a process which is historically confirmed in a few
cases according to D.com or MWD.
(21) (? = no information on etymology)
conular (< cone?, not listed in OED), crevicular (< crevice?, id.), flocculent
(< flocc(us) + -ulent), hispidulous (< hispid + -ulous vs. < L in OED), rigidulous
(a dim. from rigid vs. id.), tissular (1965 < tissu(e) + -ular, imitated from cellular, etc.), and < L: acidulous/ulent (<~ acid), cavernulous (<~ cavern), fraudulent (<~ fraud), tribular (<~ tribe = tribal) virulent (<~ vir(us) + dem. fig. s.).
Coined in 1959, fantabulous is a fanciful blend of fantastic and fabulous.
Barring -ular adjectives, violations of the -al > -ar allomorphic
rule when a base contains an -l in the final or prefinal syllable have
however existed and seem to have become more numerous since the
19th century:
(22)cilial (date?, not listed in OED < cilia? = ciliary, 17th), filial (14th < MF), ganglial (1821 = gangliar 1827, both < gangli(on)), valval (1891, Botany ≠ valvar,
1831, both < valve), vulval (1866 = vulvar, 1859, both < vulv(a)).
331
Familial was adopted from French in the turn of the 20th century, obviously to fill the gap left by the semantic specialisation of familiar. Other
pairs with different meanings are linear (“consisting of, pertaining to or
represented by lines”) and lineal (“in a direct line”, of descent or ancestry) and plantar (< L = rel. to the undersurface of the foot”) and plantal
(obs. = “rel. to plants”).
There is no exception to the -ul- + separable or bound affix
stress-assignment rule:
(23)
-ular: molecular, rectangular (200 items), -ulant/-ulent: ambulant, petulant,
succulent (45), -ulary: articulary, ovulary (20), -uline: acervuline, masculine
(6), -uloid: annuloid, libelluloid (15), -ulous: acidulous, ridiculous (50), +
doublet ‑ulose: annulose, granulose (= -ous, -ar), hamulose (= -ous, ‑ar, -ate),
nebulose (= -ous), (30).
(23) applies similarly to nouns making use of the same affixes, namely
‑ant, -ent, -ary, -ine, -oid: inoculant, postulant, constabulary, vocabulary, lazuline, celluloid, etc.12
There are no adjectives in -ulive. Those in -ulative (stimulative,
undulative, 20 items) and -ulatory (stimulatory, undulatory, 35 items)
can all be regarded as stress-preserving deverbal formations (cf. §15.7).
15.6 -VCal/-an/-ous, etc.
As may be considered the case for -ar, -ous, etc. in -ular, -ulous, etc.,
other adjectives in -VCal, -ous, etc. abide by S -1/2, a principle which
entails either stress preservation of (or coincidence with) the base or
stress displacement wherever necessary to ensure compliance with the
S-1/2 alternative dictated by this set of affixes. As stipulated in the introduction to this chapter, distribution rules between both stress patterns
do exist but are however quite complex and not necessarily similar from
one affix to the other.
12
332
The same transformation obtains with -ism/-ist: fabulist <~ fable, cp. fabulous
which is demotivated.
15.6.1 -VCal
15.6.1.1 S-1
In -VCal adjectives, primary stress is assigned to the penult when such
adjectives are derived (or synchronically derivable) from a base
i. with penultimate primary sress (strong preservation concordant with S-1/2). Nearly all adjectives of this class are analysable as attaching to a (Neo-)Latin base further to deletion of its
ending: ˌabo'masal (< ˌabo'mas(um) + -al) and sim. an'ginal
(< an'gina or 'anginal < 'angina), au'roral (< au'rora), blas'temal (< Bla'stema), ˌbotu'linal (< ˌbotu'linum), ce'rebral (< F
<~ ce'rebrum or 'cerebral < 'cerebrum), c(a)e'sural (< c(a)e'sura), cli'toral (< cli'toris or 'clitoral < 'clitoris), clo'acal (< L <~
clo'aca), de'trital (< de'tritus), ˌduo'denal (< ˌduo'denum vs.
< L in OED), la'cunal (< la'cuna), mu'cosal (< mu'cosa), pe'trosal
(< L <~ pe'trosa), pis'cinal (< pis'cina), pre'pupal (< pre'pupa), ˌtri'quetral (< L <~ tri'quetra = -ous), va'ginal (+ [100]
< va'gina), etc. (75 items); about 'mediocral (< ˌmedi'ocre + regular var. ˌmedi'ocral cf. next par.).
ii. with early primary stress ending with a free-vowel syllable, which
entails:
a. remetrification when the base is dissyllabic (model hor'monal
< 'hormone): ac'nodal (< 'acnode), a'nodal (Collins D. < 'anode vs. [100], OED not updated, 1933), cy'clonal (< 'cyclone),
pri'matal (< 'primate → [-meIt], “mammal of the order Primates”), pro'dromal (< 'prodrome), etc.; exc. 'decadal or de'cadal (<~ 'decade or de'cade, with [e1] in both cases).
b. weak preservation when the base has three syllables or more
(model ˌchromo'somal < 'chromosome): ˌaco'nital (< 'aconite), ˌanec'dotal (< 'anecdote), ˌanti'dotal (< 'antidote),
ˌcyno'sural (< 'cynosure ['sa1.nəˌ∫ʊə], cp. procedure, structure, etc., in which -ure = [ə]), ˌendo'crinal (< 'endocrine),
ˌepi'phytal (< 'epiphyte), ˌgeanti'clinal (< ge'anticline), ˌholo'photal (< 'holophote), ˌiso'crymal (< 'isocryme), ˌmesen'chymal (MWD < 'mesenchyme + [0100] in OED, cp. pa'renchymal
333
< pa'renchyma), ˌpara'disal (< 'paradise), ˌpara'sital (< 'parasite), ˌsacer'dotal (< F <~ 'sacerdoce, recorded in OED),
ˌsero'tinal (< 'serotine [-ta1n] or se'rotinal < [-t1n]), ˌsui'cidal
(< 'suicide), etc. (210 items);
Besides ma'chinal (< L <~ ma'chine), the only other examples of stress
coincidence with deriving bases whose last syllable contains a free vowel are mon'soonal (< mon'soon) and the'saural (MWD, etym. not given,
and Collins D., not listed in D.com or in OED, < the'saurus?), which
do not pertain to the structure -VCal since the original stressed syllable contains a free vowel digraph (cf. §15.4). Further to S-1/2, longer
bases with early primary stress whose last syllable contains a digraph
reflecting a free vowel are subject to weak preservation: ˌmeno'pausal <
'menopause, ˌPenta'teuchal < 'Pentateuch (cf. (20c.) above). As said in
the first paragraph of this subsection, ii. is overruled by -ul- + affix (cf.
§15.5): 'glandular <~ 'glandule), 'modular <~ 'module, despite the presence of a long vowel ([ju:l]) in the last syllable of the synchronic base.
Semantically, e'piscopal (= “rel. to bishops or episcopacy”), and 'turbinal (or -ate = “having the shape of an inverted cone”) are not derivable
from respectively 'episcope (= “magic lantern”) and 'turbine (['tз: b1n,
-ba1n]). Semantically still, mi'croscopal is closer to mi'croscopy than
to 'microscope. The now rare 'mediocral, whose stress pattern has been
reproduced from the 1913 edition of Webster’s D in all dictionaries of
the Corpus listing this adjective, is doubly exceptional inasmuch as,
besides its stress difference with ˌmedi'ocre, its non-synaeretic variant
(['mi: di.əkrəl] instead of ['mi :djəkrəl]) allows placement of primary
stress three syllables away from -al. However OED (updated 2001) has
/ˌmiːdɪˈəʊkr(ə)l/ in GB and /ˌmidiˈoʊkr(ə)l/ in US, in conformity with
i. above.
Adjectives in -hedral can synchronically be analysed as subject
to i.: decahedral (< L <~ decahedr(on) + -al vs. < decahedron in OED),
polyhedral (< Gk <~ polyhedr(on) + -al), etc., cf. §5.4.2. Those in -zoal
are authentic suffixed forms from learned bases in -zoa or -zoon (cf.
§5.4.6): ˌactino'zoal (< ˌActino'zo(a) + -al), ˌproto'zoal (< ˌproto'zo(a)
or (on) + -al), etc.
iib’s population is considerably reinforced (≈ 100 items in all)
by weakly preserving derivatives from productive combining-form
334
compounds: -clinal < -cline: geˌanti'clinal (<~ ge'anticline), ˌthermo'clinal (<~ 'thermocline), etc.13; -fugal < -fuge: ˌcalci'fugal (<~
'calcifuge cp cal'cifugous), ˌcentri'fugal (<~ 'centrifuge), ˌfebri'fugal
(< 'febrifuge), ˌnucleo'fugal (<~ 'nucleofuge)14; -icidal: ˌfratri'cidal
(< 'fratricide), ˌsui'cidal (< 'suicide), etc., -somal < -some: ˌchromo'somal (< 'chromosome), ˌribo'somal (< 'ribosome), etc., -typal < type:
ˌarche'typal (<~ 'archetype), ˌproto'typal (< 'prototype), etc. Although
they concur with the ˌchromo'somal < 'chromosome model, adjectives
in -oidal derived from nouns in -oid are alternately ascribable to the
rule of prefinal free vowel digraphs (cf. (20b.) above): ˌade'noidal (<
'adenoid), alˌbumi'noidal (< al'buminoid), etc. Adjectives in -tudinal,
which are relatable to nouns in -tude are to be held as a distinct class
as they are synchronically parseable as affixed with a composite suffix,
namely -inal: ˌalti'tudinal (< L <~ altitude), ˌapti'tudinal (< L. <~ aptitude), ˌatti'tudinal (< It. attitudine + -al <~ attitude), habi'tudinal (< L
stem + -al <~ habitude), lati'tudinal (< id. <~ latitude), ˌlongi'tudinal
(< id.<~ longitude), ˌplati'tudinal (< platitude + -al). About the -ininfix in platitudinal, OED refers to the entry “platitudinarian”, which
contains the following explanation: “The medial -in- in this and related
words is ultimately after classical Latin -tūdin-,-tūdō”, cf. penult par. of
§15.6.1.2 below.
An ultimate class of adjectives, those in -ival (and, marginally, in ‑eval), place primary stress on the penult. All those interpretable as derivatives from an existing base are genuine suffixed forms,
some of them dating from a relatively recent period of English, namely
the second half of the 19th century: (weak preservation): acˌcusa'tival
(< ac'cusative) and similarly adjectival (< adjective), genitival (< genitive), imperatival (< imperative), infinitival (< infinitive), nominatival
(< nominative), perspectival (< perspective), substantival (< substantive); (strong preservation, in conformity with ii.a above) conjunctival
(< conjunctiv(a) + -al), gin'gival (< gin'giv(a) + -al), sa'lival (< L <~
sa'liva = -ary). The remetrified adjectives ar'chival (< 'archive) and
13
14
Quite a few of these synchronic bases are actually back-formations.
The combining form -fuge is however characterised by stress variation: 'centri'fugal, cen' trifugal. The stress-assignment complexity of adjectives affixed
with -al have elicited questions in the literature, see, among others, Burzio,
2002: 142–177.
335
o'gival (< 'ogive) may be treated together with the preceding adjectives
or as subject to iia above (hor'monal < 'hormone model).
The few underived adjectives in -eval and -ival analogically
impose penultimate stress: (a)estival (r. + [100]), coeval, longeval,
medi(a)eval, prim(a)eval. Suffixed nouns such as revival and survival
are not pertinent, since they are actually neutral derivations (cf. §11.3).
Underived nouns in -eval or -ival behave differently from adjectives:
'carnival, 'festival, 'rounceval, 'Percival.
The adjective 'doctrinal (< L <~ 'doctrine) has a variant with penult stress. Disciplinal is one of the very few adjectives in -al allowing
primary stress more than two syllables away from the suffix ('disciplinal). It has however spawned a weak-preservation variant in [-10],
both pronunciations being replicated by its more common synonymous
variants 'disciplinary and ˌdisci'plinary.
15.6.1.2 S-2
-VCal adjectives analysable as transparently suffixed receive antepenult
stress when the last syllable of the putative base does not contain a free
vowel. In many cases, there is strong preservation, either because -al
replaces another affix when attaching to a lexeme with antepenultimate
stress or because it concatenates to a two-syllable base with early stress
or to a base of three syllables or more with penultimate stress:
(24)
336
Strong preservation (concordant with S-1/2)
a. deletion of neoclassical endings [-100] < [-100]: ˌabo'riginal (<ˌabo'rigine,
-e = [i]), and sim. amphoral (< L <~ amphora), apocryphal (< apocrypha),
cheliceral (< chelicera), cubital (< cubitus), dipteral (<~ dipteron), epididymal (< epididymis), hagiographal (< Hagiographa), intimal (< intima), laminal (< lamina), maximal (< maximum), minimal (< minimum vs. < L stem
+ -al in OED), oedipal (1932 < Oedipus), optimal (< optimum), palpebral
(< palpebra), parenchymal (< parenchyma), retinal (< retina), syncopal
(< syncope -e = [i]), vertebral (<~ vertebra), visceral (<~ viscera + spec. s.),
etc. + allomorph -ar: alveolar ([-100] or [-10] < alveolus (id.), astragalar
< astragalus, etc.; replacement of -ate: inaugural (+ n. <~ inaugurate),
vaticinal (<~ vaticinate); replacement of -y: isochronal (<~ isochrony),
peripheral (< Gk vs < periphery in OED), societal (< society), synchronal
(<~ synchrony = -ous), varietal (< variety);
b. juxtaposition [(-)100] < [(-)10]: antheral (< anther), augural (<~ augur),
autochthonal (< autochton), cultural (< culture), doctoral (< doctor + -al),
electoral (< elector), epochal (< epoch), intestinal (<~ intestine), matronal
(<~ matron), personal (+ n. <~ person), planetal (< planet = -ary), procedural (< procedure), satrapal (< satrap), sculptural (< sculpture), seasonal
(< season), sectoral (< sector), siphonal (< siphon), sutural (< suture vs. F
or L in OED), stomachal (<~ stomach), synodal (< L <~ synod), textural (<
texture), tumoral (< tumor), ureteral (< ureter), zenithal (< zenith); + var.
-ar: enamelar (< enamel), tonsilar (< tonsil), etc.
Adjectives such as ac'cipitral (< Ac'cipiter), 'arbitral (<~ 'arbiter),
di'ametral (<~ di'ameter) comply with the -C(e)r + suffix derivational
pattern (cf. leprous <~ leper, meandrous <~ meander, etc.).
Preservation of early primary stress is otherwise overruled by
S-1/2. In the latter context main stress is shifted to the antepenult,
resulting in (a) remetrification when the base has three syllables with
[100] stress: ar'tisanal,1939 < 'artisan or -'san, an'tiphonal < 'antiphon
vs. < OF in OED, com'missural < 'commissure, id., en'dognathal <
'endog­nath, he'mistichal < 'hemistich, me'dicinal <~ 'medicine, o'riginal
<~ 'origin, pre'fectural < 'prefecture, pres'byteral < 'presbyter vs. < MF
in OED, qua'drupedal < 'quadruped, id., u'nisonal < 'unison = -ous (two
notable exceptions to this principle are ˌazi'muthal < 'azimuth and ˌsyna'gogal < 'synagogue, with weak preservation); (b) weak preservation
of bases of four syllables or more where primary stress falls more than
three syllables away from the final syllable: ˌamphi'theatral <~ 'amphitheatre, ˌarchi'tectural < 'architecture, manu'factural < 'manufacture,
ˌnomen'clatural < 'nomenclature (or no'men- = -turial).
Classes (a) and (b) are again reinforced by derivatives from productive combining-form compounds such as those in -cultural < -culture (weak preservation): agri'cultural < 'agriculture, pisci'cultural
(< 'pisciculture, etc.), -gonal < -gon (remetrification): he'xagonal
< 'hexagon, po'lygonal < 'polygon, etc., -podal < -pod (id.): ar'throp­
odal < 'arthropod, de'capodal < 'decapod, etc. The -ur- combining form
(= “tail”) is auto-stressed. However, all the adjectives in which this combining form is associated with -al are directly derivable from a learned
noun base in -ura and thus justifiable by §15.6.1.1, i.: ˌbrachy'ural
(< ˌBrachy'ura), ma'crural (< Ma'crura).
Only 4 adjectives are recorded in the Corpus as violating
S-1/2: 'disciplinal (given with [-10] as first pronunciation in Collins
D. vs. [1000] + var. [2010] in D.com, cf. last par. of §15.6.1.1 above),
337
'embryonal (given with em'bryonal as first pronunciation in MWD
and OED, updated 2013), 'mediocral (r. < ˌmedi'ocre + [1000], given
as [2010], with no variant, in OED, updated 2001, cf. 1st par. below
§15.6.1.1, ii.), 'myelonal (< 'myelon, given as [0100] (my'elonal), with
no variant, in OED, updated 2003). Taking into account the facts that
(a) two of the afore-mentioned variants are given as the only possible
pronunciation and one as first pronunciation in recent OED updates,
(b) disciplinal, the only of the four irregularities above which has not
been updated in OED, is noted with penult stress as first pronunciation
in Collins D., it seems safe to assume that these anomalous pronunciations are on their way out, at least in British English.
Although they have been treated together with -ic, -ical adjectives
could just as well be incorporated into the S-2 generalisation of -VC +
adjective affix since -al adjectives systematically regularise nouns in
‑ic(s) with atypical proparoxytone patterns: he'retical <~ 'heretic, po'litical <~ 'politic(s), rhe'torical <~ 'rhetoric, cf. 2nd par. in §1.4.2).
Spelling alterations are noticeable in adjectives in -al (and sim. in
‑ous, cf. (34) below) when they are derived (or sync. derivable) from (a)
neoclassical nouns in -en: (S-2) → ab'dominal (<~ 'abdomen or [010]),
co'gnominal (<~ co'gnomen), 'liminal (<~ 'limen), 'luminal (<~ 'lumen),
'staminal (<~ 'stamen, second s. < stamina); (b) (S-2) → anatomical
nouns in -uC: 'femoral (<~ 'femur), oc'cipital (<~ 'occiput), sin'cipital
(< 'sinciput). In conformity with classical morphophonological transformations an /n/ often appears in derivatives from a noun in -o: embryonal (or -ic) < embryo, (cf. Platonic <~ Plato, Pluton(ic/ian) <~ Pluto,
etc.). However, neoclassical bases in -do or -go generate adjectives in
-inal, -inary or -inous, cf. the cases of platitudinal/platitudinarian, 4th
par. in §15.6.1.1 above, and examples in -inous in (34a.) below: (strong
preservation concordant with S-2) → i'maginal <~ i'mago, li'bidinal
<~ li'bido (= -ous, which has the additional senses of “lewd, lascivious”). Besides those derivable from a noun in -tude (attitudinal <~
attitude, platitudinal < platitude, etc., cf. 4th par. in §15.6.1.1), a few
non-learned adjectives are synchronically analysable as making use of
the same allomorphic suffix: criminal (<~ crime), germinal (<~ germ +
spec. s., e.g. germinal ideas), paginal (<~ page), see also le'guminous,
vo'luminous, etc., in (34d.) below. In the same fashion, 'nominal (strong
338
preservation, concordant with S-2) ad'nominal (remetrification in concordance with S-2) and pro'nominal (id.) may be interpreted as bound
allormorphs (with vowel alternation) from, respectively, noun, 'adnoun
and 'pronoun. Such bound allormorphs, as well as those cited previously (ab'dominal <~ 'abdomen (or [010]), oc'cipital <~ 'occiput, li'bidinal
<~ li'bido, etc.), merely replicate the original stems of the Latin words
from which they have been borrowed or reconstructed. For the same
reason (ie because their original stem was in -id), some Latin loans in
-is yield adjectives in -idal: 'cuspidal (<~ 'cuspis), ˌepi'dermidal (r. <~
ˌepi'dermis, more com. ˌepi'dermal), 'iridal (<~ 'iris). Finally, the -ceps
combining form, used in the naming of muscles, yields the ensuing adjectivisations which again replicate the original Latin stem (-cipit-) of
this element: (S-2) bi'cipital <~ 'biceps, ˌquadri'cipital < 'quadriceps,
tri'cipital <~ 'triceps.
Adjectives in ‑VCal with an obscure or opaque stem also place
lexical stress on the antepenult (+n = + n.): animal+n, buccinal, capital+n
(with spec. s. for the n.), cardinal+n (id.), congenital, conjugal, coronal+n, decanal (+ [010]), decimal+n, diaconal (still linkable to deacon?),
droitural, ephemeral+n (as a n. used in the plural form), federal+n, geminal, general+n (n. = diff. s.), genital+n (as a n. used in the plural form),
guttural+n, hebdomadal, hematal, hominal, inguinal, lac(h)ry/imal, lateral+n, literal, matutinal, mensural, mineral+n, monachal, municipal, numeral+n, ordinal+n, parietal+n, pectoral+n, pessimal (1921 < pessim(um) +
-al), ponderal (<≠ ponder), principal+n (the n. has a spec. s.), prodigal,
proximal, septimal, sideral, temporal (“pertaining to time”, cp. homographix adj. and n. = “rel. to the temples”); terminal+n (the n. has a spec.
s.), vegetal+n, vicinal, etc. (130 items); exceptions recorded in the Corpus are: af 'final (r. + [100]), au'rigal (r.), hy'emal (id., given as regular
('hyemal), with no variant, in OED), pa'ludal (+ [100]), post'cibal (r.),
so'roral, sy'nedral (r.), tel'lural (id., given with the var. 'tellural in OED,
not updated, 1911, ≠ tellurous).
15.6.1.3 S-2 vs. S-3 in -V/VC+ -al
There are about 350 derivatives in -al from nouns in -ion. Phonetically
all but 6 have antepenultimate stress, despite the underlying bivocal nature of the -ion ending (cf. §2.1), since in these items -ion is preceded
339
by a palatalised consonant which triggers coalescence of the underlying
dissyllabic /1.ə/ structure into a syllabic consonant: national ['næ∫.ə n.əl]
or even ['næ∫.nəl], parishional [pə'r1∫.ən.əl], recessional [r1'se∫.ən.əl], regional ['ri:.dʒən.əl], etc. The 6 adjectives allowing primary stress three
syllables before -al are: communional, criterional, meridional, obsidional, septentrional, septrional. All are now preferably realised with
a synaeresis of the bivocalic sequence /1.ə/ (/1.ə/ → [jə]), thus in conformity with S-2, as in meridional [mə'r1d.jən.əl] (LPD2: 475).
The stress-imposing S-2 status of -al in the -V/VCal context is
particularly striking in the ensuing derivatives in which it overrules the
‑ION generalisation: ˌaphrodi'siacal (< ˌaphro'disiac), car'diacal (<
'cardiac), em'bryonal (< 'embryo, cf. preceding par.), ma'niacal (< 'maniac), zo'diacal (< L stem + -al <~ 'zodiac + -al).
15.6.2 -VCan
As far as adjectives and nouns derived from proper names go, the rules
set out for -ean (Eu'terpean < Eu'terpe vs. ˌDamo'clean < 'Damocles,
cf. §2(3)) apply identically to -an which, as has been discussed previously, has by and large been supplanted by its stress-imposing variant
-ian. As regards adjectives and nouns derived from proper names, this
leaves indeed relatively few relevant items which, for some of them,
also have a variant in -ian:
(25)
340
Adj. and n. derived from proper names
a. strong preservation (concordant with S-1/2); truncation of Neo-L endings
or endings interpretable as such) → [(-)10]: An'golan (< An'gola) and sim.
Arizonan (+ -ian), Bermudan (+ -ian), Botswanan, Coloradan, Dominican
(< Dominica, the republic in the Lesser Antilles + [0100], cf. next par.
below), Formosan, Genevan, Guatemalan, Hispaniolan, Honduran, Indianan (+ -ian), Laputan (< Laputa), Louisianan (+ -ian), Marquesan
(< Marques(as (Islands)), Medusan, Minnesotan, Moldovan (< Moldova,
more com. Moldavian < Moldavia), Montanan, Nevadan (+ -ian), Oklahoman, Saharan, Sumatran, Venezuelan; [-100]: 'African (< 'Africa) and,
sim., American, Armorican, Copernican, Cordovan, Corsican, Jamaican,
Maldivan (< 'Maldives = -'divian), Mexican, Monacan (< 'Monaco or [010]
< Mo'naco), Senecan + 15 dissyllables counted in (1): Brahman, Burman,
Cuban, Incan, Javan, Libran, Spartan, Tongan, etc.; direct concatenation of
-an: (with possible deletion of mute e): 'Aztecan (< 'Aztec) and sim. Lutheran, Mo/u'hammaedan/etan, ˌMozam'bican (< Mozan'bique, qu > c), Ti'betan
(< Ti'bet), 'Toltecan (< 'Toltec) + dissyllables Cretan (< Crete, cp. dem. Cretic), Roman, counted in (1);
b. weak preservation: (concordant with S-1/2):ˌAra'wakan (< 'Arawak), ˌEcua'doran (< 'Ecuador or -ean, -ian), ˌEˌliza'bethan (< E'lizabeth), ˌJaco'bethan (1933, orig. < Jaco(bean) + (Eliza)bethan)15, ˌSalva'doran
(< 'Salvador = -ian), ˌSyra'cusan (< 'Syracuse), ˌYuca'tecan (< 'Yucatec),
ˌZapo'tecan (< 'Zapotec)16.
The only item escaping weak preservation is Do'minican (< (St) 'Dominic or < the Dominican Republic = Santo Domingo = St Dominic in
Sp.). About Neapolitan and Tripolitan, see 1st par. below (26).
The adjectives and nouns Afghan (= Afghani, prob. < Ar.), Catalan (of Celtic origin), German (< L), Norman (< OF < Gmc), Tuscan
(< L), all counted in (1), may synchronically be held as either backformations from respectively Afghanistan (< Per. or Ar.), Catalonia,
Germany (< L), Normandy (< OF Normant + -ie), and Tuscany (< L) or
as the bases of these place names.
Outside adjectives and nouns relating to places or historic figures, -an is chiefly recorded in nouns and adjectives linked to orders
and families of the taxonomic kingdom (about 100 items in all). Combining-form compounds account for most words of this kind in which
the stress pattern of the deriving noun is preserved as long as S-1/2
is satisfied: ‑cephalan < -cephala (aˌcanto'cephalan < Aˌcanto'cephala, a'cephalan < A'cephala, 4 items); -gnathan < -gnatha: ('agnathan
< 'Agnatha), chae'tognathan < Chae'tognatha, 3); -phagan < -phaga
(ˌento'mophagan < ˌEnto'mophaga, ne'crophagan < Ne'crophaga,
9); -podan < -poda (am'phipodan < Am'phipoda, ar'thropodan (adj.
15
16
The stress pattern of Elizabethan may have been carried over from that of the
former spelling Elizabethian (which is however still listed in EPD) in which
penultimate stress was conditioned by the -ian sequence. Having inherited its
last two syllables from a clipping of Elizabethan, Jacobethan, coined in 1935,
merely replicated the former adjective’s stress pattern. About Elizabethan, OEtymD notes: “1807 (Elizabethean); Coleridge (1817) has Elizabethian, and Carlyle (1840) finally attains the modern form”.
Prefinal digraphs representing a free vowel move stress as seen above:
Bis'cayan (< 'Biscay), Ma'layan (< 'Malay or [01]), Para'guayan (< 'Paraguay),
ˌUru'guayan (< 'Uruguay).
341
< Ar'thropoda, 12); ‑philan < -phili (xy'lophilan < Xy'lophili); ‑pteran < -ptera (ˌcole'opteran < ˌCole'optera, der'mopteran < Der'moptera, 27), -phoran < -phora (cte'nophoran < Cte'nophora, 8). In contrast with what has been observed for derivatives from geographic or
historical proper nouns (ˌZapo'tecan < 'Zapotec), remetrification instead of weak preservation occurs to comply with S-1/2 in taxonomic
-an words: a'caridan (<~ 'acarid), an'nelidan (<~ 'annelid, id.), etc.,
10 items; cp. strong preservation in: 'acritan (< 'Acrita), ˌannu'losan
(< ˌAnnu'losa), a'rachnidan (< a'rachnid or -nida), ˌento'mostracan <
ˌEnto'mostraca), etc. (29). The combining form -ure (= “tail”) is auto-stressed, as it is in conjugation with -al and -ous (cf. (32a) below).
Like adjectives in -ur- + -al, all nouns and adjectives in -ur- + -an have a
learned noun base in ‑ura and are thus justifiable by strong preservation:
a'nuran (< A'nura), ˌano'muran (< ˌAno'mura), etc.
Other than those derivable from proper nouns or zoological taxa,
there are few adjectives analysable as affixing -an to existing bases. In
such words weak preservation fails to obtain:
(26)
Non-scientific items analysable as suffixed with -an
a. strong preservation: ba'silican (< L <~ ba'silica = -al), re'publican (< F <~
re'public + -an, cp. n. 'publican, chiefly GB, still linkable to public (place)?);
b.remetrification:ˌcosmo'politan (< cos'mopolite), di'ocesan (< F <~ 'diocese +
-an)
An alternative stress-preserving derivation may be postulated for the
other meaning of cosmopolitan, ie “relating to a cosmopolis”. Remetrified adjectivisation in -an is still productive in association with compounds in -polis (= “city” in Gk), with compulsory transformation of
the final s of such bases into t (cf. §1.3): (from the Corpus) ˌacro'politan (< a'cropolis), ˌmega'politan (< me'gapolis, modelled after metropolis), ˌmetro'politan (< L <~ me'tropolis (s > t) + -an), ˌmicro'politan
(1982 < micropolis), ˌMinnea'politan (< Minne'apolis), ˌNecro-'
politan (< ne'cropolis), ˌpenta'politan (< pen'tapolis, Collins
D.),ˌPerse'politan (< Per'sepolis), ˌtechno'politan (< tech'nopolis, Collins D.), ˌtetra'politan (< te'trapolis, id.). The demonyms Annapolitan <
Annapolis and Indianapolitan < Indianapolis are not listed in the Corpus. The combining form -polis is less readily recognisable in ˌNea'politan <~ Naples (Napoli in Italian) and Tri'politan <~ 'Tripoli (in Lybia
342
or Lebanon). In the foregoing adjectival and/or nominal derivatives
primary stress is shifted to satisfy S-1/2. Dictionaries of neologisms
list adjectives and/or nouns with no possible base in -polis resulting
from combinations of free morphemes or prefixes and the element -politan: countrypolitan (Urban D.), ghettopolitan (id.), retropolitan (id.),
ruralpolitan (The Word Spy, 1997). Sa'maritan (< L < Gk) can be held
as a stress-preserving bound allormorph of Sa'maria.
Opaque or demotivated adjective formations in -an of three syllables or more are also few (all except antelucan and rubican are alt.
nominal). All but ˌante'lucan (r. <≠ Lucan, an alt. spelling of Lukan <
Luke, the evangelist) have regular early stress: Catalan (+ [201]), Anglican (dem. <≠ Anglic), Gallican (dem. <≠ Gallic), Ma/Mohican, Occitan, Ottoman, Turkoman, oppidan, puritan (dem. <≠ purity), rubican,
veteran.
15.6.3 -VCant/-ent
15.6.3.1 -VCant
95 of the 140 adjectives in -VCant are stress-preserving derivatives (or
items synchronically analysable as such) from verbs in -ate, further
to affix-replacement, or from other verbs (and more marginally from
nouns) by direct attachment of -ant.
(27)
strong preservation (+n = + n.)
a. [(-)100] < [(-)100] replacement of -ate by -ant: abdicant, adulterant+n, agglutinant+n, anticipant+n, communicant+n (the n. has a diff s.), consolidant,
corroborant+n, depurant+n, dominant+n, edulcorant+n, emanant, emigrant+n,
exhilarant, expectorant+n, exuberant, hesitant, immigrant+n, intoxicant+n, irritant+n, jubilant, litigant+n, lubricant+n, predicant+n (relatable to the v. to
predicate in the s. of “to preach”), etc. (75 items); there is no replacement of
-ate when -ant attaches to a two-syl. v.: dilatant (<~ dilate), transmigrant <~
transmigrate (< trans- + migrate);
b. [100] < [10], [010] < [01] or [2010] < [201], direct concatenation of -ant
to other v. bases: combatant+n (cp. US com'batant <~ com'bat), visitant+n;
deletion of -e: abradant+n, aspirant+n + (+ [100]), disputant+n, endurant,
excitant+n (+ 100), exhalant+n, nurturant (1938 < nurture), perseverant, etc.
(20 items).
343
There are otherwise few adjectives in -VCant with enough syllables to entail S-1/2. Whereas u'nisonant (<~ 'unison = -al, -ous) does
comply with S-2, ˌcica'trisant (<~ 'cicatrise) seems to apply the ˌchromo'somal < 'chromosome model. However, despite the free final vowel
of their potential base, executant (+ n. < F <~ execute) and recombinant
(+ n. 1940 < ˌrecom'bine + -ant), also impose antepenult stress. Because
of the compulsory insertion of -c- in noun or adjective derivatives from
verbs in -fy, the ˌchromo'somal < 'chromosome model is not applicable
to such items as sig'nificant (< L <~ signify (> i) + -c- + -ant) and e'dificant (r. < L OED <~ < edify, id.) which comply with S-2.
There are 50 adjectives in -ant with an opaque stem or analysable
as demotivated. All except dis'crepant (given with the variant 'discrepant in OED, not updated, 1896) have a proparoxytone pattern: absonant,
adamant, adjuvant (+ n.), altisonant, arrogant (<≠ arrogate), assonant,
cicumvolant, concomitant (+ n.), elegant, equitant (<≠ equity), exorbitant, extuberant, ignorant (dem. <≠ ignore), nonchalant, relevant, rutilant, vigilant (<≠ vigil), etc.
(25) identically applies to nouns in -ant with no adjective homograph, derived or synchronically derivable from: (a) v. in -ate: ac'celerant, 'celebrant, co'agulant, 'congregant, 'conjugant (1910, MWD),
con'taminant (1934), ˌcontra'indicant, de'bilitant, e'liminant, i'noculant
(1911), 'instigant, 'insulant, etc. (b) v. other than in -ate or n.: an'nuitant (< an'nuit(y) vs. < annuit(ise) in OED), ac'cusant, co'habitant,
'colorant, de'clarant, di'lutant, pol'lutant, etc., (50 items). Of the three
nouns derivable from a base in [100], only one, sa'crificant (< L <~
'sacrific(e) + -ant), shifts stress. 'Disciplinant (cf. the former recommended pronunciation of disciplinary, disciplinal) and 'carburetant
(< 'carburet) only allow initial stress.
15.6.3.2 -VCent
Items synchronically analysable as associating a neoclassical combining form or separable prefix and one of the adjectives jacent (“lying at
length”), lucent (“shining”, “clear”) and valent (= “having a valence”,
in Chemistry) are to be treated as bipartite formations of the adrenal,
intramural, etc. type, cf. (2) same ch.), retaining primary stress on the
embedded adjective.: adjacent (< L), circumjacent (id.), interjacent
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(id.), subjacent (id.), superjacent (id.); interlucent (< inter- + lucent),
noctilucent (< nocti- + lucent), radiolucent (< radio- + lucent), re'lucent
(< L), translucent (< id.); bivalent (< bi- + valent, in the s. of “having
a valence of two”) and sim. covalent (1926, MWD), divalent, equivalent (in the s. of “with equal valence”), heptavalent, hexavalent, monovalent, multivalent (in the s. of “having a valence of three or more”),
octavalent, pentavalent (in the s. of “having a valence of five”), polyvalent (in the s. of “having more than one valence”), quadrivalent, quinquevalent, sexa/sexivalent, tervalent, tetravalent, trivalent (in the s. of
“having a valence of three”), univalent (in the s. of “having a valence
of one”). In other senses (notably in Immunology, Bacteriology or Genetics) antepenult stress is the rule: ambivalent, bivalent, equivalent,
heptavalent, multivalent, pentavalent, polyvalent, trivalent, univalent.
In their non-scientific meanings ambivalent (“having mixed feelings
about something or someone”) and equivalent (“with the same size,
value, importance, or meaning as something else”) require antepenult
stress. Prevalent is naturally irrelevant, being linkable to the verb prevail (cf. 2 par. below).
Bipartite formations constructed with an initial Latin combining form or prefix and the adjective potent had traditionally received
antepenult stress: armipotent (r.), bellipotent (id.), cunctipotent (id.),
ignipotent, impotent (most often linked to the s. of “incapable of having a penile erection”), multipotent, omnipotent, plenipotent, unipotent.
However, since the late 19th century, new constructions of this type
(rel. to spec. vocabulary: Biology, Medicine, Genetics or Mathematics)
have been treated as compounds: ˌequi'potent (19th), ˌidem'potent (id.,
Math.), nil'potent (id. < nil + potent, id.), ˌpluri'potent (1916, Biology),
sub'potent (1909, MWD, Medicine and Genetics), ˌtoti'potent (1904 +
[0100], Biology).
Whether they are genuine suffixed forms or have been taken from
Latin, most adjectives in -VCent synchronically analysable as resulting from the attachment of -ent to a verb with an inseparable prefix
are subject to stress preservation (+n = + n.): ab'ducent, ad'herent+n,
ˌante'cedent+n, co'herent, con'ducent (= con'ducive), cor'rodent+n, 'different, e'rodent, in'halant, in'herent, ˌinter'cedent, oc'cludent+n, pre'cedent
(cp lexicalised n. 'precedent, Law), ˌretro'cedent (r. = ˌretro'cessive),
tra'ducent (r.). Other adjectives in -VCent are semantically analysable
345
as stress-preserving derivatives from verb bases, although with often
complex morphophonological transformations: ad'ducent (semantically linkable to ad'duct instead of ad'duce) + adjectives derivable from
verbs in -pose or pound: com'ponent (< L + n. <~ com'pose), ex'ponent
(id. + n. <~. ex'pound), op'ponent (id. + n. <~ op'pose). In the same
manner as nouns ('maintenance, 'president, 'preference, etc., cf. first
par. below §11(3)), adjectives derivable from a verb with final stress
in -ide or -Vfer or whose vowel digraph (chiefly -tain) disappears in
the derivative impose antepenult stress: 'deferent (<~ from one s. of
de'fer + -ent), 'abstinent (+ n. <~. ab'stain), 'remanent (<~ re'main),
co'incident (<~ 'coincide), 'provident (<~ pro'vide, cp. dem. meanings
of the n. 'providence), 'resident (+ n. <~ re'side), 'prevalent (<~ 'prevail);
exception: ap'parent (<~ appear), cp. ap'pearance, which maintains
the digraph of its putative verb base. Adjectives semantically derivable
from a verb in -ect also shift stress to the antepenult: dirigent (r. < L
<~ di'rect), negligent (id. <~ ne'glect). Like its nominal counterpart, the
early stressed adjective reverent (< L <~ re'vere) is a solitary case.
Opaque or demotivated adjective formations in -VCent nearly
all comply wirth S-2: (+n = + noun) 'assident, 'afferent, 'appetent (<≠
appetite), bell'igerent+n, benevolent, competent (<≠ compete), confident+n (adj. <≠ confide, cp. n. which is relatable to the v. confide), 'consequent+n, 'conticent (r.), 'continent+n (dem. <≠ contain, cp. meaning of
the n.), 'decadent+n, 'dedolent (r.), 'desinent (= desinential), 'diffident (the
v. dif 'fide is obs.), 'diligent, 'dissident+n, 'efferent+n, 'eminent, 'evident,
'immanent, 'imminent, 'impudent+, 'incident+n, in'different (≠ not different), 'indigent+n, 'indolent, 'innocent+n, 'insolent+n, in'telligent (<≠ intellect), in'transigent+n, mag'nificent, ma'levolent, mu'nificent, 'obsequent,
'penitent+n, 'permanent, 'pertinent (dem. <≠ pertain), 'pestilent, pre'emminent, 'redolent, 'renitent, 'reticent, san'guinolent, 'somnolent, 'subsequent, 'vehement, 'violent + items constructed with the combining form
-loquent: 'eloquent, gran'diloquent, mul'tiloquent, etc. (10 non-obs.
items in the Corpus); exceptions: at'trahent, com'placent, connivent (=
“converging, as petals”, D.com, the sense of “disposed to connive” is
obs.), de'ponent (<≠ v. de'pose), trans'calant, trans'parent. About synchronically transparent or opaque noun formations in -VCent of three
syllables or more, see §11.4.
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15.6.4 -ary
The stress-assignment rules defined for -C2ary ('legendary, 'momentary
vs. ˌparlia'mentary, ˌsupple'mentary) apply identically when this affix
is preceded by a -VC sequence. Whether transparently suffixed or containing an obscure or opaque stem, items in which -ary is preceded by
two syllables receive initial stress:
(28)
adj. in # Syl Syl + -ary = [10(0)0] (GB) or [1020] (US)
a. transparently suffixed (or sync. analysable as such)
strong preservation: budgetary (< budget), cavitary (< cavit(y) vs. < L
stem + -ary in OED), cometary (< comet = -ic), cottonary (r. < cotton),
laminary (< lamina = -ar), limitary (< limit vs. < L in OED), polypary+n (<
polyp), tribunary (r. < tribune), unitary (< unit or unit(y)) < L: customary
(<~ custom), dietary+n (<~ diet), honorary (<~ hono(u)r), planetary+n (<~
planet), urinary (<~ urine = -al), tributary+n (adj. and n. both <~ to basic s.
of tribute + extended s. of n. “stream flowing to a larger body of water”, +
adj.); remetrification: 'salivary (< L <~ sa'liva + sa'livary in GB), 'routinary
(D.com vs. rou'tinary, OED < rou'tine);
b.dem. or with an obscure or opaque stem: arbitrary, arborary, balneary,
basilary (= -ar), cinerary, coronary, culinary, funerary, lachrymary (= -al),
lapidary, literary, luminary+n, mercenary+n, military+n, monetary, novenary+n,
numerary, obolary (r. <≠ obole or obolus), octonary+n, onerary (r.), ordinary,
'olivary (“shaped like an olive” Anatomy), proletary+n (= -arian), pulmonary,
salutary (<≠ salute), sanitary (dem. <≠ sanity), saponary (= -aceous), septenary+n, sexenary+n, solidary, solitary, temporary, tutelary+n, vicenary, vulnerary+n; exc.: ca'ducary
As evidenced by 'tribunary and 'tributary, the hor'monal < 'hormone
model is not functional with -ary adjectives.
The bound-stem nouns and adjectives centenary (+ compounds:
bicentenary, tricentenary, etc., 10 items) and millenary, are stressed on
the syllable before -ary in British English as opposed to the regular
(S-2) initial pattern in standard American.
Nouns with no adjective homograph in which -ary is preceded
by two syllables similarly receive initial stress ('antiquary <~ an'tique,
'dignitary < 'dignit(y) + items with an opaque stem: acetary, alveary,
calamary (= -ar), decumary, dimyary, dromedary, feodary, formicary
(<≠ formica), janizary (= -ssary), parcenary, pothecary, secretary, seminary, stercorary, syllabary, termatary, tunicary (<≠ tunic), zedoary
347
(< Ar.) except, in British English, ca'tenary, which is also regular in US
English.
As is the case with -C2ary adjectives and/or nouns, words where
-ary is preceded by more than two syllables still comply with strong
preservation as long as there is no clash with S-1/2: ˌabe'cedary (n.
< Med. L <~ ˌa, ˌb, c, d + -ary, + adj.), ˌduo'denary (< L <~ duo +
denary <≠ ˌduo'denal < ˌduo'denum), ex'temporary (< ex'tempore),
he'reditary (<~ he'redit(y)). In other cases, S-2 normally applies: (a)
(remetrification) an'tiphonary (= “a book of antiphons”+ adj. = “rel. to
such a book” ≠ an'tiphonal = “rel. to antiphons or antiphony”), o'riginary (r. <~ 'origin in one s. = -al); (b) underived items (+n = + n.):
a'pothecary+n (adj. = only attributive), con'temporary, ˌelee'mosynary,
ˌextra'ordinary, heb'domadary+n (n. = spec. s., Church), i'tinerary+n,
oc'togenary+n (= -arian), pa'rietary (= -al), pi'tuitary+n, pre'liminary+n,
ˌseptu'agenary+n (= -arian), se'xagenary+n (= -arian), ˌvale'tudinary+n.
Weak preservation of the ˌchromo'somal < 'chromosome type only applies in variation to one of the two relevant items extracted from the
Corpus: ple'biscitary + -'scitary, MWD (< 'plebiscite) vs. con'cubinary
(+ n. <~ 'concubine). Although they comply with weak preservation,
adjectives derivable from a noun in -tude (with a final long vowel) are
to be held as affixed with a composite suffix → -inary: ˌconsue'tudinary
(< L <~ 'consuetude), ˌmulti'tudinary (< L stem + -ary <~ 'multitude =
‑inous), platitudinary (r. < platitude + -inary), viˌcissi'tudinary (obs.
< L stem + -ary <~ vi'cissitude = -inous), cf. attitudinal <~ attitude, etc.
There are 110 nouns and/or adjectives in -ionary. Phonetically speaking, as discussed for -ional, such items have antepenultimate
stress, despite the underlying bivocal nature of the -ion ending since in
all but 2 relevant items this ending is preceded by a palatalised consonant which coalesces the underlying dissyllabic /i.ə/ structure into a syllabic consonant. The only items in -ionary allowing primary stress three
syllables before -ary are ganglionary (< ganglion = -ic) and millionary
(< million) which are now preferably realised with a synaeresis of the
bivocalic /ɪ.ə/ sequence (/i.ə/ → [jə]) as in 'millionary ([m1ljənəri], vs.
[‑ˌneri], in US English), thus in concordance with S-2.
Nouns in -ionary denote the usual senses of the affix -ary (a) a
person connected with an activity, often of a political or ideological nature (+adj = + adj.): functionary+adj (“an official”, as an adj. an uncommon
348
syn. of functional), legionary+adj, missionary+adj, pensionary+adj (r. “a
pensioner” + spec. s. of “a person working only for money”), reactionary+adj (as an adj. ≠ reactional = “indicative of a reaction”, with no specific connotation), redemptionary (r.), revolutionary+adj, seditionary+adj
(“a seditionist”), subversionary+adj (“a subversionist”), visionary+adj;
(b) a collected series of texts: benedictionary (“a book of benedictions”),
dictionary, lectionary (“a book of lections”), passionary (“a book describing the sufferings of martyrs and saints”, cp. adj. passional), questionary (“questionnaire”); (c) a place for: confectionary+adj. The noun
dictionary has yielded portmanteau neologisms: podictionary (< pod(cast) + dictionary, Wordnik), predictionary (“a dictionary of new words
that are predicted to become part of the mainstream lexicon”, The Word
Spy).
50 of the 92 adjectives in -ionary which do not qualify nouns
of (a), (b) or (c) have a synonymous (often more commonly used) variant in ‑ional: addition(ary/al), complexion(ary/al), concretion(ary/
al), contraction(ary/al), convolution(ary/al), creation(ary/al), delusion
(ary/al), digression(ary/al), etc. Adjectivisation in -ary of -ion nouns is
however still productive, specifically in economics terminology: conclusionary (1976, MWD.), expansionary (1936, spec. meaning, e.g. an
expansionary policy ≠ expansional “characteristic of expansion”, general s.), inflationary (1920), reflationary (1932), stagflationary (1971).
Besides examples like expansionary vs. expansional or reactionary vs.
reactional, cited in this subsection, there are a few extra cases of adjectives in -ary and -al conveying different meanings: recessionary (“rel.
to recession”) vs. recessional (“of or rel. to the withdrawal of the clergy
and choir after the service”), representationary (r. = representative vs.
representational, e.g. representational art), stationary (“not moving”)
vs. stational (e.g. stational churches).
15.6.5 -VCive
Listed by Roach (2000 [1983]: 107) together with -ic, -ion, etc. as a
suffix placing lexical stress one syllable back, -ive may, statistically appear as such on condition adjectives and/or nouns in -ative, utive and
-itive are discarded (anticipative, informative, persecutive, prosecutive,
349
competitive, exhibitive, etc., cf. §15.7 and 3rd par. below (30'), same
subsection).
As has been seen in the first par. below (15), same ch., all but 4 of
the 240 adjectives in which -ive is preceded by a consonant cluster display penultimate stress, further to stress reassignment when necessary
('instinct vs. in'stinctive). When preceded by -VC -ive is also stressed
on the penult in all but three of about 130 items (setting aside, as stipulated in the foregoing paragraph, the -ative,-utive and -itive sequences).
However this pattern obviously stems from preservation of the original
base, whether further to direct attachment of -ive to a verb (or sporadically to a noun or an adjective) or, according to D.com, to replacement
of the -ion affix. In items with S-1 stress interpretable as directly derived from a free base, -ive always attaches to a syllable made up of
a free vowel + /s/, /z/ or /t/ (per'fusive < per'fuse, pol'lutive < pol'lute,
etc.):
(29)
Bases with an insep. prefix + -ive
a. direct concatenation to v. (and more r. to n. or adj.) bases in /-s/ or /-z/:
coercive (< coerc(e) + -ive) and sim conducive (< conduce), inductive (<
induce), diffusive (< diffuse), perfusive (< perfuse), transfusive (<~ transfuse)17 (about 'purposive see (30a.) below), reclusive (<~ recluse n.); /-t/:
incitive (< incite ≠ n. incitative), denotive (< denote = -ative), promotive (<
promote vs. < L in OED), pollutive (< pollute); < L accretive (<~ accrete),
completive (<~ complete), depletive (<~ deplete = -ory), dilutive (<~ dilute),
excretive (<~ excrete = -ory), repletive (<~ replete adj. = -ory) + se'cretive
(<~ se'crete, possibly. a BF from secretion, about 'secretive = “inclined to
secrecy”, cf. (30a.) below), suppletive (+ n. <~ supplete, r.), etc.;
b. derived (or sync. derivable) from nouns in -ion, by affix-replacement, according to D.com: adhesive (< adhes(ion) + -ive vs. < F in OED) and sim.
cohesive (< cohesion vs. < L stem + -ive in OED.), collusive (< collusion,
id.), delusive (< delusion, id.), derisive (< derision, id.), dissuasive (< dissuasion, id.), elusive (< elusion, id.), evasive (< evasion vs. < F in OED),
extrusive (< extrusion vs. < L stem + -ive in OED) + < L: decisive (still <~
decision in one s.), etc. (40 items); solitary derivational process: illusive (<
illusory < L vs. both < L stem + -ive and -ory in OED <~illusion, dem. <≠
illude, solitary paradigm: inter'necive (more com. ˌinter'necine both < L <~
internecion);.
17
Appraisive (< appraise), applausive (< L. <~ applause) and exploitive (< exploit) have been classed in (20) above.
350
Synchronically, it may be objected to (22b) that adjectives in
-isive, (decisive, derisive, etc.), in which stressed i is realised as [a1],
would be better regarded as derived from their respective verb counterparts (decAId, derAId, etc.) than from graphically closer (s > s instead
of d > s) but segmentally different (decIsion, derIsion, etc.) nouns in
-ision, i being the only vowel that is immune to lengthening before a
-CiV sequence, cf. patience vs. delicious (Duchet 1991: 56, see also
Burzio: 159–161). Furthermore, as seen in §15.3.5 ii and as confirmed
in (29b) above, whereas D.com is wont to give adjectives in -ive not
immediately derivable from a verb as originally formed from a noun in
-ion, OED only exceptionally concurs with such etymological interpretations.
All things considered, settling in synchrony for a deverbal analysis of -isive adjectives (thus equating them with bound allomorphs
(cf. §0(4c.)) of verbs in -ide) proves a more efficient and economical
proposition since this interpretation necessitates the definition of one
segmental transformation (d/ → [s] as in deride ~> derisive) instead of
two as is the case if a n. > adj. affix-replacement process is retained (/1/
→ [a1] and /ʒ/ → [s], as in deris(ion) ~> derisive). However, adopting
this synchronic treatment implies, for consistency’s sake, that it be extended to all ajectives in -Vsive semantically relatable to allomorphic
verbs (e'lusive <~ e'lude, per'suasive <~ per'suade, ad'hesive < ad'here,
co'hesive <~ co'here, etc.).
Adjectives of types (29 a. & b.) with no transparent base are few.
All have penult stress, justifiable only from a diachronic perspective:
assuasive (r. < as- + (per)suasive = “soothingly persuasive” <≠ assuade (obs.) = “to urge persuasively”), ex'pletive (+ n., adj. = -ory dem.
<≠ explete, obs., ), il'lesive (r.), oc'casive (r. = “rel. to the setting sun”,
dem. <≠ occasion, original meaning = “that which falls”). Contrary to
the homographic adjective (= “pertaining to motion” or “constituting a
motive”), the noun motive denotes a purpose or motivation.
If, as stipulated in the introduction to this subsection, adjectives
in -ative, -utive and -itive are set aside, three adjectives in -ive exhibit a
proparoxytone pattern which also reflects stress preservation of the base
they directly append to:
351
(30)
in'terpretive (< in'terpret = -ative), 'purposive (< 'purpose, n. according to OED),
'secretive (= “inclined to secrecy”, r., <~ secret, cp. se'cretive in (29a.) above).
A few adjectives in -itive, analysable as attaching the -ive suffix
to a base, also display a proparoxytone pattern resulting from stress
preservation, whether -ive juxtaposes to a verb base, or attaches to an
opaque-stem noun in -ity (cf. §3(2)) with deletion of -y.
(30')
Strong preservation
a. direct concatenation of -ive to v. bases: in'hibitive (< in'hibit), 'limitive (r., not
listed in OED < 'limit? more com. 'limitative), < L: ex'hibitive (<~ ex'hibit),
pro'hibitive (<~ prohibit), 'vomitive (+ n. <~ 'vomit);
b.-ive adjectives derived (or sync. derivable) from -ity nouns with an opaque
stem further to deletion of -y: af 'finitive (< affinit(y) + -ive), ca'pacitive
(1916 < capacit(y) + -ive); < L 'quantitive (< L vs. < quantit(y) + -ive in
OED, more com. quantitative), unitive (<~ unit(y)).
(30a.') similarly applies to items interpretable as affixed with -ory (instead of -itory, see 2 par. below): de'pository (< L + n. <~ de'posit),
ex'hibitory (= ex'hibitive < L <~ exhibit), in'hibitory (< L <~ inhibit
= in'hibitive), 'plauditory (< 'plaudit), pro'hibitory (= pro'hibitive, esp.
when referring to prices < L <~ pro'hibit). Synchronically punitive and
its rare variant punitory may be regarded as derivatives from punish,
subject to the same graphic transformation (sh > t) and resultant phonetic readjustment ([ʃ] > [t]) as those occurring in abolish ~> abolition
and demolish ~> demolition, cf. §2.3.2 i.
(30) and (30') show that, even when discarding adjectives in -ative
and in -utive, -ive is, despite Roach’s classification, a stress-neutral suffix in the -VCive configuration. The stress shift occurring in pre'teritive
(< 'preterit(e) + -ive vs. < L stem + -ive in OED) may at first analysis
make it it tempting to assume that strong preservation is overridden
by S-1/2 when -ive appends to a three-syllable base with antepenult
primary stress, as is the case with the other adjective suffixes reviewed
in this chapter (pres'byteral < 'presbyter, etc.). However, the only other relevant adjective of the Corpus 'appetitive18 (< appetite + -ive vs.
18
352
Contrary to -ity (illicitness vs. *illicity, etc. cf. §3.1) or -ise (appetise vs. *ap­
petitise, etc. (cf. 3rd par. below §13(13)), -ive allows the adjacency of identical
onsets in the last two syllables of a derivative: appetitive, competitive, repetitive,
< F in OED) permits placement of primary stress three syllables before
-ive, although the variants [2010] (which replicates the ˌchromo'somal
< 'chromosome model) and even [0100] are licensed. Furthermore, adjectives in ‑ative/atory and in -utive/utory (whether they be synonymic
variants or whether only one of either form be sanctioned by usage)
such as an'ticipative/ory, par'ticipative/ory, 'substitutive, etc. which,
as repeatedly stipulated in this subsection, have been provisionally set
aside, run counter to S-2 stress-assignment unless they are regarded as
affixed with allomorphic variants of -ive and -ory, namely -ative and
-atory, replacing the generally bound verb affix -ate (cf. discussion
about -ation in §2.3.6), and -utive and -utory, substituting with the -ute
noun, adjective and verb ending which yet has no specific status in morphology. The issue of which analysis should be retained for adjectives
derivable from a verb in -ate such as anticipative/ory, participative/ory,
etc. or a noun, adjective or verb in -ute such as substitutive, etc. (a) mere
attachment of the suffixes -ive or -ory to the base or (b) replacement of
-ate by -ative or -atory and -ute by -utive and -utory, etc. will be taken
up in §15.7 (about -itive and -itory, cf. next paragraph).
The items in -itive listed in (30') and their possible variants in
-itory must no be confused with those analysable as formed with attachment of the independent affix -itive or its possible variant -itory
which can be postulated to be (a) separable suffixes, in relation with
verbs in -pose (dis'positive < dis'pose + -itive vs. < F in OED, ex'positive/ory < L. <~ ex'pose, op'positive < id. <~ op'pose ≠ opposite), as
well as in 'additive/ory (< L <~ add), 'partitive (id., adj. in the s. of
“serving to divide into parts” <~ part + -itive + Gram. dem. adj. and
n.), com'petitive/ory (id. <~ com'pete), definitive (< OF + n. <~ define
+ dem. s. = “having its fixed or final form”); (b) bound allomorphs of
verbs in -quire (ac'quisitive/ory < L <~ ac'quire), in'quisitive/ory (id.
<~ in'quire, in the s. “of an inquiring turn of mind”), re'quisitive (id.
<~ re'quire, esp. Gram.) and of re'peat ~> re'petitive (also < L.). All
the foregoing items are paradigmatic correlates of nouns analysable as
formed with the independent suffix -ition, there again as a separable
etc., cp. paradigmatic formations in -ion in which palatalisation of the preceding syllable (competition, repetition, etc.) prevents similar onset sequences.
353
suffix (e.g. partition, competition) or as a bound allomorph of a verb
(e.g. acquisition, repetition).
Besides nouns and/or adjectives parseable as suffixed with -ive
or -itive (e.g. vomitive <~ vomit + -ive, cf. (30'), partitive <~ part +
-itive, cf. previous par.), whose stress-assignment is ascribable to stress
preservation, words in -itive and in -itory necessarily have initial stress
when these sequences are preceded by one syllable, which brings about
a primary-stress mismatch when such words are synchronically derivable from nouns in -ion by affix-replacement: auditive/auditory (< L adj.
<~ audit(ion) + -ive/ory, as a n. auditory = audience or auditorium ≠
audition), bibitory (adj., r. <~ bibit(ion), r.), cognitive (adj.< L < cognit(ion)), dormitive (< OF adj. (r.), obs. as a n. <~ dormit(ion) ≠ dormitory, n.), 'fruitive (adj. < fruit(ion,) + -ive vs. < L. in OED), monitive (<
L adj. = monitory, both r. or obs. <~ monit(ion), id.), nutritive (adj. and
n. < L <~ nutrit(ion)), traditive (r. < tradit(ion) + ive vs. obs. F in OED
= traditional), transitive (< L = transitory “characterised by transition”
<~ transit(ion) + Gram., adj. and n. <≠ transit or transition), volitive
(< volit(ion) + -ive vs. < L in OED = volitional + Gram. “expressing a wish or permission”). 'Splenitive (r. more commonly 'splenetive =
sple'netic, all <~ spleen), is a solitary paradigm. The ensuing adjectives
and/or nouns are synchronically indecomposable: abditive (adj., r. ≠
abditory, n.), factitive (Gram. n. and adj., dem. <≠ fact), fugitive (n.
and adj.), fumitory (n. = “any plant of the genus Fumara”), genitive (n.
and adj.), lenitive (adj. and n., Medecine <≠ lenition, Phonetics), olitory (adj.and n., both obs.), pellitory (n. “a urticaceous plant”), positive
(dem. <≠ pose, posit or posit(ion)), primitive (adj. and n.<≠ prime),
redditive (adj. and n., now chiefly Gram. dem. <≠ reddition), sensitive
(adj., dem. <≠ sense, = sensitory or sensorial + spec. meaning for sensitive “having mental and emotional sensibility” + n. “a sensitive person”
or “a person with psychic powers, e.g. a medium”), territory (n.), There
are only half-a-dozen synchronically indecomposable adjectives and/
or nouns in which -itive or -itory are preceded by more than one syllable. All are stressed on the antepenult19: aperitive (n. + adj.), appositive
(Gram. adj. + n. < apposit(ion) + -ive vs. < L in OED <≠ appose or
19
354
-itive and -itory are defined as suffixes placing stress one syllable back in EPD,
LPD and Fudge.
apposite), cognoscitive, infinitive (n. + adj. Gram. <≠ infinite), prepositive (adj. + n. < L Gram. “of the nature of a preposition” <~ preposition
+ “placed in front of another word”, dem.), repository (n. + obs. adj. <≠
repose).
15.6.6 -VCoid
Once items already treated in this chapter have been discarded (disyllables: algoid, etc.; items in -ION: nucleoid, etc.; -C2oid: elephantoid,
etc.; -uloid: annuloid, etc.), there remain 220 adjectives and/or nouns
in -VCoid. 150 of these are transparent suffixed forms, fairly evenly
distributed between items derived further to base truncation (as usual
chiefly when they contain neoclassical endings) or by direct concatenation of -oid (chiefly to zoological taxa):
(31)
Strong preservation (concordant with S-1/2, +n = + n.))
a. truncation of neoclassical endings [010] < [010]: gorilloid (< gorilla = -ine,
-ian), iguanoid (< iguana), macruroid (< Macrura), medusoid (< Medusa,
Zool.), etc.; [(-)100] < [100]: acaroid (< Acarus), alkaloid+n (< alkali), astragaloid (<~ astragalus), choleroid (< cholera), ginglymoid (<~ ginglymus), icteroid (<~ icterus), platinoid+n (< platinum), syphiloid (< syphilis),
tetanoid (< tetanus), etc. + truncation of non-neoclassical endings: bungaloid (< bungalow), oceloid (< ocelot); porphyroid (< porphyr(y))
b. direct concatenation of -oid: [(-100] < [(0)10]: antheroid (<~ anther), cret­
inoid (< cretin), eunuchoid+n (< eunuch), falconoid (< falcon), fibrinoid+n
(< fibrin), granitoid (< granite), humanoid+n (< human), polypoid (< polyp),
resinoid+n (< resin), tapiroid (< tapir), etc.
Strong preservation mostly fails in -oid items subject to haplologic
deletion of the first vowel (e or i) of a Neo-Latin noun base in -ION
(-ia, -ium, etc.), a stress displacement which puts some of these items
in sharp contrast with occasional regular variants in -ioid: 'Australoid (cp. var. Au'stralioid, both < Australia, cf (4) above), 'bacteroid
(id. bac'terioid, both < bacterium), 'batrachoid (<~ Ba'trachia), 'Caucasoid (1902 < Cau'cas(ian) vs. < Caucas(ic) in OED)20, 'hysteroid
20
Obviously not derivable, semantically speaking, from Caucasus in the definition “belonging to a racial group having light skin coloration”. As specified
in D.com (based on World English D.), the word Caucasoid and other words
355
(< hys'teria), la'certiloid (< ˌlacer'tilia), 'myceloid (+ var. -celioid <~
my'celium = -ial), 'ostracoid (<~ Os'tracea), 'paranoid (+ n. 1902 < ˌpara'noia vs. < scientific L in OED), 'pithecoid (<~ Pi'thecia, a zoological taxon = “the sakis”, also stressed pi'thecoid when connected with
Pi'thecus/i, “the division of mammals including the apes and monkeys”
+ compounds, e.g. ˌcercopi'thecoid < ˌcercopi'thecus). Four derivatives
are however noted in the database as preserving the stress of an underlying -ION form further to deletion of its first vowel: ˌendo'theloid
(+ var. -'thelioid < ˌendo'thelium), ˌepi'theloid (id. -'thelioid < epi'thelium vs. ˌepi'theliate, in OED), ˌformi'caroid (+ var. -carioid in OED
<~ ˌFormi'carium), ˌmega'theroid (+ var. - 'therioid in OED, < ˌmega'therium vs. orig. < megathere, later remodelled after megatherium
in OED). In the dictionaries of the Corpus where the last four items
are listed, their stress patterns have again merely been reproduced from
the 1913 edition of Webster’s D., which leaves the possibility that pronunciation variants may at a later stage have affected these haplologic
formations. However, the only of these items recorded in OED, megatheroid (updated 2001), is also transcribed with penult primary stress in
the same dictionary.
In contrast with -al which entails penult stress when it attaches to a disyllabic base whose last syllable contains a free vowel
(hor'monal < 'hormone, etc.), -oid remains neutral in the same context (as does -ary, cf. 'tribunary, etc.), despite occasional variation
in some of the ensuing items: 'benzenoid (< 'benzene + [01]), 'condyloid (< 'condyle), 'gametoid (< 'gamete), 'graphitoid (< 'graphite),
'leucitoid (n. < 'leucite), 'myxinoid [010] in OED, + n. < 'myxine),
'peptonoid (< 'peptone), 'pyrenoid (n. < 'pyrene + [010]), 'pyritoid
(n. < 'pyrite, id.), 'quinonoid (< 'quinone, id.), 'reptiloid (< 'reptile
[-ta1l] in GB, [-ta1l] or [-təl] in US), 'trachytoid (< 'trachyte). The
ˌchromo'somal < 'chromosome model conversely applies to adjectives
of more than three syllables (thus entailing weak preservation), although with a noticeable amount of variation: ˌcroco'diloid (+ [1000]
<~ 'crocodile), ˌhemi'spheroid (n. < 'hemisphere), ˌiso'prenoid (+ n.
1940 < 'isoprene), ˌpara'sitoid (+ [1000] → ['parəs1tͻ1d], 1922 + n.),
ending in -oid and relating to racial group are controversial scientifically and
best avoided”.
356
ˌpoly'nemoid (<~ 'polyneme), cp. remetrification further to S-2 in the
ensuing items whose base does not end with a syllable containing a
free vowel: ge'latinoid (+ n. < 'gelatine, adj. = -ous), ec'zematoid (<~
'eczema = -ous, + var. ec'zema in US), ha'logenoid (+ [1000] < 'halogen), pen'tagonoid (< 'pentagon), with ˌcarti'laginoid making use of
the -inoid allomorph (< 'cartilage = -inous, cf. attitudinal, consuetudinary, etc.).
Nouns are subject to the same principles as those set out for adjectives: (a) truncation of neoclassical endings: ˌery'sipeloid <~ ˌery'sipelas, hy'perboloid < hy'perbola, ˌspermato'zoid (or sperˌmato'zoid) <
spermato'zoon (or sperˌmato'zoon), cf. §5.4.6; (b) direct concatenation
of -oid to a base with a final consonant: 'conicoid < 'conic, 'planetoid <
'planet, 'zirconoid < 'zircon.
Underivable items in -oid massively receive antepenult stress:
acephaloid, alcyonoid, amygdaloid, amyloid, anthropoid, carcinoid,
delphinoid, dermatoid, encephaloid, entomoid, gynecoid, h(a)ematoid,
leucosoid, rheumatoid, etc. (70 items), exception: ˌary'tenoid, orig.
spelt with a digraph → arytaenoid (the non-digraphic form has now
acquired a regular S-2 variant in [-100], at least in US English (D.com,
American Heritage D., MWD). The adjective 'erythroid allows a variant
in [010].
Violation of S-1/2 is attested in 'halogenoid (Collins D. and
D.com. < halogen), 'haliotoid (with alternative compression into three
syllables → [‑ljətͻ1d], thus in conformity with S-2 + given in OED with
stress-preserving pronunciation ˌhali'otoid < ˌhali'otis), 'meteoroid (n.
id. → [-tjərͻ1d] or with full palatalisation: [-t∫ərͻ1d], thus in conformity
with S‑2 < meteor), Ne'anderthaloid (< Ne'anderthal), 'paraffinoid (<
'paraffine + [201]) as well as (in variation, as seen above) in 'parasitoid (+ n. < 'parasite + 2010), 'varioloid (+ n. + [0100], given as first
pronunciation in OED, updated 2011, < va'riola). The noun proteinoid
['prəʊt1nͻ1d]) is alternatively transcribed with penult stress ([-'ti:nͻ1d])
in American Heritage D, thus in conformity with the rule of prefinal
digraphs representing a free vowel (cf. proteinous (20b) above).
As has emerged from this subsection, -VCoid is subject to a fair
amount of unpredictability.
357
15.6.7 -VCous
On a sheer statistical basis, the -VCous sequence overwhelmingly abides by S-2, with 950 of 1010 items bearing primary stress on
the antepenult. More than 800 of these adjectives subject to S-2 are
learned combining-form compounds (the -ferous sequence accounting
by itself for a huge 30% of the latter), analysable for many of them as
stress-preserving derivatives (by affix-replacement) from nouns in -y
(cf. first par. below §0.3 ii. and §14.1) or in -ism (anthropophagy, autonomy, metabolism, misogyny, synonymy, etc.):
(32) Neoclassical CFs + -ous entailing antepenult stress:
-antherous, -bolous, -cephalous, -cerous, -chronous, ‑chthonous, -cipitous,
-colous, -dactylous, -domous, -dromous, -dynamous, -ferous, -fragous, -fugous, -gamous, -genous, ‑gerous, -gnathous, -gonous, -gynous, -graphous,
-jugous, ‑logous, -manous, -merous, -myodous, -nomous, -olatrous, ‑onymous,
-ostracous, -petalous, -parous, -phagous, -phanous, phigous, -philous, -phon­
ous, -phobous, -phorous, -phytous, ‑podous, -pterous, -semous (var. [10]);
-sepalous, -sonous, ‑spondylous, -stegous, -stemonous, -stichous, -stomatous,
‑stomous, -tenous, -thalamous, -thermanous, -tocous, -tomous, ‑tonous,
-trichous, -tropous, -thymous, -vomous, -vorous, ‑xenous (about -'chromous,
-'clinous, -my'cetous, -'florous, cf. §15.6.7, about -'zygous, cf. two par. below).
When synchronically derivable from nouns with Neo-Latin endings adjectives in -ous are, similarly to other adjectives studied in this chapter, subject to strong preservation on condition this does not result in
placement of primary stress in violation with S-1/2. Replacement of -y
is the norm with non-compound bound bases, as it is with most combining-form compounds (cf. (5) above for exceptions to both types of
words: efficacious, harmonious, etc.):
(32')
358
Strong preservation (concordant with S‑1/2)
a. truncation of Neo-L endings
[-10] < [-10]: amebous (spelling var. of amoebous < am(o)eba, cf. §15.4 = -an,
‑oid), -hedrous: pentahedrous (r. < ˌpentahedr(on) = -al), polyhedrous (id. <
polyhedr(on) = ‑al), pellagrous (< pellagr(a)), phagedenous (< ˌphageden(a)
= -ic), podagrous (< podagr(a)), polyrhizous (< ˌpolyrhiz(um)), trichinous (<
trichin(a) + [100] < var. 'trichina), triquetrous (< triquetr(a) = -al), salivous
(obs. < L or F <~ saliv(a) = -al, cp. 'salivary, cf. (28) above), saphenous (< saphen(a)), saxicavous (< ˌSaxicav(a)); -urous: brachyurous (< Brachyur(a)), gastrurous (< Gastrur(a)), macrurous (< Macrur(a)), thysanurous (< Thysanura);
verrucous (+ [100] < verruca); [(-)100] < [(‑)100]: acinous (< acin(i)), chelicerous (< chelicer(a)), molybdenous (< molybden(um)), pemphigous (<
pemphig(us) + [010] = -oid), platinous (< platinum), torminous (< tormina),
variolous (< variola); [(-)100] < [(‑)10] -omatous < -oma: adenomatous <~
adenoma and, sim., angiomatous, aromatous, atheromatous, carcinomatous,
etc. (20 items; about epenthetic t, cf. §1.3).
b. replacement of -y21
[(-)100] < [(-)100]: adulterous (< adulter(y) + -ous vs. < adulterer + -ous in
OED) and sim. (derived or sync. derivable from a n. base in ‑y) barratrous (<
barratry), blasphemous22 (< L < Gk <~ blasphemy), larcenous (< larceny),
mercurous ([010] < mercury), mutinous (< obs. mutine <~ mutiny), scrutinous (< MF <~.scrutiny), sorcerous (< sorcery vs. < sorcerise in OED),
treacherous (< OF <~ treacher(y)).
A specific case of base truncation is that occurring when the -zygote
combining form is adjectivised with -ous (-zyg(ous) < -zyg(ote)): 'azygous (+ [010] < 'azygote + a'zygote), di'zygous (< di'zygote), ˌhemi'zygous (< ˌhemi'zygote), ˌhetero'zygous (< ˌhetero'zygote), ˌhomo'zygous
(< ˌhomo'zygote), mono'zygous (< ˌmono'zygote). The [‑10] pattern is
imitated in ˌcrypto'zygous (= “having a broad cranium”< crypto- + -zyg(as in zygoma, D.com, no etymology given in OED) + -ous) and ˌpheno'zygous (= “having a narrow cranium”, id.).
As was noted for adjectives in -oid, there is manifest indeterminacy in the assignment of primary stress with haplologic derivatives deleting the i of nouns bases in -iV: a'cholous (< L <~ a'cholia),
ma'crotous (< Gk <~ ma'crotia), ni'obous (< ni'obium), -pygous
([-pa1gəs] <~ ‑pygia (or ‑pygy) ˌcalli'pygous, steato'pygous (+ [-100]
vs. a'myelous (< Gk stem + ‑ous <~ ˌamy'elia), 'gonimous (< L stem +
-ous <~ go'nimia) + items with variation pal'ladous (+ [100] < pal'ladium), 'tellurous (+ tel'lurous < tel'lurium), 'uranous (+ [010]23 < u'ranium).
21
22
23
Reminder: adjectives in -ous derived (or sync. derivable) from nouns in -ity
are synchronically recognisable in that they truncate either the -y (felicitous <
felicit(y) + -ous, etc. cf. §3(1)) or the second syllable of the -ity affix (atrocious
<~ atroci(ty) + -ous, etc., cf. 4th par. in §15.2.1.3 above), in contrast with the full
affix-replacement process which is reflected in the opposite paradigm (n. in -ity
< adj. in -ous): continuity <~ continu(ous), etc.
See discussion four paragraphs above (33), same chapter.
It seems that the original [010] pronunciation of Uranus has virtually disappeared because it was homophonous with “your anus” (EPD18).
359
A little more than a hundred adjectives in -ous entailing strong
preservation further to suffixation by juxtaposition belong to non-strictly scientific vocabulary. Most relevant items have a base (in quite a few
cases of native stock) ending with the phoneme /r/, represented, with the
preceding vowel, by various graphic forms (-Vr, -ire, -ure, etc.). More
marginally, -ous has also attached to non-learned bases ending with another sonorant or with the phoneme /t/.
(33)
Strong preservation → suffixation by juxtaposition (concordant with S-1/2)
[(-)100] < [(-)10]) direct concatenation of -ous to a base in /‑r/: adventurous (<
MF <~ adventur(e) + -ous), and sim. < or <~: bletcherous, blusterous, boisterous,
cadaverous, cancerous, cankerous, clamorous, clangorous, dolourous, feverous, flavourous, founderous, glamourous, glanderous, harborous, humourous,
imposturous, languorous, lecherous, leperous, licorous, masterous, murderous,
murmurous, nectarous, odorous, pesterous, prosperous, rancorous, rapturous,
rigorous, slanderous, slaughterous, slumberous, splendorous, stuporous, thunderous, torturous, traitorous, tumorous, ulcerous, valorous, vaporous, venturous,
verdurous, vigorous, viperous, vulturous, wond(e)rous + [010] < [01] desirous;
/-l/: libelous (or libellous, cf. §2nd par. below (18), same ch.), marvelous (id.),
perilous, petalous, scandalous; -/m/: venomous; /-n/: burdenous, covinous (<
covin or covenous < coven, Law), cretinous, leavenous (< leaven), ravenous, resinous, ruinous, urinous, verminous, mountainous (cf. last par. of §15.4 above),
villainous (id.); /-t/: covetous, riotous, spiritous (= spirituous);
Although -ous is, like -al, -an and -ic, primarily a denominal suffix,
some deverbal derivatives stand out in the inventory above: founderous,
pesterous, prosperous, ravenous, covetous. A few rarely used deadjectival formations are also recorded: concavous (obs. <~ concave), festivous (<~ festive), illicitous (obs. < illicit), o'pacous (a rare variant of
opaque). Other strongly preserving adjectives affixed by concatenation
to a final consonant sound belong to scientific vocabulary: azymous (<
L < Gk <~ azym), bismuthous (< bismuth), boracous (< borax, x > c,
cf. §§6 & 16), carbonous (< carbon), chitinous (< chitin), ˌcoty'ledonous (< ˌcoty'ledon), fibrinous (< fibrin), fluorous (< fluor), glutenous
(< gluten), hybridous (r. < n. hybrid = adj. hybrid), ichorous (< ichor),
lichenous (< lichen), mucinous (< mucin = -oid), nickelous (< nickel),
och(e)rous (< ochre), phlegmonous (< phlegmon), polypous (< polyp vs.
L stem + -ous in OED), sulphurous (< sulphur, id.), etc.
As is the case for -ary ('tribunary, etc.) and -oid ('benzenoid,
etc.), the hor'monal < 'hormone model is not functional with -ous:
360
'gangrenous (< 'gangrene + [01]), 'ozonous (< 'ozone + [01]), despite
the ensuing adjectives which admit a variant with penult stress: 'pyritous/py'ritous < 'pyrite) and 'membranous/mem'branous (< 'membrane
vs. < F in OED + graphic -ION var. mem'braneous).
Despite some derivatives which obviously replicate the ˌchromo'somal < 'chromosome dichotomy (ˌano'dynous + [0100] < n.
'anodyne, MWD, ˌhomo'stylous < 'homostyled, ˌmanga'nesous < manganese + [201], ˌsero'tinous + < 'serotine [-taIn], the [0100] var. of this
adj. obviously results from the short final-vowel var. of its base [‑t1n]),
ˌserpen'tinous (Collins D + var. with initial stress in violation of S-2
< 'serpentine), this reassignment of primary stress is less systematic than
it is with -al, witness the afore-mentioned remetrified variant a'nodynous,
to which must be added the combining forms -fuge, and -vore which do
not entail weak preservation when affixed with -ous (cal'cifugous, cp.
ˌcalci'fugal, Collins D. < 'calcifuge, in'sectivorous <~ insectivore, a BF
from the adjective, according to D.com vs. borrowed from F two centuries
after the appearance of insectivorous in OED), etc.24) and the adjective
'anthra(ˌ)citous (<~ 'anthracite), which circumvents S-1/2.
Two classes of combining-form compounds in -y with early primary stress whose element B contains a free vowel, -chromy (-chrome
+ -y, gen. sep. e.g. 'monochromy < monochrome) and -cliny (-cline +
-y, insep., e.g. 'matrocliny), entail weak preservation when they adjectivise with -ous so that S-1/2 be not infringed: ˌhetero'chromous,
ˌhomo'chromous, ˌmono'chromous, ˌpoly'chromous, ˌmatro'clinous,
ˌpatro'clinous. An odd class is that of -ous adjectives derived from
nouns constructed with the combining form -'mycete, in which each syllable is free (['ma1.si:t] and which systematically admit a variant with
penult stress (e.g. acˌtino'mycete + var. -my'cete). All such adjectives
receive penult stress: acˌtinomy'cetous, ˌascomy'cetous, baˌ'sidiomy'cetous, ˌdiscomy'cetous, ˌmesomy'cetous, ˌphycomy'cetous, ˌsaccharomy'cetous, ˌschizomy'cetous.
A last class of anomalous combining-form compounds,
namely items in -florous (which have no potential bases) behave as
24
Adjectives in -philous are derived, or synchronically derivable, from nouns in
-phily: entomophilous <~ entomophily, etc. (<≠ n. in -phile).
361
bipartite fomations, requiring penult primary stress: ˌgemini'florous,
ˌmulti'florous, ˌuni'florous, etc. (12 items).
Some authors, notably Burzio (: 287) and Guierre (1984: 41,
footnote 2, & 77–78) have wondered about the stress difference between
de'sirous (< L <~ n. desire)25 and 'blasphemous (< L < Gk), which they
both linked to the verb blas'pheme. There is actually no contradiction
between these items if it is considered that, -ous being overwhelmingly
a denominal suffix (despite some exceptional cases such as covetous
<~ covet, cf. (33) above), blasphemous is more appropriately dealt with
when related to blasphemy, in the same manner as analogous <~ analogy, idolatrous <~ idolatry, etc. Adopting this analysis permits to equate
both adjectives with stress-preserving derivatives.
The morphophonological transformations of bases yielding adjectives in -al, with a medial -in- (libidinal <~ libido, longitudinal <~
longitude, etc.) or with the graphic adjustment -en > -in, which are a
perpetuation or an imitation of Latin morphological rules, similarly
obtain with -ous:
(34)
Morphophonological transformations
a. -minous (< L or L stem + -ous) <~ -men: ab'dominous (= -al <~ 'abdomen
+ [010]), a'cuminous (<~ a'cumen + [100]), al'buminous (<~ al'bumen),
bi'tuminous (<~ bi'tumen + [100]), ce'ruminous (<~ ce'rumen), fo'raminous
(<~ fo'ramen), 'luminous (<~ 'lumen), 'numinous (<~ 'numen), 'ominous (<~
'omen);
b. -dinous (< L or L stem+ -ous) <~ -do; -ginous (id.) <~ -go: al'buginous
(<~ al'bugo), li'bidinous (<~ li'bido = -al + spec. s. = “lewd, lascivious”),
tor'pedinous (<~ tor'pedo);
c.-tudinous (< L or L stem + -ous) <~ -tude: ˌalti'tudinous (<~ 'altitude = -al),
fortitudinous (<~ fortitude), hebetudinous (<~ hebetude), latitudinous (<~
latitude = -al), multitudinous (<~ multitude), pulchritudinous (<~ pulchritude), (<~ vicissitude) vs. platitudinous (< platitude = -al, -ary (obs.)), cf.
attitudinal, consuetudinary, cartilaginoid, etc.
d.sundry: le'guminous (< L <~ legum(e)), vo'luminous (id.<~ volume).
The items in (34) are naturally to be distinguished from stresspreserving a'luminous (< F or L <~ a'lumin(um) (-ium in GB) + -ous)
and remetrified ge'latinous (< 'gelatin vs. < F in OED), ke'ratinous
25
362
Burzio acknowledges that, even if it behaves like a verb in terms of stress, the
noun is to be held as the base of the adjective.
(< 'keratin vs. < Gk stem + -ous in OED.), whose respective base already contains the sequence -in.
Final cases of primary stress reassignment resulting from the necessity to comply with S-1/2 are: (remetrification) an'nelidous (< 'annelid = -an, -oid), con'generous (< 'congener), me'teorous (< 'meteor, cp. n.
'meteoroid), ˌparen'chymatous (< pa'renchyma), ˌscleren'chymatous
(< scle'renchyma).
Out of 100 adjectives in -VCous with no transparent base only
two impose penult stress: (S-2) acetous, amorous, anserous, asperous,
bombycinous, butyrous, cantankerous, caricous, equanimous, frivolous
generous, longanimous, lubricous, ludicrous, magnanimous, multanimous, obstreperous, onerous, ponderous (<≠ ponder), posthumous,
preposterous, pusillanimous, solicitous (<≠ solicit), tenebrous (<≠ tenebrae), timorous, unanimous, etc. vs. ca'ducous and ca'norous.
15.6.8 -VCal/an/ous, etc., summary and conclusion
From the data obtained from the Corpus it must be concluded that
the hor'monal < 'hormone phonetic rule proper to -al is not replicable with the other Latinate adjective suffixes considered in this chapter
which, in the same context, abide by stress preservation ('tribunary <
'tribune, 'benzenoid < 'benzene, 'gangrenous < 'gangrene, ˌperse'verant
<~ ˌperse'vere, co'herent <~ co'here, a'busive <~ a'buse, ef 'fusive
<~ ef 'fuse, etc.
The ˌchromo'somal < 'chromosome weak-preservation pattern is
recorded with the affixes -oid and -ous (ˌhemi'spheroid < 'hemisphere,
ˌhomo'stylous < 'homostyle), though not with the systematicity observed
with -al (cf. -fuge and -vore): and with a fair amount of variation (e.g.
ˌcrocodi'loid/'crocodiloid, ˌano'dynous/a'nodynous). The only relevant
adjective in -itive oscillates between remetrification (ap'petitive) and
weak or strong preservation (ˌappe'titive/'appetitive). Only one of the
two relevant adjectives in -ary has a variant complying with the ˌchromo'somal < 'chromosome model (ple'biscitary/ˌplebi'scitary < 'plebiscite vs. con'cubinary <~ 'concubine). Even when there is the necessity
to avert violation of S-1/2, adjectives in -ant/-ent do not conform to this
model: e'xecutant <~ 'execute, co'incident <~ 'coincide, re'combinant <
363
ˌrecom'bine (exc: ˌcica'trisant < 'cicatrise). Finally ‑an is a specific case
as it imposes weak preservation in adjectives and nouns derived from a
proper noun, whether or not the latter contains a free vowel in its final
syllable (ˌSyra'cusan < 'Syracuse, Eˌliza'bethan < E'lizabeth, ˌZapo'tecan < 'Zapotec), but entails remetrification in the two recorded cases of
adjectives derivable from a common noun whose last syllable contains a
free vowel: di'ocesan <~ 'diocese, ˌcosmo'politan < cos'mopolite.
15.7 -ative, -atory, -utive, -utory
15.7.1 -ative and -atory
15.7.1.1 General features
About 200 -ative and -atory pairs are listed in the Corpus with a similar definition, the only restriction to potential synonymy between both
affixes being, as specified above, that adjectives in -atory never relate to
linguistic terminology (e.g. accusatory/accusative, which may be used
interchangeably when meaning “accusing” but never in the grammatical
sense). Another difference between both affixes is that concrete nouns
(e.g. denoting a specific place or an object) are preferably formed with
-atory, e.g. conservatory (dem.<≠ conserve ≠ conservative, also dem.,
cp. non-dem. adj. conservatory and dem. adj. conservative), crematory
(+ adj.), observatory (+ adj., syn. with observative, both r.) vs. initiative (dem. <≠ initiate, the non-dem. adj. is syn. with initiatory), relative
(Gram. or in the lexicalised s. of “a person related to another by blood or
marriage”).
15.7.1.2 General stress rules
The rules governing the ‑ative and -atory sequences, initially defined
by Guierre (1984: 99) as having perfectly symmetrical distribution,
may be summed up as such: adjectives and/or nouns in -ative and -atory preserve the stress of the verbs from which they are derivable (e.g.
participative/atory <~ participate) except when -ative or -atory are
364
preceded by one syllable, in which case initial stress is compulsory, a
pattern which causes few mismatches in American English where unprefixed dyssyllabic verbs in -ate precisely receive early stress ('locative
<~ US 'locate vs. GB lo'cate).
As regards -ative and -atory adjectives and/or nouns, it must be
noted that, in etymological notices, those which are authentic derivatives
from verbs in -ate are noted as suffixed by concatenation with -ive or
-ory instead of resulting from replacement of -ate by -ative or -atory (cf.
discussion about -ation in §2.3.6). The former derivational process has
considerable consequences for the stress-assignment status of -ive and
‑ory since it implies that these suffixes should not be lumped together
with the other S-1/2 Latinate adjectives reviewed in this chapter but held
as neutral except when they are preceded by a consonant cluster (instinct
vs. instinctive, etc.). Despite the cost this derivational interpretation has
on the economy of stress rules, it is the only sound way of accounting for
the British variation gaining ground in adjectives in ‑atory (cf. §15.7.1.6
below). Still, a fair number of adjectives and/or nouns have historically
been formed with the independent suffixes -ative and -atory or are synchronically interpretable as such (e.g. fixative < fix + -ative, talkative <
talk vs. damnanatory < L <~ damn, signatory, id. <~ sign).
15.7.1.3 #Syl + -ative/-atory
Whether or not they are derivable from a verb, adjectives and/or nouns
in -ative and -atory are indeed, as Guierre established, normatively
stressed initially when the latter sequences are preceded by one syllable:
(35)
#Syl + -ative/-atory → initial stress: (+n = + n.), items sync. derivable from
a. a v. in -ate: crematory+n, frustrative, locative+n, migrative (= -atory (+ GB
[01(0)0]), mandatory+n (+ GB [01(0)0], still rel. to one s. of “to mandate” +
extended s. of “compulsory”), mutative (= -atory), narrative+n (adj. = ‑atory), phonatory (+ GB [01(0)0]), predatory (<~ predate (in the s . of “to act
as a predator”, prob. a BF < predation, cp. predate = “to antedate”), pulsative
(= -atory (+ GB [01(0)0]), relative+n (the n. is dem. + spec. s. for the adj.),
sedative+n, vibrative (+ GB [010] = -atory + GB [01(0)0], etc.; stress exception: cre'ative (< cre'ate vs. < L in OED);
b. a one-syllable v. by direct concatenation of -ative and/or ‑atory: calmative+n,
curative+n, damnatory, fixative+n, formative+n, purgative+n (adj. = purgatory, purgative (n.) ≠ n. purgatory, dem.), quotative+n, signatory+n; talkative,
365
writative (r.), etc. (transparent denominal formations are also possible: normative+n <~ norm)
A noteworthy case is that of ablative. In its demotivated grammatical sense (n. or adj.) it receives initial stress whilst in the alternative
meaning of the adjective form (= “tending to ablate or causing ablation”), directly linkable to that of the verb to ablate, it allows a [010]
pattern. Two solitary putative sufixations are quiddative (apparently a
shortening of the more common quidditative <~ quiddity) and 'Erative
(not listed in OED, r. < E'rato). Synonymous in the sense of “serving
to translate” translative and translatory admit either initial or penult
accentuation26. So do vibrative and vibratory in British English.
Many words in -ative/-atory which are not immediately derivable
from a verb are once more generally given in D.com as suffixed from
a noun in -ation further to substitution of -ion and -ive (e.g. fricative+n
< fricat(ion) + -ive). There again, these etymological interpretations
are only exceptionally embraced in OED (e.g. durative < duration in
both dictionaries vs. fricative < L in OED). Such items as well as those
which have no transparent base all comply with #Syl + -ative/-atory →
initial stress:
(35')
#Syl + -ative/-atory → initial stress
a. items relatable to a n. in -ion: conative, cunctative (= ‑atory), durative, fricative+n, natatory+n, illative+n (+ [010]), juratory, laxative+n, ligative, negative+n (dem. <≠ negate), privative+n (relatable to privation or Gram. dem. +
GB [010], LPD), 'sudatory+n, etc.
b.obscure or opaque formations: allative+n, amative, cubatory (r. = “lying
down”), elative (Gram., dem. <≠ elate), feudatory (dem. <≠ feud), optative+n (+ GB [010], Gram., dem. <≠ opt), piscatory, preative (= -atory),
precative (= -atory), portative, putative, tentative, vocative+n (Gram. <≠ vocation), etc.; exc.: de'lative+n (Gram. <≠ delate).
The variants hor'tative, op'tative and pri'vative are licenced only in British English.
26
366
Or penult stress in British English further to compression of the -tory sequence
→ [-tri].
15.7.1.4 -ative/-atory as independent suffixes preceded
by more than one syllable
Besides the items exemplified in (35b) above, another 150 items are
analysable as stress-preserving derivatives in which the autonomous
suffixes -ative or -atory concatenate to a verb (chiefly with an insep.
prefix) having final stress (and prefinal stress in the few instances where
there is a potential three-syllable verb source with an insep. prefix, e.g.
con'figure ~> con'figurative, pre'figure ~> pre'figurative). This synchronic analysis is borne out by etymology in several cases (e.g. performative + n. 1922 < perform + -ative, Linguistics and Philosophy,
relaxative + n. 17th < relax + -ative).
(36)
Stress preservation (< or <~ verb source with final or penult stress): ac'cusative
(+ dem. n.; the adj. still has a s. relatable to the v. to accuse = ac'cusatory + GB
ˌaccu'satory), a'daptative, ad'mirative, com'mendatory, com'mutative, com'parative+n, com'putative, de'clarative+n (= de'claratory), de'famatory, de'privative,
de'rivative+n , de'terminative+n, di'vinatory, e'vocative (= e'voc­atory), ex'citative (= ex'citatory), ex'clamative+n (= ex'clamatory), exhortative (= exhortatory),
ex'planative (= ex'planatory), ex'plorative (= ex'ploratory), i'maginative, im'putative, in'spirative, pre'parative (= pre'paratory), pro'vocative (= pro'vocatory),
recitative+n 27, re'futative (= re'futatory), re'parative (= re'paratory), re'storative+
(= re'storatory, r.), re'velative (= re'velatory + GB ˌreve'latory), trans'mutative,
usurpative (usurp is not a v. with an insep. prefix), etc.
The synchronic assimilation of -ative/-atory items to derivatives from
verbs with in inseparable prefix occasionally necessitates the postulation of graphic transformations (which make Trisyllabic Shortening
more easily readable), specifically when the stem of the putative verb
source contains a vowel digraph (e.g. declam(ative/atory) vs. declaim,
exclam(ative/atory) vs. exclaim, explan(atory/ative) vs. explain, revel(ative/atory) vs. reveal, cp. renunc(iative/iatory) vs. renounce (cf.
however 1st par. after (37') in next subsection).
Adjectives in -ificative derivable from verbs in -ify are an irregular class, oscillating between assignment of primary stress two syllables away from the independent suffix -ative (am'plificative, mun'dificative (cf. r. v. mundify), sig'nificative,) and conformity with the
27
The odd stress pattern of the noun (ˌrecita'tive) resulted from an imitation of
Italian from which it was borrowed in the 17th.
367
accentuation of the putative verb base: e'xemplificative, 'fructificative,
'justificative, 'modificative, 'purificative, 'qualificative (+ GB -fi'cative), 'simplificative, 'specificative, 'verificative, 'vivificative. Contrastively, in nearly all adjectives in -ificatory (including those which are
syn. with an -ificative item), the independent -atory suffix abides by
S-2: am'plificatory (+ GB -'catory), cer'tificatory, chi'lyficatory (= chyli'factive, C2), clas'sificatory (+ GB -'catory), e'dificatory, ˌindem'nificatory, jus'tificatory (+ GB -'catory, cp. 'justificative), pa'cificatory (+
GB -'catory), pu'rificatory (+ GB -'catory, cp. 'purificative), sen'sificatory (r.), sig'nificatory (cf. sig'nificative) vs. 'modificatory (cf. 'modificative), 'qualificatory (+ GB -'catory, cf. 'qualificative), 'reificatory,
'verificatory (cf. 'verificative). The solitary form multiplicative (< L
<~ multiply + -c- + -ative) has a proparoxytone pattern in British En­
glish (+ var. 'multi-) vs. initial stress in Standard American. Another
lone adjective synchronically interpretable as a deverbal derivative
formed with the independent suffix -ative is sa'crificatory (<~ sacrific(e) + -atory, with a velarised realisation of c on account of the spelling-to-sound rule c = [k] before a, o, u).
Failure of stress preservation also occurs when the independent
suffixes -ative and -atory attach to a word of three syllables or more
stressed on the antepenult, obviously in compliance with S-1/2. As all
the putative bases of this kind end in a consonant cluster, primary stress
is as is the rule subject to S-1 (cf. ˌfila'mentous, etc.): ˌali'mentative (cp.
'aliment) and similarly ˌargu'mentative, ˌcompli'mentative, ˌdocu'mentative, exˌperi'mentative, mani'festative. The foregoing items contrast
with aug'mentative, ce'mentatory, 'commentative which, having a putative two-syllable base (resp. aug'ment, v., ce'ment, id., 'comment, id.
(alt. relatable to 'commentate), 'ferment, id.), are in a position to keep in
line with strong preservation in the same manner as items in (36) above:
a'daptative, com'mendatory, ex'hortative (= ex'hortatory), re'laxative
(adj. = re'laxatory), usurpative (= u'surpatory), etc.
15.7.1.5 -ative/-atory items derivable from verbs
in -ate of at least three syllables
The same derivational analysis is applicable to adjectives and/or nouns
in -ative and -atory which are relatable to a verb in -ate of at least three
368
syllables, whether by mere attachment of -ive or -ory to the base, a
derivational interpretation most dictionaries are wont to opt for when
deverbal suffixation has historically occurred (e.g. ac'celerative/atory
< ac'celerate) + -ive/-ory, D.com and OED), or by replacement of -ate
by ‑ative or -atory. As stated in §15.7.1.2 above, the former analysis
is preferable, not only because of etymology but because it provides
a consistant way to account for the British -atory variants such as
anˌtici'patory, etc., cf. §15.7.1.6 below.
(37) Stress preservation
-ative/-atory adj. and/or n. derived or sync. derivable from a v. in -ate in items of
more than four syllables (all the ensuing pairs are synonymous): ac'celerative/
atory, adjudicative/atory, celebrative/atory, congratulative/atory, corroborative/atory, denigrative/atory, emancipative/atory, exhilarative/atory, investigative/atory, modulative/atory, propagative/atory, etc.
The only adjective in -atory of more than four syllables relatable
to a noun in -ation with no verb counterpart is ster'nutatory, whose
[010(0)0] primary stress cannot be justified, contrary to its British variant (‑'tatory), cf. §15.7.1.6 below.
In terms of stress-assignment items in -eative/-eatory/-iative/
-iatory/‑uative/-uatory which are synchronically parseable as derived
from a verb in -eate, -iate or -uate are alternatively ascribable to the
-ION generalisation rule:
(37')
Conspiracy of rules: stress-preservation< or <~ v. in -ate / -ION generalisation
a.-eative and -eatory: delineative/ory, ideative, nauseative, permeative, procreative (+ GB [2010], EPD and LPD), recreative/ory (< 'recreate, insep. ≠
ˌrecre'ate = “to create anew”); (reminder the irregular cre'ative belongs in
(35a) above
b.-iative/-iatory: abbreviatory, affiliative, alleviative/iatory, ampliative, appreciative/iatory, appropriative, asphyxiative, associative/iatory, calumniatory, counciliative/iatory, depreciative/iatory, deviative/iatory, dissociative,
exfoliative, expatiatory, expiative/iatory, expropriatory, humiliative/iatory,
ingratiatory, initiative (+ n) / initiatory ≠ n., see footnote 23, same ch.),
instantiative, intermediatory, irradiative, mediative/iatory, negotiatory, palliative (+ n., adj. = palliatory ≠ n.), propitiative/iatory, radiative/iatory, reconciliatory (reconcile and reconciliate are both attested), repudiative/iatory,
retaliative/iatory, etc.; about annunciative/iatory, denunciative/iatory, etc.,
cf. next par.
369
c. -uative/-uatory: evacuative ≠ evacuatory (r. = “a purgative”), evaluative,
extenuative/uatory, insinuative/atory, punctuative (relatable to first s. of “to
punctuate”).
Aleatory (+ GB /201(0)0]) has no putative base in synchrony. The adjectives annunciative/iatory, denunciative/iatory, enunciative/iatory,
pronunciative/iatory, renunciative/iatory, can be treated as resulting
from the appendage of -ive and -ory to the generally rare variants in
‑nunciate (annunciate, denunciate, enunciate, pronunciate, renunciate) of two-syllable verbs with an inseparable prefix containing the
-nounce stem (announce, denounce, enounce, pronounce, renounce), or
alternately from the appendage of -ative and -atory to the latter verbs,
further to transformation of the ou digraph into u (annunciative/ory
<~ ann(o)unc(e) + -ative/-atory, etc., cf. § last par. of preceding subsection). 'Gladiatory (analysable as gladiator + -y), a rare variant of
gladiatorial, is a solitary derivative. Con'tinuative (< L) can be analysed
as derived from the adjective con'tinuate.
Stress preservation fails in cor'relative (< L), de'pilatory (id. + n.
cp. 'depilate), de'rogative (id. = de'rogatory, still linkable to the alt. s. of
'derogate ([100]) = “to disparage”), in'dicative (id.+ n. + var. 'indicative
in the s. of indicating (EPD), syn. in this s. with indicatory [01000],
[10000] and in GB [201(0)0]), ˌinter'rogative (id. syn., in the non-gram.
s., with ˌinter'rogatory), predicative (id. + [1000] in US ≠ 'predicatory =
“rel. to preaching”), ˌsupere'rogatory (id. cp. ˌsupe'rerogate). The more
or less demotivated grammatical senses of indicative, interrogative and
predicative have probably been instrumental in the shift from the stress
patterns of the corresponding verbs in -ate (cf. de'monstrative).
When they are derivable from a verb in -ate of at least three syllables, -C2ative/atory items are subject to much variation testifying to
a confict between strong preservation and assimilation to pre-C2 stress
positioning: a'dumbrative (+ [1000] cf. 'adumbrate + var. [010] in US),
'auscultative (+ [0100] = au'scultatory, cf. 'auscultate), 'cachinnative (+
[0100] = 'cachinnatory, id., cf. 'cachinnate), com'pensative (+ [1000] =
com'pensatory + [100(0)0] or GB [201(0)0], cf. 'compensate), 'concentrative (+ [0100], cf. 'concentrate), con'fiscatory (+ GB [201(0)0], cf.
'confiscate), con'summative (+ [1000]. = con'summatory, cf. v. 'consummate), con'templative (+ [1000], cf. 'contemplate), 'desiccative (+ [0100]
= de'siccatory, cf. 'dessicate), 'enervative (+ [0100], cf. v. 'enervate),
370
ex'culpatory (cf. 'exculpate + var. [010] in US), ex'piscatory (cf. 'expiscate + [010], chiefly in US), ex'purgatory (cf. 'expurgate), 'extirpative
(+ [0100] = ex'tirpatory, cf. 'extirpate), 'illustrative (+ [0100] = il'lustratory (r.), cf. 'illustrate + var. [010] in US), 'incrassative (+ [0100], cf.
'incrassate), 'inculpative (+ [0100] = in'culpatory (+ [100(0)0] and GB
[201(0)0], cf. 'inculpate + var. [010] in US), 'infiltrative (+ [0100], cf.
'infiltrate, id.), ob'fuscatory (cf. 'obfuscate + GB [201(0)0]), ob'jurgative (= ob'jurgatory + GB [201(0)0], cf. 'objurgate, id.), tergi'versatory
(cf. 'tergiversate + [0100] var. in US).
This conflict is compounded by the fact that some of the verbs in
‑C2ate from which these adjectives are derivable also license a variant
in [-10], which has sometimes remained the main pronunciation in US
English (cf. §13.1.2.2). It should be noted that al'ternative (no variant)
is demotivated as is chiefly de'monstrative (only marginally used in the
s. of “serving to demonstrate”). However re'monstrative only conforms
to the less common stress pattern of the verb in Present-Day British
English (cp. US English which has re'monstrate as first pronunciation).
Conversely, adjectives derivable from a verb in doube l + -ate
abide by stress preservation28: 'fibrillative (cf. 'fibrillate), 'flagellatory
(cf. 'flagellate), 'oscill(ative/atory) (cf. 'oscillate), 'titillative (cf. 'titillate), 'vacillatory (cf. 'vacillate), cp. stress-preserving adjectives constructed with the independent suffixes -ative and -atory: com'pellatory
(cf. com'pel(l)), dis'till(ative/latory) (cf. dis'til(l)), in'stillatory (cf.
in'stil(l)), etc., cf. (36) above. The ensuing adjectives with a prefinal
C2 only abide by stress preservation relative to their putative verb base:
ad'ministrative (cf. ad'ministrate), 'designative (= 'designatory + GB
-'gnatory, cf. 'designate), 'devastative (cf. 'devastate), 'legislative (cf.
'legislate), 'masturbatory (+ GB -'batory cf. 'masturbate).
The few underivable adjectives in -C2ative/-atory chiefly have
pre-cluster stress (+n = + n.): alternative+n (dem. <≠ alternate), adversative (r. = “expressing antithesis or opposition” <≠ adverse), afformative, appellative+n (= “linked to nouns” ≠ ap'pellatory = “rel. to legal
appeals”), compellative+n (Gram. <≠ compel cp. compellatory, derivable
from the latter v.), compulsative (= compulsatory = “acting with force,
28
Con'stellatory, which has been formed from a Latin stem + -ate, is the only
remetrified adjective in this class.
371
compelling, forcing”, both r. <~ the obs. v. compulse = “to compel,
force”), incarnative (r. = “regenerating” <≠ incarnate), rebarbative,
superlative+n. However facultative (≠ faculty) and sigillative (r. = “fit
to seal” <≠ 'sigillate = “resembling a seal”, Botany.) have initial stress.
The ensuing nouns s in -C2atory, of which two are still interpretable as genuine suffixed forms, are stressed before the consonant cluster: observatory, reservatory (= “a repository or receptacle”, cp r. adj
reservative and reservatory = “reserved or rel. to reservation”) vs. dem.
conservatory (cp. adj. conservatory = “preservative” <~ conserve, and
dem. n. and adj. conservative) and dispensatory (cp. adj. dispensatory
and dispensative <~ dispense).
15.7.1.6 -atory in British English
Besides the well-known different treatment of the -atory sequence
in British and American English (anticipatory: [æn't1s.1.pət.ər.i] vs.
[æn't1s.ə.pəˌtͻ:.r.i/ˌtoʊ.ri], with secondary stress), another major dialectal divergence has been observed in relation with this class of lexemes in recent British English. Thus, 90 of the 140 adjectives in -atory
listed in EPD and/or LPD are noted with a variant in which primary
stress is placed on the first syllable of the affix sequence, this variant
being even given as first pronunciation in several cases (e.g. anˌtici'patory, parˌtici'patory). Whereas this new stress system may be regarded
as falling in line with stress preservation when -atory is preceded by
one syllable (vi'bratory < vi'brate vs. alternative 'vibratory, etc. in GB),
thus establishing consistant parallelism between British English and
General American (vi'bratory < vi'brate vs. 'vibratory < 'vibrate, etc),
longer items in which this stress change is observed make it necessary
to envisage that another process may now be at work, more precisely
to wonder whether or not -atory is acquiring stress-imposing status in
British English.
In their respective pronunciation dictionary J. C. Wells and P.
Roach et al have included specific entries discussing the stress-placing
effects of various affixes. In the “-atory suffix” entry of each dictionary
the following commentaries are offered:
i. EPD: […] “The pronunciation differs between British and American English. In British English, the penultimate syllable is always
372
reduced, but the antepenultimate may be stressed, and in either case
may be pronounced with a full vowel” […].
ii. LPD: “The BrE and AmE pronunciations of this suffix differ. In
BrE the vowel of the penultimate syllable is always weak: the
suffix is either ətəri or e1təri and, if the latter, may be stressed.”
[…].
A weighty argument in favour of the -atory affix gradually acquiring
non-neutral status is that variants in which it receives primary stress
are apt to cancel out the effects of the very powerful -ION generalisation rule. As evidenced by the inventory below, culled from EPD and/or
LPD entries, such variants are now recorded in about 60% of relevant
items:
(39)
-iatory adj.
a. secondary pronunciation -'atory: abbreviatory, annunciatory, appreciatory,
conciliatory, expiatory, propitiatory, reconciliatory, retaliatory
b. no variant: de'nunciatory, de'preciatory, ex'patiatory, i'nitiatory, 'media­tory,
ne'gotiatory
One may justifiably wonder about the different behaviour of such closely
related adjectives, in terms of semantics and morphology, as appreciatory (cf. ap'preciate) which has spawned an -'atory variant and depreciatory (cf. de'preciate) which seems to preclude it, and similarly annunciatory (+ -'atory, cf. an'nunciate) and denunciatory (no var., cf. de'nunciate).
Referring to the EPD and LPD commentaries cited above, inasmuch as
various speakers are likely to assign primary stress to the ‑atory affix sequence or to merely realise its first syllable as [eɪ] instead of [ə], it seems
legitimate to infer that, when the diphthonged pronunciation is licensed,
the stress variant is likewise acceptable, even if is not explicitely given as
such in some entries of either or both dictionaries. Such transcriptional
oversights are implicitly confirmed when perusing over the appropriate
entries in LPD which, in complement to the commentary cited above, expatiates upon the example of articulatory: […] “Thus articulatory may
have -jʊlətəri or ‑jʊleItəri or alternatively may be stressed arˌticu'latory” […]. Yet, whereas the stress variant 'e1təri is indeed given under the
articulatory entry of the same dictionary, the unstressed diphthonged
variant is conspicuously absent from it (LPD2: 49).
373
When examining the adjectives listed in EPD and/or LPD as allowing primary stress on -atory, it is obvious that this variant has massively affected items synchronically derivable from a verb in -ate (64 vs.
19 items), a number which will be raised significantly (75 vs. 8) if the
items allowing a diphthonged realisation of the -atory affix sequence
are held as indicative of a possible stress variant. :
(40)-atory < or <~ -ate (+n = + n.)
a.-'atory (main or secondary pronunciation) in EPD and/or LPD: -iatory (reprised from (39a.)): abbreviatory, annunciatory, appreciatory, conciliatory,
expiatory, propitiatory, reconciliatory (<~ reconciliate), retaliatory; ‑atory:
adulatory, ambulatory, anticipatory, approbatory (<~ approbate), articulatory, assimilatory, celebratory, certificatory, circulatory, compensatory,
confiscatory, congratulatory, corroboratory, dedicatory, denigratory, deprecatory, depredatory, discriminatory, donatory, ejaculatory, elevatory, elucidatory, emanatory, emigratory, explicatory (<~ explicate cp. explanatory
<~ explain), gestatory, gyratory, hallucinatory, imprecatory, incriminatory,
incubatory, inculpatory, indicatory, intimidatory, investigatory, mandatory+n
(n. = mandatary), masticatory, masturbatory, migratory, objurgatory, oscillatory, osculatory, participatory, phonatory, placatory, predicatory, pulsatory, recapitulatory, recriminatory, regulatory, rotatory, stipulatory, supplicatory, translatory, undulatory, vibratory;
b. -'atory stressing not recorded in items allowing diphtongisation of the first
syl. of -atory: -iatory (reprised from (39b)): initiatory, negotiatory; -atory:
certificatory, expostulatory, execratory, exterminatory, extenuatory, gesticulatory, initiatory, innovatory, reverberatory;
c. -atory items allowing neither stress nor diphthonged variants: -iatory (reprised from (39b)): depreciatory, expatiatory, mediatory; -atory: crematory+n, depilatory, exculpatory, expurgatory, interrogatory+n.
Being granted that the -atory variant quasi-systematically obtains in adjectives derivable from a verb in -ate, close scrutiny of other adjective
classes makes it possible to circumscribe the environment fostering the
stress changes described in this subsection. As stipulated previously,
the English language has instances of adjectival derivation in which the
assignment of primary stress depends on the quality of the last vowel of
the base. In this respect, the most patent case is that of adjectives in -al
which place primary stress on the penult when they are derivable from
a base whose last syllable contains a free vowel, stressed or unstressed
but recognisable in its -VCe or -V Digraph(C0) structure:
374
(41) Abstracted from 14.5.1, ii:
remetrification: hor'monal < 'hormone, etc.; weak preservation: ˌchromo'somal
< 'chromosome, ˌalka'loidal < 'alkaloid, etc.
The same phonetic rule obviously extends to other lexical classes in
Present-Day English, justifying the weak-preservation or remetrified
(e.g. at'tributable vs. ˌattri'butable) variants below, pointed out by
Burzio (: 233):
(42) Abstracted from (17–18), ch. 3
-ifiable < or <~ -ify: 'modifiable or ˌmodi'fiable < 'modify and sim. acidifiable,
clarifiable, falsifiable, etc.; -isable < -ise: 'criticisable or ˌcriti'cisable < 'criticise and sim. realisable, recognisable, etc. + 'extraditable or ˌextra'ditable < 'extradite 'reconcilable or ˌrecon'cilable < 'reconcile, a'ttributable or ˌattri'butable
< at'tribute, 'substitutable or ˌsubsti'tutable < 'substitute, etc.
The main difference between (41) and (42) is that there is in the latter
an alternative, not a compulsory, fixation of primary stress to the free
vowel in the last syllable of the base from which these adjectives are
formed, a stress shift which also makes for an extension of the NSR of
the English language in long words with otherwise rhythmically awkward (-)'▪▪▪▪▪ patterns ('modifiable, 'realisable, etc., cf. Trevian 2007),
at least in British English which supposedly does not assign secondary
stress to the last syllable of words such as modify, realise, etc. Further
confirmation of the validity of the last proposition is provided by the
ensuing classes, also originally pointed out and exemplified by Burzio:
239 & 243, in which combinations of the affixes -ed, -ing and -ive with
the adverb suffix -ly also allow a variant with antepenult stress when
these suffix sequences attach to a verb in -ate.
(43)
-ated > -atedly: pre'meditated > preˌmedi'tatedly = animatedly, dissipatedly,
etc.; -ating > -atingly: dis'criminating > disˌcrimi'natingly = accommodatingly,
aggravatingly, etc.; ‑ative > -atively: 'imitative > ˌimi'tatively = accomodatively,
accumulatively, etc.
The same alternative fixation of primary stress has obviously extended to adjectives in -atory, nouns being necessarily ruled out in this
configuration (e.g. 'crematory, no variant given for the homographic
adjective in EPD and LPD, 'mandatory = mandatary, cp. adj. mandatory, given with stress variant -'datory in EPD and LPD). As pointed out
375
in §15.7.1.1 above, the variation affecting adjectives in -atory in British
English implies that they are to be held as deriving by attachment of
-ory to the generally bound -ate verb ending, which is always realised
as a diphthong ([eIt]). However, a slight majority of adjectives where
-atory is synchronically analysable as an independent suffix or even
adjectives with no putative base in synchrony also sanction a variant
stressing the first syllable of the affix (24 vs. 22 items):
(44)
-adj. not derivable from a v. in -ate (+n = + n.)
I.-'atory analysable as an independent, occasionally bound, suffix (main or
secondary pronunciation in EPD and/or LPD):
a. -ificatory < or <~ -ify (cf. 3rd par. in §15.7.1.4 above): amplificatory/
amplify, classificatory/classify, justificatory/justify, pacifatory/pacify, purificatory/purify, qualificatory/qualify;
b. < or <~ other v. bases: accusatory/accuse, excusatory/excuse; citatory/
cite, combinatory/combine, commendatory/commend, condemnatory/
condemn, confirmatory/confirm, consultatory/consult, excusatory/excuse, improvisatory/improvise (+ [201]), obligatory/oblige, respiratory/
respire, revelatory/reveal; vs. items allowing no 'atory variant: consolatory/console, damnatory/damn, declamatory/declaim, declaratory/declare,
exhalatory/exhale, expiratory/expire, explanatory/explain, exploratory/
explore, exhortatory/exhort, laudatory/laud, oratory+n/orate, predatory/
predate (cf. (35 above), preparatory/prepare, purgatory+n (in contrast
with the n., the adj. <~ purge), reformatory+n (id. adj. <~ reform, insep.),
signatory+n <~ sign;
II.items not relatable to a v. base: -'atory (main or secondary pronunciation in
EPD and or LPD): aleatory, gustatory (relatable to n. gustation), hortatory
(id. hortation), incantatory (id. incantation), nugatory, potatory (relatable to
n. potation, r.), sternutation (id. sternutation) vs. items allowing no -'atory
variant: dilatory (dem. <≠ delay), feudatory (<≠ feud), minatory, piscatory,
precatory, prefatory (most prob. not relatable to the n. preface), sudatory
(relatable to the n. sudation)
The only way to account for the variants in (44) is to resort to J. M.
Fournier’s hypothesis of “analogical isomorphism” (1990), according
to which certain pronunciations (in relation to stress, vowels or even
consonants), can only be justified by an analogical replication of the
rules governing formally similar words or lexical classes. In the present
context, adjectives in -atory may be described as undergoing a two-time
process:
376
i. migration of primary stress to the right resulting from the presence of a free vowel in the last syllable of the deriving form, a
stress change which is obviously gaining ground in British English
(parˌtici'patory (<~ par'ticipate) superseding the traditional
par'ticipatory);
ii. analogical replication of this stress shift in adjectives which, although not relevant to i., are gradually “contaminated” by the latter
class (confir'matory (<~ con'firm) besides the traditional pronunciation → con'firmatory).
The stress variation described in this subsection might have been
expected to affect adjectives in -ative which, as has been amply demonstrated in this study, are a “twin class” of adjectives in -atory (concili(ative/iatory), etc.), all the more as they massively allow a variant with a
diphthonged realisation of the -at- sequence (e.g. enumerative [1ˈnu:.
mər.ə.t1v + 1ˈnu:.mə.re1.t1v]). Yet, such stress variants remain marginal,
according to EPD and LPD:
(45)-'ative, main or secondary pronunciation (EPD and/or LPD corpora)
a. < or <~ v. in -ate: ab'lative/ab'late (the n. and the adj. rel. to the gram. case
impose [100], cf. 1st par. below (35), same ch.), com'pensative/ 'compensate (+ var. ˌcompen'sative, GB, and 'compensative, more specifically US),
cre'ative/cre'ate, 'procreative/'procreate (+ var. ˌprocre'ative, GB), 'rotative/
ro'tate (GB vs. 'rotate/'rotative in US, + var. ro'tative, GB), trans'lative/
trans'late (GB vs. 'translate/ 'translative in US + var. 'translative, GB),
vi'brative/vi'brate (GB vs. 'vibrate/ 'vibrative in US + var. 'vibrative, GB)
b. -< or <~ other bases: 'qualificative/ 'qualify (+ˌqualifi'cative), hor'tative, relatable to 'hortation (+ 'hortative), il'lative, id. il'lation (+ 'illative, more specifically US)
c.demotivated formations: 'optative (Gram. + op'tative <≠ opt), 'privative
(Gram. + pri'vative <≠ private)
From the data available a major discordance, for which no explanation
can be offered here, has to be noted between adjectives in -atory, which
massively allow a variant placing primary stress on the first syllable
of the affix sequence, and those in -ative in which a similar pattern
remains exceptional, even though placement of primary stress is sanctioned in variation in adverbs in -atively (ˌimi'tatively, etc.) as shown in
(43) above. Even odder are the cases of demotivated items optative and
377
privative, in which migration of the stress to the first syllable of -ative
cannot even be said to lean on the presence of a free vowel in the last
syllable of a potential deriving form. This discordance has to be added
to that, examined above (penult par. below (37)), between affixes -atory
and -ative in adjectives derivable from -ify verbs (pacificatory vs. pacificative).
As again pointed out and exemplified in Burzio (: 239), attachment
of the adverb suffix -ly to adjectives in -ary and -ory also entails antepenult primary stress in variation (cf. anˌtici'patingly, etc. in (43) above).
(46) -ary > -arily (GB and US): 'ordinary > ˌordi'narily = arbitrarily, customarily,
etc. (+ remetrification: pri'marily < 'primary, sum'marily < 'summary; -ory >
-orily (US): 'mandatory > ˌmanda'torily = conciliatorily, derogatorily, etc. vs.
(when attested) var. man'datorily, conˌcili'atorily, etc., in GB (no variant attested for de'rogatorily).
Whereas this variation also obtains in the British Isles for adverbs in
-arily (with the stressed vowel being possibly realised as [e] or [eə]), the
existence of the '-atory British variant has precluded use of the alternative pronunciation available in American English.
15.7.2 -utive, -utory
There exist no adjectives and/or nouns where -utive or -utory can be
analysed as separable suffixes. The items extracted from the Corpus are
mostly assimilable to suffixations by juxtaposition of -ive or -ory to
verbs, nouns or adjectives in -ute which, contrary to -ate, has no specific status in morphology, or relatable to verbs in -olve, in which case
adjectives such as evolutive, resolutory, etc. can be regarded as bound
allomorphs of evolve, resolve, etc. having a paradigmatic relation with
nouns such as evolution, resolution, etc., cf. §2(12b)). It is only in this
context that -utive and -utory may be held as allomorphic variants of the
basic -ive and -ory suffixes, this synchronic treatment being preferable
to holding adjectives such as evolutive, resolutory, etc. as derived from
their nouns correlates in -ion by replacement of -ion by -ive or -ory (ie
e'volutive <~ ˌevo'lut(ion) + -ive, etc.) because of the stress mismatch
which would result from this analysis.
378
Stress preservation is precisely, generally, the rule for the relatively small class of items in -utive or -utory, although a fair amount of
variation is observed in the inventory below:
(47)
a.attachment of -ive and -ory to bases in -ute
'absolutive + var. ˌabso'lutive, Gram. + n. < 'absolute ≠ ab'solutory, cf. b.),
'constitutive (+ GB [0100] <~ 'constitute), con'tributive (<~ con'tribute + var.
'contribute = con'tributory + GB '-tutory), dis'tributive (<~ dis'tribute + var.
'distribute), 'institutive (<~ 'institute), 'involutive (Bot. < 'involute, adj., in the
s. of “rolled inwards at the edges <≠ involve), 'obvolutive (r. <~ 'obvolute,
adj. <≠ obvolve, obs. = “to wrap around, muffle up, “to disguise”, OED),
'persecutive (= 'persecutory + GB -'cutory <~ 'persecute), 'prosecutory (=
'prosecutive, r. <~ 'prosecute + GB -'cutory), re'constitutive (<~ re'constitute),
'restitutive (= 'restitutory + GB -'tutory <~ 'restitute), re'tributive (= re'tributory <~ re'tribute, r. + var. 'retribute), 'statutory (+ GB [01(0)0] <~ 'statute),
'substitutive (<~ 'substitute); solitary derivation: inter'locutory < ˌinter'locu­
tor (bound ending -or → S-2, cf. §10.2.4); solitary paradigm: di'minutive
(< n. <~ di'minish),
b.bound allomorphs of verbs in -olve
ab'solutory (“giving absolution”<~ ab'solve ≠ 'absolutive, cf. a.), devolutive
(<~ devolve), dis'solutive (<~ dissolve <≠ dissolute, n. and adj., e.g. a dissolute life), e'volutive (<~ e'volve), re'solutive (= re'solutory (MWD) + var.
'resolutive/ory <~ re'solve, sem. <≠ 'resolute)
Remarkably, as evident from the inventory above, the same type of
stress variation affecting adjectives in -atory in British English is replicated in the same dialect for all but one of the adjectives in -utory listed
in EPD and/or LPD (alternative stress pattern [-1(0)0]: ˌcontri'butory,
ˌperse'cutory, ˌprose'cutory, ˌresti'tutory, sta'tutory, exc: ˌinter'locutory,
LPD, not listed in EPD).
The few adjectives which are synchronically indecomposable or
semantically relatable to a noun in -ution, for want of a putative base in
-ute or in -olve, do not lend themselves to any rational stress-placement
system. In such items, placement of primary stress on the first syllable
of the -utory sequence is compulsory or licensed in variation in British
English in all but one case: (S2)ˌcircum'locutive (= ˌcircum'locutory (+
GB -lo'cutory, relatable to circumlocution, cf. syn. adj. -ional, -ionary),
con'secutive (≠ consecution), e'xecutive (+ n. dem. <≠ 'execute, the
adj. is syn. with e'xecutory in the s. of “to be performed or executed”),
379
sub'secutive (≠ obs. v. 'subsecute); S-1: ˌcircumvo'lutory (relatable to
circumvolution), ˌredar'gutory (r. relatable to ˌredar'gution).
In the same manner as those in -ative derivable by attachment of
-ive to a verb in -ate, adjectives in -utive derivable by attachment of -ive
to a word in -ute offer futher confirmation that -ive is a mixed suffix,
stress-imposing when it is preceded by a consonant cluster ('instinct vs.
in'stinctive) or, in British English, when it attaches to a two-syllabe verb
in -ate (nar'rate (GB) vs. 'narrative), and stress-neutral otherwise, in
contrast with its rival, often synonymous, suffix -ory which, in British
English, is increasingly converting into a S-1 adjective affix complying
with the 'chromosome > ˌchromo'somal model (an'ticipative vs. anˌtic­
i'patory).
15.8 Suffix stacking
15.8.1 Suffixes attachable to -al, -ous, etc.
Whether bound or separable, the adjective affixes reviewed in this chapter are apt to yield adverbs in -ly and nouns in -ity and/or -ness
(48)
380
(the figure in bold at the end of each sample indicates the number of -ness/-ity
pairs recorded in the Corpus):
a.-al (+ allomorph -ar) + -ness vs. -al (-ar) + -ity: abnormalness, animalness,
collateralness, etc. (260 items); abnormality, animality, collaterality, etc.
(255); 150;
b. -an + -ness vs. -an + -ity: christianness, humanness, etc. (11 items); Christianity, humanity, etc. (11); 2;
c.-ive + -ness vs. -ive + -ity: adaptiveness, affectiveness, attractiveness, appreciativeness, consecutiveness, diminutiveness, distributiveness etc. (160
items); adaptivity, affectivity, attractivity, associativity, cooperativity, creativity, distributivity, etc. (55); 39;
d.-ative + -ness vs. -ative + -ity (-ative = independent suffix ≠ -ative < or <~ v.
in -ate + -ive: anticipative, etc.): affirmativeness, informativeness, representativeness, etc. (17 items); causativity, representativity; 2;
e. -itive + -ness vs. -itive + -ity (-itive = independent suffix ≠ ‑itive < or <~ v. in
-ate + -ive, etc.): acquisitiveness, competitiveness, inquisitiveness, sensitiveness, etc. (7 items); additivity, competitivity, sensitivity; 2;
f. -ous (+ doublet -ose) + -ness vs. ous (-ose) + -ity: ambiguousness, anxiousness, curiousness, etc. (330 items); curiosity, generosity, meticulosity, etc.
(105); 40
For difference of usage between nominalisations in -ness and in -ity, cf.
§3.6. A fair number of nouns formed from attachment of -ness to the affixes above are actually rival forms of non -ity nouns: acrimoniousness/
acrimony, anomalousness/anomaly, avariciousness/avarice, loyalness/
loyalty (-ty ≠ -ity, cf. §3.4), etc.
No -ity affixation is recorded in combination with:
i. -ant and -ent, which chiefly produce nouns in -ance/-ancy, ‑ence/-ency (cf. §11.4)29: arrogantness (r. = ance), defiantness (=
-ance), extravagantness (id.), flagrantness (= -ancy/-ance), 26
items; apparentness (= “the property of being apparent”, diff.
from appearence), ardentness (= -ency), benevolentness (=
-ence), etc., 55;
ii.-ory, -atory30 (compulsoriness, contradictoriness, desultoriness,
peremptoriness, etc., 16 items; conciliatoriness, derogatoriness,
predatoriness, etc., 8.
Although not numerous compared with formations in -ariness (arbitrariness, contrariness, elementariness, exemplariness, etc., 35 items),
nominalisations in -ity from -ary adjectives are not disallowed, contrary to what has been asserted by Fabb: 53731: complementarity (1911
< complementary < complement), elementarity32 (< elementary <~ element), interdisciplinarity (1970 < interdisciplinary, 1937 < inter- +
disciplinary < discipline, vs. < L in OED), stationarity (1901 < stationary < L, dem. <≠ station), supplementarity (1939 < supplement, n.).
29
30
31
32
Fabb (: 537) lays this apparent incompatibility between -ant/-ent and -ity to
blocking due to -ance/-ancy/-ence/-ency suffixations. But, as has been discussed in §3.1, affixations in -ity are not licit if they bring about identical onsets
in the last two syllables of the derivative: *arrogantity, etc.
No items in -itoriness or utoriness are recorded in the Corpus.
Not to be confused with nominalisations from adjectives in -ar: molecularity,
modularity, perpendicularity, etc.
Given as obsolete in D.com and in OED (not updated), but commonly used in
scholarly texts available on the Web.
381
Spheroidity is the only noun in -ity formed from an adjective in
-oid recorded in the Corpus.
As established in §3.6, quite a few -ity and -ness pairs are not
strictly interchangeable or even not synonymous at all: callousness
(“devoid of passion or feeling”) vs. callosity (“a thick or hard area of
skin”), collectiveness (“state of union, mass”) vs. collectivity (id. + “the
people collectively”), etc.33
As shown in §13.2.3, verbs in -ise are freely (and still productively) formed from adjectives in -(e/i/u)al (-ar), -(e/i/u)an/-arian, -(e/i/u)
ary and -ive, whether these affixes be bound or separable. Nominalisations in -ism (cf. §14.2) and -ist (cf. §10.3), which hold a paradigmatic relation with -ise verb formations, are similarly still productive in
combination with the afore-mentioned adjective affixes. As stipulated in
§10.3.1, when there is co-existence of two or three lexemes formed with
-ism, -ist and -ise, there is no synchronic way of determining which of
them came first into the lexicon.34
(49)
Attachment of -ism, -ist, -ise to
a. -(e/i/u)al (or -(e/i/u)ar): contextualism (1929), contextualise (1934), both
< contextual, contextualist (1936 < -ism), environmentalist (1903), environmentalism (1917), both < environmental, nuclearist (1952), nuclearise
(1956), nuclearism (1960), all < nuclear; 220 items in -ism, 160 in ‑ist, 180
in -ise;
b. -(e/i/u)an/-arian (adj. and/or n.): Mayanist (1950 < Mayan), totalitarianism
(1926 < totalitarian), totalitarianist (date? < -ism), etc.; 150 items in -ism,
50 in -ist, 45 in -ise (+ new geo-political coinages from Web pages: Serbianise, Serbianism, Serbianist, etc.);
c.-ary (adj. and/or n.), with truncation of -y: apiarist (< apiar(y), diarist, diarise, both < diary, militarist, militarise, both < military, militarism (< F),
monetarist (1914), monetarism (1967=, both < monetary), notarise (1922 <
notar(y)), plagiarism, plagiarise, plagiarist, all < plagiar(y)), summarise/ist
(< summar(y)); 12 items in -ism, 17 in -ist, 8 in -ise;
d. -ative, -ive, with deletion of -e: conservatism, constructivism (1924 < constructive), constructivist (1928 < -ism), descriptivist (1952), descriptivism
(1961), both < descriptive, incentivise (1968 < incentive), permissivism
(1961) < permissive), permissivist (1962 < -ism), reductivism (1946), reductivist (1950), both < reductive, reflexivise (1963 < reflexive); generativist
33
34
A larger list of such contrasting nouns is given p. 65.
It is however worth noting that, according to D.com and OED, nouns in -ism
have preceded formations in -ist in a majority of cases.
382
(1963), generativism (1965), both < generative), relativist (19th < relative,
Philosophy, cp. relativitist, 1917, Astro-Physics < relativity, syn. with relativist, 1911, in this s.), relativism (id. < -ist), relativise (< relative); retributivism (1954 < retributive), retributivist (date? < -ism), etc. 30 items in ‑ism,
25 in -ist, 12 in -ise.
Adjectives and or nouns in -ant or -ent also admit suffixation with -ism,
‑ist or -ise, though less productively than -(e/i/u)al, -(e/i/u)an and ‑ive.
In such sequences, concatenation of -ism, -ist or -ise to a transparent
suffixed form is seemingly exceptional:
(50)
Corpus inventory
a. adj. and or n. in -ant/-ent with no transparent base + -ism, ist or ‑ise: consonantism, consonantise (both < consonant), giantism (< giant), gigantism,
ignorant(ism/ist) (ignorant is dem. <≠ to ignore), instantise (1962 < instant),
pedantism (< pedant = pedanticism (id.) < pedantic), pedantise (r. < pedant),
potentise (r. < potent), protestantism (< Protestant, dem. <≠ “to protest),
protestantise (< id.), spirantize (< spirant); Adventistm> -ist (< Advent (<≠
advene), immanentism > -ist (1907 < immanent), indifferentism > -ist (< F
<~ indifferent vs. < indifferent in OED ≠ *in- + different), presentism (1916
< present, “doctrine that the Scripture prophecies of the Apocalypse are in
the course of being fulfilled” (D.com); “a bias towards the present or present-day attitudes, esp., in the interpretation of history,” (OED)), sapientise (r.
< sapient), scientist (> -ism), sycophantise (<~ sycophant), transparentise
(1925 MWD < transparent)
b. sync. decomposable adj. and/or n. in -ant/-ent + -ism/-ist/-ise: componentise
(20th < n. component < L <~~compose), inerrantism > -ist (< inerrant <
in- + errant < L <~ err + ‑ant), obscurantism > -ist (< F <~ obscurant vs. <
obscurant in OED <~ obscure); independentism (r. < independent = independency), scientise (< scient(ific) + -ise vs. scient(ist) + -ise in OED)35.
No items associating -oid and -ist or -ise are found in the Corpus. Conversely, it appears from the same database that -ism productively concatenates to nouns and/or adjectives in -oid to denote medical conditions
or negative features: am(o)eboidism (< am(o)eboid), arachnoidism
(< arachnoid), eunuchoidism (1912 < eunuchoid), parasitoidism (<
parasitoid), schizoidism (20th < schizoid), tabloidism (1901< tabloid).
35
The ensuing verbalisations are irrelevant since their noun sources cannot be
alternatively adjectival: apartmentise (< apartment), fragmentize (< fragment),
parchmentise (< parchment), segmentise (< segment = ‑mentalise), sentimentise
(r., a nonce-word according to OED, standardly sentimentalise).
383
However, Internet searches do return a few verbs in -oid + -ise (e.g.
androidise, tabloidise).
-ous stands out among the affixes reviewed in this chapter in that
no other suffixes than -ly, -ity36 and -ness can directly attach to adjectives
formed therewith. Words formed with -ism, -ist or -ise from -ous adjectives must necessarily result from affix-replacement: anonymise (<
anonymous), anthropomorphise (< anthropomorphous vs. < Gk stem +
-ise in OED), etc., cf. §13.2.2.2.
15.8.2 Affixed bases compatible with -al, -ous, etc.
The S-1/2 adjective suffixes studied in this chapter attach to other affixes as illustrated below:
(51)
a.-ance/-ence, -ent (n.), bound or sep., + -ial:
bound: circumstantial, consequential, influential, etc.
sep.: conferential, differential, existential, preferential, etc. (55 items in all)
b.agent suffixes -er/-or, bound or sep. + -(i)al or -ious
bound: ministerial, rectorial, censorious, etc.
sep.: managerial, editorial, victorious, etc. (90 items in all)
c.bound ending -er or -o(u)r + -ous: dangerous, murderous, traitorous, etc. (50
items)
d.-(at/it/ut)ion, bound or sep. + -al, -ary
bound: dimensional, functional, etc.
sep.: communicational, computational, educational, etc. (350 items in all);
bound: auctionary, cautionary, legionary, etc.
sep.: abolitionary, deflationary, etc. (110 items in all)
e.-ity, bound, + -ous, with truncation of -y (duplicitous, necessitous, ubiquitous, etc., 12 items) or -ty (audacious, vivacious, etc., 9 items);
f.-y, bound, + -al, -ous (with or without truncation of -y): anomalous, ceremonial/ious, categorial, colonial, fallacious, memorial, etc.; (with truncation of
-y in most neoclassical CF compounds): analogous, peripheral, etc.
g.-itude, bound or sep., + -inal, -inous
bound: attitudinal, latitud(inal/-inous), platitud(inal/‑inous), etc.
sep.: aptitudinal, habitudinal, etc. (24 items in all);
h.-ive (nominal, bound) + -al (≠ n. suffix -al: survival, etc.): accusatival, adjectival, genitival, etc. (10 items);
36
As discussed above, juxtaposition of -ity to -ous adjectives is far from systematic, e.g. nebulosity < nebulo(u)s vs. continuity <~ continu(ous).
384
i.-ment + -al, -ary or –ous (bound or sep. with -al, -ary)
bound: monumental, ornamental, etc.
sep.: governmental, judg(e)mental, etc. (70 items in all) bound: complementary, parliamentary, etc. (22 items)
bound: filamentous, momentous, etc. (8 items);
j. -oid (n. or adj.), bound or sep. + -al, cf. (20b)
bound: anthropoidal, asteroidal, etc.
sep.: discoidal, planetoidal, spheroidal, etc. (80 items in all)
k.-ule (bound or sep.) or -Cle (bound) + -ar, -ous, -oid: bound: miraculous,
molecular, tentacular/uloid, etc.
sep.: glandul(ar/ous), nodul(ar/ous), etc. (450 items in all).
(50) unambiguously shows that, despite isolated subclasses (e.g. -ary
attaching to -ion: distortionary (< distortion <~ distort), revisionary (<
revision <~ revise), etc., or -ous attaching to -ule: lobulous (< lobule
< lobe), nodulous (< nodule < node), etc., -ational/-ationary < -ation
replacing -ate instead of + at(e) + -ion + -al/-ary)), -al (+ allomorphs
-ar and -inal) is the only S-1/2 adjective suffix which can be held as
freely attaching to a word already cointaining a separable suffix (or synchronically interpretable as such): existential, preferential, editorial,
managerial, conservational, contradictional, aptitudinal, habitudinal,
developmental, governmental, planetoidal, spheroidal, glandular, nodular, etc.
385
16. Neoclassical suffixes
16.1 General features and stress assignment
The most common neoclassical endings which may alternatively serve
as separable suffixes are -a, -ae, -es, -i, -id, -is, -on, -um, -us. Among
the latter -a, -ae, -es and -i are basically non-normative plural forms
of Greek or Latin words which are still treated as unintegrated loans.
All have extended their original function to become taxonomic suffixes
denoting natural orders, families, phyla, etc. (cf. §16.1.4 below). Other
endings which, although always bound, commonly occur in Latin or
Greek loans or as elements C in learned combining-form compounds
include -as, non-mute -e, -o, -os, -ys and Vx (-ax, -ex, -ix, -ox, -ux, -yx).
The words in which such formatives occur have inherited the
stress rules of Latin, namely placement of stress on the penult when it
contains a consonant cluster or a free vowel and antepenult stress otherwise. No item of this type is recorded with S-3 or S-4 primary stress.
16.1.1 Consonant cluster rule
The neoclassical affixes listed above overwhelmingly comply with the
prefinal -C2 rule, whether they are analysable as bound endings (the
most common case) or as separable suffixes: Alberta, Cassandra, echidna, guerrilla, gorilla, propaganda, umbrella, arachnid, carangid, catharsis, synopsis, armadillo, Calypso, electron, phlogiston, addendum,
momentum, referendum, eucalyptus, hibiscus, narcissus, appendix (<~
append in the s. of “supplementary material at the end of a book”),
aruspex, etc.
Many words ending in -a, non-mute -e, -i and -o- are actually
loans from Italian (e.g. biretta, lasagna, polenta, spaghetti), Spanish (e.g. canasta, paella, pimento, quesadilla) or Portuguese (e.g.
commando, flamingo, marimba, Sargasso, etc.) which likewise conform
to penult stressing when they are preceded by a consonant cluster.
Some words adopted (and generally adapted) from African, Amerindian or Asian languages also come out of the inventory of items with
such endings, with the same stress-placing effect (Nebraska < Siouan,
opossum < Alg., Pocahontas < id., tamagotchi < Jap., Zarathustra <
Avestan, Zimbabwe < Shona, etc.).
An important factor to consider is that, in this context, double
graphic consonants reflect functional clusters (dilemma, gorilla, vanilla, operetta, armadillo, peccadillo, lazaretto, Clarissa, Melissa, Vanessa, opossum, colossus, Narcissus, Hymettus, etc.)1, which implies, in a
phonological approach, to postulate the existence of underlying geminate consonants even though, in English, such consonant sequences
are only licensed phonetically in formations in which they are split by
a morpheme boundary (e.g. goal#less, soul#less, common#ness, even#ness)2.
Out of hundreds of such words only two exceptions stand out:
orchestra and alyssum (regular in US English: [010]).
16.1.2 -ION words
As seen in §2(1), Neo-Latin suffixed words of the -ION type are very
numerous (e.g. 2,700 items in -ia, 760 in -ium, 160 in -ius): acacia,
academia, actinium, aquarium, Aquarius, Mauritius, etc. With the -i +
V or -u + V sequences, no more than four exceptions to the -ION stress
-assignment principle emerge from the Corpus: ˌLata'kia, ˌperipe't(e)ia,
ˌrata'fia, So'phia (cp. 'Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital city).
However, the neoclassical endings -ea (cf. §2.2.1), -eum and -eus
are quite unpredictable, oscillating between compliance with -ION (e.g.
Cetacea, linoleum, petroleum, caduceus, Orpheus, Perseus, etc.) and
primary stress on the first syllable of the V/V ending (panacea, museum, peritoneum, Asmodeus, peroneus, etc.).
1
2
388
The only exception found in the Corpus is parallax.
This phonic gemination is liable to disappear in fast speech.
16.1.3 Vowel digraphs
Whatever their origin, words with one of the endings under considera­
tion here take penult stress when their prefinal syllable contains a vowel
digraph, a graphic rule which reflects the fact that, in such words,
digraphs always represent long or diphthonged vowels: copaiba, eudipleura, euthyneura, bazooka (orig. < US slang), amboina, perestroika
(< Rus.), Seleucid, eremacausis, apneusis, deinocheirus, etc. A learned
variant of -saur, employed to refer to extinct reptiles of the Secondary
Era (dinosaur, brachiosaur, etc.), namely -saurus (plural form -i, dinosaurus/sauri, brachiosaurus/sauri, etc., cf. (21b.) below), is the most
productive element B + C sequence in combined-form compounds with
a prefinal vowel digraph (70 items in the Corpus), defined as a suffix in some dictionaries (e.g. Collins D., Wordsmyth D.). Wikipedia and
specialist dictionaries (e.g. Dinosaur/Palaeontology D., not accessible
from OL) list hundreds of extinct saurian species so named.
16.1.4 Neoclassical plurals
As recalled above, -a, -ae, -es (distinguished phonetically = [-i:z], as in
apsides < apsis, from the normative post-sibilant plural in -es = [-1z],
as in roses, matches, etc.), and -i, to which must be added -era, -Vces
(< ‑Vx) and -Vnges (< -Vnx), are non-native plural forms used with
generally infrequent words of Latin or Greek origin: codices < codex,
diptera < dipteron, formulae (or normative -as) < formula, genera < genus, antitheses < antethesis, larynges < larynx, polypi < polypus, solidi
< solidus, phenomena (or normative -ons) < phenomenon, tympana (or
normative -ums) < tympanum.
In such plurals, stress preservation does not obtain when this would
bring about violation of S-1/2, viz. when an extra syllable is added further
to direct concatenation (instead of the more common inflexional process as
in phenomen(on) > phenomena) of -ae, -es, etc. to a neoclassical base with
antepenult stress: 'Attalid > At'talidae (cp. alt. norm. pl. 'Attalids), chry'salides (< 'chrysalid + norm. pl. 'chrysalids), ˌephe'merides (< e'phemeris),
Ne'reides (< 'Nereis), ˌOce'anides (< O'ceanid), etc. (cp. 'aphis > 'aphides,
'apsis > 'apsides, where no remetrification needs occur).
389
The neoclassical nouns subject to such shifts are mostly items (a)
in ‑id and -is pluralising in -ides (and also in -idae for -id), as in the examples of the foregoing paragraph3; (b) in -Vx pluralising in -ices (cp. paradoxes, phoenixes, syntaxes, with normative plural = [-1z⁆ instead of [i:z⁆):
pon'tifices < 'pontifex,ˌcica'trices < 'cicatrix or ci'catrix and all plurals of
the feminine or geometric suffix -ix (cf. §10.2.3) which license indifferently penult and antepenult patterns: ˌavi'atrices or -'trices < 'aviatrix or
ˌavi'atrix, ˌgene'ratrices or ˌgenera'trices < 'generatrix or ˌgene'ratrix. A
regular plural form (-ixes = [-1ks1z⁆) is licensed for this suffix. Combining-form compounds in -pteryx (from Gk = “wing”) pluralise normatively: ˌarchae'opteryx > ˌarche'opteryxes (-es = [-1z⁆), etc.
Plural forms in -Vnges of -Vnx nouns (where -es = [-i:z⁆) displace
stress, complying with S-1 further to the resultant prefinal C2: la'rynges < 'larynx, me'ninges < 'meninx, pha'langes < 'phalanx, pha'rynges
< 'pharynx, sy'ringes < 'syrinx. All but meninges have a stress-preserving
normative plural ([-1z⁆): 'larynxes, 'pharynxes, etc. Cyclopes, which loses
its consonant cluster in its pluralisation (< Cyclops) also complies with
S-1, this time as a result of its prefinal syllable containing a free vowel.
Stress displacement is also the rule when -a, -ae, -es and -i are
not mere plural forms but taxonomic suffixes denoting the family, group,
order, phylum, etc. under which the species named by the base should
be classified: 'arthropod (A + B, namely arthr(o)- + -pod, with norm.
pl. -s) vs. Ar'thropoda (A + B + C = -a, “the phylum comprising the
arthropods”) and similarly 'cephalopod (id. cephal(o) + -pod, norm. pl.
‑s) vs. ˌCepha'lopoda (“the highest class of mollusca”), etc.; 'acarid (“an
acarine, esp. a mite of the following family”, norm. pl. -s.) vs. A'caridae
(“a family of small mites”), 'crocodile (norm. pl. -s) vs. ˌCroco'dylidae (a
family = “true crocodiles”), 'lemurid (“a lemur”, norm. pl. -s), vs. Le'muridae (“the family of lemurs”); pha'ryngognath (“a fish of the following
division”, MWD) vs. ˌPharyn'gognathi (“a division of fishes”), etc.4
3
4
390
Instead, in the latter case, of the usual -is > -es transformation which adds no
syllable to the plural form, e.g. basis > bases, etc.
It has to be pointed out that, historically, a fair number of taxa in -a, -ae, -es or
-i have preceded the formation of words which are synchronically analysable
as their bases, the latter having been sometimes the product of back-formations
from the former.
16.1.5 -i
-I is additionally a demonymic suffix (from an adjectival suffix in Semitic and Indo-Iranian languages), used in association with Middle and
Far-East country names (cf. §5.1.3): Iraqi < Iraq, Pakistani < Pakistan,
etc. The only case of stress allomorphy is Is'raeli < 'Israel5.
16.1.6 -VC + neoclassical suffixes or endings
Graphically speaking, neoclassical words (or loans of Italian, Spanish
or other origins formally interpretable as such) which are not governed
by prefinal -C2, prefinal V-Digraph or -ION (minus -ea, -eum, -eus),
namely those with prefinal -VC-, are relatively unpredictable, reflecting
in most cases the original stress patterns of the languages they have
been borrowed from.
As seen in §§5.2.1, 5.2.3, 5.2.5 and 5.4.1 to 5.4.6, several neoclassical sequences can be held as auto-stressed suffixes (separable or bound).
Some of them (most particurlarly those used in the naming of diseases and
-(i)ana) are still productive: -agra, -(i)ana (always in transparent forma­
tions when indicating a collection of objects or information relating to a
person, subject or place, cp. the US states ˌIndi'ana and ˌLouisi'ana, now
dem. < Indian and < Louis XIV of France), -ola, -oma, -rama, -rrh(o)ea,
-hedron (pl. -a), ‑zoon (pl. ‑zoa), -iasis, -osis, -itis.
Besides these perfectly regular formatives, three reliable tendencies can be observed in conjugation with monomorphemic neoclassical
lexemes (or Italian, Spanish, etc, words displaying the same endings).
Antepenult stress is thus predominant in the ensuing sequences:
i.-ic(a/o/on/um/us): Africa, America, Angelica, basilica, Corsica,
harmonica, Jamaica, calico, Mexico, politico, portico, lexicon,
Rubicon, silicon, practicum, viaticum, Copernicus, Leviticus,
etc.; exc.: Enrico, formica, trademark, from the original manufacturer of the product);
5
The synonymous adjectives Afghani/Afghan, synchronically derivable from Afghanistan, display the same back-formation derivational patterns as German/
Germany, Tuscan/Tuscany. Afghanistani is also recorded.
391
ii.-ul(a/i/o/on/um/us): macula, nebula, fibula, formula, peninsula,
lazuli, modulo, regulon, Zebulon, curriculum, pendulum, calculus, stimulus, ventriculus, etc. (no exception in the Corpus), cf.
§15.5;
iii. -im(a/o/um/us): septuagesima, sexuagesima, octodecimo, duodecimo, bravissimo, musimon, stasimon, maximum, minimum,
optimum, animus, dedimus, Septimus, etc. (no exception in the
Corpus).
Statistically, the remnant of monomorphemic -VC + -a, -o, -um, etc.
words have to be subdivided into two classes. Thus, underived items in
‑a, non-mute -e, -i, -o, which are often of Italian, Spanish, etc. origin,
entail penult primary stress in 75% of lexemes recorded in the Corpus:
(1)
Monomorphemic items in -a, non-mute -e, -i and -o
a.[-10]: ameba, zareba, alpaca, cloaca, tapioca, verruca, armada, barracuda,
cicada, pagoda, bodega, quadriga, eureka, Topeka, koala, manila, gladiola,
gorgonzola, pyjama, arena, banana, hyena, iguana, nirvana, semolina, abracadabra, angora, capybara, chimera, Pandora, iota, peseta, sonata, conjunctiva, Godiva, saliva, etc.; finale, rationale, ukulele, padrone, cicerone,
miserere, etc.; Svengali, Swahili, pastrami, salami, bikini, Martini, okapi,
safari, etc.; lavabo, gazebo, placebo, bravado, tornado, torpedo, rococo,
lumbago, plumbago, impetigo, casino, kimono, volcano, soprano, sombrero,
aviso, proviso, mosquito, potato, staccato, tomato, octavo, espressivo, etc.
b.[100]: gondola, swastika, cupola, cinema, ulema, patina, retina, stamina,
baccara, camera, cithara, algebra, drosera, etcetera, mandragora, vertebra,
viscera, taffeta, etc.; alibi, broccoli, etc.; buffalo, cembalo, piccolo, gigolo,
domino, indigo, vertigo, dynamo, etc.
In most cases, the primary stress of these words is similar to that in the
source language.
With monomorphemic items in -id, -um, -en, -on, -as, -is, -os,
-us, ‑ys, -Vx, the tendency noted in (1) is inverted (70 vs. 30%):
(2)
392
Underived items in -id, -um, -en, -on, -as, -is, -os, -us, -ys, -Vx
a.[-100]: hominid, pyramid, tantalum, cyanogen, myrmidon, phenomenon, Eresypelas, aphesis, apophysis, genesis, monoceros, rhinoceros, abacus, incubus, syllabus, impetus, pontifex, cicatrix, etc.
b.[-10]: caryatid, asylum, duodenum, decorum, ultimatum, agnomen, cognomen, boustrophedon, cotyledon, oxymoron, horizon, oasis, exegesis, kinesis,
gladiolus, mandamus, ignoramus, hiatus, detritus, etc.
Among the items of type (2a) there are many combining-form compounds in which -id, um, en, -on, etc. serve as elements C. On a strictly graphic basis, most assign penult or antepenult stress according to
the standard discriminative process in the -S-1/2 system: prefinal -VC
(e.g. automaton, tetragrammaton) vs. prefinal -C2 or Vdigraph (e.g. autochthon, rhododendron, ichneumon). However, besides stress-bearing
sequences such as -hedron and -zoon, and unclassifiable lexemes with
a paroxytone pattern such as anacoluthon, boustrophedon, cotyledon,
horizon or oxymoron, prefinal primary stress is systematic in the ensuing sequences (some of which have become words in learned vocabulary) in -VC- + -is, -us or -um: -cen'tesis, -c/ki'nesis, -'dysis, -'gesis;
-mi'mesis, ‑'ophis, ‑pho'resis, -pi'esis, -u'resis, 'chrysum, -'nodus, -'rhinus; -'urus (cf. (11), (12), (20c.) and (21c.) below).
In this family of words, which standardly replicate the original
paroxytone or proparoxytone patterns of the languages they have come
from, there are no fully reliable stress-placement rules (in a strictly
graphic approach) accounting for sequences in -VC- + -id, -um, -on,
etc. (for a more detailed account, see subsection below), besides those
imposed by productive formatives such as -iasis, itis, -osis, etc. (reminder -oma has been classed under (1)).
16.2 Productive suffixes
16.2.1 -ae
This neoclassical rival form of the normative plural (orig. from L, nominative plural ending of masculine and feminine nouns in -a), -ae pluralises about 175 learned nouns in -(e/i)a mostly denotative of anatomic
organs (chiefly adipose or muscle tissues), protozoa, larvae and, finally,
mathematical or rhetorical terms:
(3)
abscissae, acacia, algae, amebae, ampulae, ecclesiae, exuviae, fistulae, formulae, hydrae, herniae, fibulae, formulae, librae, morae, nebulae, patellae, retinae, scapulae, teniae, ulvae, etc.
393
As recalled above, it is well-known that terms which are now of rel­
atively current usage have yielded a regular plural variant: amebas, antennas, aortas, auroras, cameras, cicadas, comas, formulas, hernias,
lacunas, maculas, nebulas, (super)novas, patellas, placentas, retinas,
tarantulas, t(a)enias, tracheas, urethras, verrucas, vertebras, etc. Some
plural forms in -ae have no singular form base: facetiae, gratiae, induviae, inferiae, majusculae, nugae, plantae, tenebrae, therapeutae, thermae.
As indicated in §16.2.1 above, plurals in -ae are apt to shift stress
to abide by S-1/2.
The enormous remainder of -ae entries (1400) listed in the Corpus are for most of them (1350 items) denotative of taxa of the vegetal
and animal kingdoms, directly coined as plural forms by the naturalists
who have carried out their classifications. Most such nouns linked to
taxonomic science joined the lexicon between the 18th and 20th centuries, the highest peak of such coinages having occurred in the 19th
century. In this context, -ae is part of five composite suffixes (a) -aceae (families of plants, chiefly algae or fungi); (b) -idae (subclasses of
plants of families of animals); (c) -ideae and -oideae (same function as
-aceae); (d) -inae (sub-families of animals or sub-tribes of plants); (e)
-ineae (sub-order of plants). Whereas most of these taxa stem from the
association of combining forms with the foregoing composite suffixes,
some authentic suffixed forms are attested in lexemes derived from a
base denotative of a generic species (e.g. Asparagaceae < asparag(us)).
(4)
Composite taxonomic suffixes in -ae
-aceae: Acanthaceae, Agavaceae, Bacillaceae, Begoniaceae, Cacteceae, etc.
(450 items); -idae: Acaridae, Ascaridae, Crocodylidae, Giraffidae, Lemuridae,
etc. (790), ideae/oideae: Florideae, Mimosoideae (4); -inae: Bovinae, Felinae,
Gallinae, Mephitinae, etc. (45); -ineae: Gravimineae, Lycopodineae.
The -ae suffix is also productive in association with the ensuing prefinal
combining forms:
(5)
394
-phyce-: Chlorophyceae, Ulvophyceae, etc. (a class of seeweeds, 15 items);
-saurid-: Hadrosauridae, Titanosauridae, etc. (families and species of saurians
of the Secondary Era, 10); ‑virid-: Adenoviridae, Retroviridae, etc. (a family of
viruses, 15); -virin-: Densovirinae, Lentivirinae, etc. (a suborder of viruses, 12).
The Corpus cannot purport to close the list of possible forms yielded
by these composite learned sequences. Indeed, specialist dictionaries
which are not accessible from the OL search engine comprise dozens
of additional items constructed by attachment of -ae to the suffixes or
prefinal combining forms mentioned above. Furthermore, the composite affix -anae (a superorder of plants, chiefly seeweeds and fungi) and
the prefinal combining form affixed with -ae -mycetidae (a subclass of
fungi) are recorded only in specialist dictionaries.
16.2.2 -ia
Further to elimination of indecomposable proper nouns (Titania vs. Babylonia, the southern kingdom of Ancient Mesopotamia <~ Babylon, etc.),
some 2,700 nouns in -ia are left in the Corpus. Five classes of suffixed
forms emerge from relevant items (a) non-normative plurals from neoclassical nouns (chiefly of Greek origin) in -ion or in -ium, a subset of
neoclassical nouns in -on or in -um (criteria < criterion, etc.), generally
now licensed with the standard plural form, as recalled above; (b) nouns
of plants or animals, most often created in the former case by attachment
of -ia to a personal name (e.g. Ponsettia, a flower, from J. Ponsett, first
American ambassador to Mexico; (c) nouns of geographic entities, which
may also be derived from personal names (Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, <
(Cecil) Rhodes, etc.); (d) generic entities with a plural connotation (academia, suburbia, etc.); (e) nouns of pagan festivals (bacchanalia, etc.)
(6)
a.neoclassical plurals of nouns in -ium or in -ion: auditoria < auditorium, alluvia < alluvium, collegia < collegium (1917), colloquia < colloquium, etc. (50
items);
b.flower names, floral and animal taxonymy: bartonia (< Barton, an American
botanist), bromelia (< Bromel, a Swedish botanist), claytonia (< Clayton, an
American botanist), Crocodilia (< L <~ crocodile, etc. (900 items); for animal taxa, cf. also (6b') below;
c.place names: Babylonia (<~ Babylon), Colombia (<~ (C.) Columbus), Georgia (< George (II) or (St) George), Rhodesia (< (Cecil) Rhodes), Monrovia (<
(James) Monroe), Virginia (< Virgin (Queen)), etc. (60 items)
d.generic entities with a plural connotation: academia, genitalia (< L <~ genital), intelligentsia (< Rus.), militaria (1964 < militar(y) + ‑ia), suburbia (<
suburb + -ia), etc.
395
e.pagan festivals: (all < L.) bacchanalia (<~ bacchanal), dionysia (<~ Dionysos), liberalia (<~ Liber or Libera), saturnalia (<~ Saturn).
Finally, some 1,500 combining-form compounds in which -ia serves as
element C are retrievable from the Corpus. These items denote almost
exclusively pathologies or taxa from the animal kingdom. Whereas,
synchronically, one third of such items are derivable from a free base on
a formal basis (e.g. -philia <~ phile, -phobia <~ -phobe), many derivativational sequences of this kind have become lexicalised. For instance,
the -graphia sequence (10 items) is defined in Online Medical D as
a suffix meaning “abnormality revealed through handwriting” and is
as such not semantically derivable from possible corresponding items
in -graph: paragraphia (“inability to write correctly”) <≠ paragraph,
micrographia (“neurological condition causing handwriting to become
increasingly smaller”) <≠ micrograph (“an instrument for executing
minute writing or engraving”), etc. Remarkably, items in -graphia neutralise the -iV lengthening rule: paragraphia ([-grӕf-], etc., instead of
the expected *[‑gre1f-]. Other learned compounds in which a prefinal
combining form + -ia denote similar semantic differences are:
(7)
-bolia: asymbolia (“inability to recognise objects”), symbolia (“ability to recognise an object when touching it) <≠ symbol, etc.; -chromia: monochromia
(“inability to perceive colours) <≠ monochrome (n. or adj.), other -chromia
compounds refer to abnormal pigmentation: heterochromia, etc.; -logia: apologia (“a written plea” ≠ apology), other n. in -logia denote speech disorders:
alogia (= aphasia) ≠ alogy (“absurdity”), dyslogia (“inability to express ideas
verbally”) ≠ dislogy (“unfavourable speech”), paralogia (“pathological inability to answer questions”) ≠ paralogy (“false reasoning”), etc.; ‑meria: polymeria (“condition characterised by an excessive number of limbs, organs, etc. in
the body”) <≠ polymer (“a molecular compound”); -morphia, refers to body
malformations: apomorphia, etc.; -somia: mesosomia (“medium height”) <≠
mesosome (“a type of cell structure”), monosomia (“the typical pathology of
Siamese twins”) <≠ monosome (“a chromosome having no homologue”), etc.
Contrastively, the -thermia and -thermy sequences synonymously refer
to degrees of body temperature regulation: hyperthermia/thermy, hypothermia/thermy, etc.
Other final combining forms affixed with -ia denote animal taxa,
in which case they are most often derivable from a free base (cf. (6.b)
above):
396
(6b')-dactylia <~ -dactyl: Discodactylia (“a division of amphibians, esps., the tree
frogs”) <~ discodactyl (“any of the tree frogs”); -odontia <~ -odont: Cynodontia (“a division of extinct mammal-like reptiles”) <~ cynodont (one of the
Cynodontia), Phocodontia (“a group of extinct whales”) <~ Phocodont (“one
of the Phocodontia”), etc. (12 items); -podia <~ -pod: Octopodia (+ var. Octopoda, “a suborder of Cephalopoda”) <~ octopod; ‑sauria <~ -saur (a var.
of -sauri or -saurs, pl. of -saurus (cf. §16.1.3 above) or -saur): Ichthyosauria
(“an extinct order of marine reptiles”) <~ Ichthyosaur (“any reptile of this
extinct order”) <~ Ichhyosaur, Plesiosauria (id.) <~ Plesiosaur (id.), etc. (60
items).
However, other nouns in -dactylia, -podia and -odontia are denotative
of the specialised medical senses described in (7) above.
(7') vs. (6b')
-dactyl vs. -dactylia: adactyl (adj. Zool. “without fingers, toes or claws” ≠>
adactylia (Medicine “congenital absence of feet or toes”), macrodactyl (n.
Zool. “one of the wading birds”, the order = -dactyli) ≠> macrodactylia (+
var. macrodactyly, “abnormal growth of the fingers or toes”), etc.; -pod vs.
‑podia: apod (Zool. “without feet”) ≠ apodia (“congenital absence of feet”),
macropod (Zool. “a group of crabs remarkable for the length of their feet”)
≠> macropodia (“abnormal largeness of the feet”), etc.; -odont vs. -odontia:
megalodont (“an extinct animal with very long and/or large teeth”, e.g. the
saber-toothed tiger) ≠> megalodontia (Medicine “abnormal growth of the
teeth”), etc.
As stipulated above, zoological species which contain the element-B
combining form -pod are standardly analysable as producing order or
family names with the suffix -a (Arthropoda <~ arthropod, etc.). The
‑podia combination is attested (at least in the Corpus) only in octopodia
and tripodia (“a condition proper to Siamese twins born with merging
of the lower extremities forming only three feet from the two bodies”,
Online Medical D.). It must also be noted that some nouns in -odontia denote branches of dentistry (endodontia or endodontics or endodontology, exodontia or exodontics, prosthodontia or prosthodonctics,
etc., 15 items), this time with no possible sources in -odont. There are
(still in the Corpus) no nouns in -cardia, -carpia, -clasia, -cyclia, -glossia, -rrhagia, -rhythmia, -tonia, -topia, -trichia or -trophia (most such
nouns belong to medical vocabulary) semantically derivable from a
free base in, respectively, -card, -carp, -cycle, -gloss, -rrhage, -rhythm,
-tone, -tope, -trich, -troph.
397
In last analysis, the element-B combining forms of learned compounds in -ia which can synchronically be interpreted as apt to have a
free base are -dactylia (3 items: discodactylia <~ discodactyl, etc. cf.
(6b'); -mania (1: monomania <~monomane); -odontia (6: phocodontia
<~ phocodont (6b'); -pathia (2: naturopathia <~ naturopath); -philia
(19: Anglophilia <~ Anglophile, etc.); -phobia (12: Anglophobia <~
Anglophobe)6, sauria (60, < or <~ -saur, cf. (6b')), -spermia (1: zoospermia <~ zoosperm)7, -tropia (1: hypermetropia = hypermetropy <
hypermetrope).
There are in all 98 prefinal combining forms which have produced 1,700 noun compounds with affixation of -ia. The most productive of those which have not been mentioned in this section are: -algia
(50 items), -esthesia (40), -odynia (15) and -plasia (20).
Combining-form compounds where element C is -ia (separable or
bound) are regularly rivalled by suffixations in -ics (e.g. orthodontics),
‑ism (e.g. amorphism), -is (cf. §16.2.4 below) or -y (e.g. hypermetropy).
16.2.3 -id
This suffix is remarkable not only by its versatility in terms of use but
also by its different etymologies.
16.2.3.1 Names of mythological figures and dynasties
As a noun suffix meaning “offspring or descendent of ” (< L. idēs < a Gk
patronymic suffix), -id was apt to name (a) a nymph belonging to a specific tribe, which was itself named with the plural form -es; (b) a member
of a dynasty, the base of the noun so formed referring to the lineage’s
founder. In its second function, this suffix remained productive until the
19th century, applying indifferently to Antique and Moslem dynasties:
6
7
398
Most learned noun compounds in -mania (e.g. nymphomania), -philia (e.g.
cyn­ophilia), -phobia (e.g. Satanophobia) have no putative base in respectively
‑mane, -phile or phobe, at least in the Corpus).
There are 10 items in -spermia with no putative base in -sperm: panspermia,
etc.
(8)Corpus inventory
a. nymphs (pl in -es): 'Hesperid (<~ 'Hesper(us)), pl. Hes'perides, and sim.
O'ceanid (<~ O'cean(us)) > ˌOce'anides, 'Nereid (<~ 'Nere(us)) > Ne'reides;
b. members of dynasties: Ancient times (norm. pl. or -ae) A'chaemenid (<~
A'chaemen(es)) > A'chaemenids or ˌAchae'menidae), 'Attalid (<~ 'Attal(us))
> 'Attalids or At'talidae), Se'leucid (<~ Seleuc(us) > Se'leucids or Se'leucidae); Moslem world (invariable): Ab'bassid or 'Abbassid (<~ Ar. Ab'bas or
'Abbas), 'Fatimid (< Ar. 'Fatim(a)), etc. (15 items)
More formations of this type are found in encyclopaedias not accessible from OL: (a) nymphs: Aesepid(es), Alceid(es), Epimelid(es), Inachid(es), Leimonid(es), Potameid(es), etc. (b) members of a dynasty:
Hammamid (< Hammad, Ar.), Kalbid (< Kalbi, id.), Zirid (< Ziri, id.),
etc.
In function (b), this suffix should not be confused with -ite (cf.
§10.4) which refers to members of Eastern religious schools, divisions
or sects named after their founders: Hanbalite (< Hanbali), Malikite (<
Malik), Maronite (< Maron), Sunnite (< Sunni), etc. The Chas(s)id and
Hassid Jewish sects (pl. in -im) are two notable exceptions.
As already stipulated, plural forms displace primary stress to avert
violation of S-1/2: (a) -es: 'Nereid > Ne'reides, O'ceanid > ˌOce'anides,
etc. (b) -ae: 'Attalid > At'talidae (or norm. plur. 'Attalids)
A rival suffix, -ad (from Gk -ad, stem of -as vs. < classical
L. -ad, -as and its A. Gk etymon in OED), is also found in the naming
of nymphs: Heliad(e) (< Heli(os)), Hyad(es) (< Gk, no recognisable
base), Naiad(es) (id.), Pleiad(es) (id.), etc. This suffix also serves to
indicate (a) a group comprising a certain number, sometimes of years,
in which case it is generally bound: monad, dyad, triad (+ cont. s.: “Chinese criminal gang”), myriad (orig. < A. Gk “ten thousand”), Olympiad (“period of four years” + cont. s. of “celebration of the Olympic
games” <~ Olympia), pleiad (here not a nymph but an eminent group
with seven members”), pythiad (another four-year period, here between
two celebrations of the Pythian games”); (b) an epic poem, drawing its
name from an imitation of Iliad: Anarchiad (< Anarch(y), not listed in
the Corpus, a poem by Joel Barlow), Columbiad (<~ Columbian = “belonging to America,esp. the United States”, two well-known poems thus
titled were written by Madame du Boccage and again by Joel Barlow),
399
Diaboliad (< L stem + suffix -ad, = “an epic of the devil”, OED, not
listed in the Corpus), Dunciad (< dunce, by Pope).
16.2.3.2 Scientific uses
As a scientific suffix -id (< Neo-L < Gk vs. < MF -ide and its classical
L and A. Gk etymons, OED) may denote meteor showers linked to the
name of a constellation from which they appear to radiate: Cepheid (<~
Cephe(us) + -id) and sim. Lyrid (< Lyr(a)), Perseid (< Perse(us)), etc.,
cp. Orionid (< Orion). Incidentally, many celestial bodies and stellar
clusters have been named after Ancient figures.
A rival or synonymous (e.g. echn(id/oid) form of -oid, the noun
and/or adjective -id suffix (same etym. as in prec. par.) chiefly denotes
(220 of 270 items) members of families, tribes, etc. of the animal kingdom, mainly invertebrates but also fishes, reptiles, birds and mammals.
It is marginally used in botany:
(9)
acarid (< acar(us) + -id) and sim. ascarid (<~ ascar(is)), camelid (<~ camel),
crotalid (<~ crotal), iguanid (<~ iguan(a) vs. < iguan(a) in OED), lemurid (<~.
lemur), salmonid (<~ salmon), etc.
Most items in -id have corresponding family, tribe etc. names in -idae
(cf. §16.1.2 above): camelidae, salmonidae, etc.
With lesser productivity, -id is also a suffix employed in Genetics
or Cell Biology (here < G. < L- idium < Gk, OED, no distinct entry in
the Corpus) to designate a particle, body or structure, and in Medicine
to refer to skin lesions, infections and allergies:
(10) a. cell biology or genetics:
energid (< G <~ energ(y) + -id.) and sim. plasmid (1952 < plasm(a)), tracheid
(< trache(a) vs. < G in OED), ureid (< ure(a)) + chromatid (< CF chromat(o)+ -id vs. < chromat(in) in OED), cosmid (< cos + (plas)mid), cybrid (< c(ell)
+ (hy)brid), haematid (< CF haemat(o) + -id), etc., 25 items;
b. skin lesions, infections and allergies:
aurid (< aur(um) + ‑id.) and sim. bacterid (<~ bacter(ia)), favid (<~ fav(us)),
leprid (<~ lepr(a)), leukemid (< leukem(ia)), syphilid (< syphyl(is)), etc. (15
items).
400
16.2.3.3 Other uses
In the designation of chemical elements -id can serve as a graphic variant of -ide (< F -ide, abstracted from acide): cyanoamid(e) (< cyano- +
amide), lipid(e) (1925 < lip(o) + id(e)), etc.
The solitary case in which -id is a feminine diminutive suffix, ie
sylphid (“a little or young sylph”), was originally a loan from French
(17th).
As seen in the last par. of §10.2.2, the inseparable adjective affix
-id (here < MF < L. -idus) has a paradigmatic link with bound nouns in
-or: horror/horrid, langor/languid, etc.
The combining form -fid, which has no semantic relation to any
of the senses of -id listed above (from L -fidus, from findere), means
“split into several lobes”: bifid, decemfid, multifid, quadrifid, etc. (15
items). Born from contractions, the nouns kidvid (< kidvideo), resid (<
residue), userid (< user identity) are naturally not pertinent.
Besides those constructed with neoclassical combining forms
(e.g. chromatid in (10a) above), few underivable items in -id are encountered, e.g.: carotid, caryatid, eupatrid, glochid, hominid, parotid,
pyramid.
16.2.4 -is
Of the 2,100 nouns in -is listed in the Corpus, more than 1,150 are
formed with four highly productive affixes: (a, b, c) -iasis, -itis and
-osis (855 items in all), already reviewed in §5.4.1 and recapitulated in
§16.1.6 above; (d) -esis (295 items), from Greek ē verb formative + suffix -sis, used to form nouns of action or processes. Most items in -esis
are Neo-Greek compounds in which -is (instead of -sis) can synchronically be regarded as element C. As shown below, these compounds are
chiefly formed with one of the ensuing sequences (some of them being
free bases) which, for a majority of them, have penult stress (cf. 1st par.
below (2), same ch.):
(11)
Productive CFs affixed with -is
a. [-10]: -cen'tesis (“puncture or perforation”: ˌamniocen'tesis, etc.); -c/ki'nesis (“movement”: teleki'nesis, etc.); -'gesis (“explanation”: exe'gesis, etc.);
401
-mi'mesis (“simulation, imitation”: pathomi'mesis, etc.); -pho'resis (“transmission”: diapho'resis, etc.); -pi'esis (“compression”: retinopi'esis, etc.);
-u'resis (“urinary excretion”: diu'resis, etc.); 90 items
b.[-100]: -desis (“binding”: ar'throdesis, etc.); 'emesis (“vomitus”: hyper'emesis, etc. ≠ 'nemesis); -'genesis (“source, origin”: neuro'genesis, etc.); -'thesis
(S-2, “placing”: pa'renthesis, etc.), 185 items in all
Over 500 of the remaining items in -is of the Corpus are again combining-form compounds ending with one of the ensuing sequences:
(12)
Other CFs affixed with -is
a. prefinal C2 or Vdigraph → [-10]: -cleisis, -dermis, -lepsis, ‑lexis, opsis, ornis,
-pexis, -plexis, -(r)rhexis, -sepsis, staxis, ‑taxis, -toxis, -tripsis (180 items);
b.-VCis → [-100]: -basis, -clasis, -crisis, -clysis, -ectasis, ‑lepis, -lysis, -phasis, -physis, -polis, -plasis, -schisis, -stasis (300 items)
c.VCis → [-10]: acusis, -alis, -dysis, -ophis (30 items).
Synchronically, the most productive of these sequences (-lysis 40 items),
may be analysed as derived from verbs in -lyse by affixation with -is:
analysis <~ analyse, paralysis <~ paralyse. Apart from breathalyse and
electrolyse, the verbs of this kind are however back-formations from
nouns in -lysis (partially reprised from §13(12): analyse, atmolyse, autolyse (1903), catalyse, cryptanalyse, dialyse, etc. 14 items + 2 from
OED, not listed in the Corpus)8
Although, the items it has formed are not listed in the Corpus,
the Latin suffix -(i)ensis, the meaning of which is “originating in”, is
quite productively used in paleontological or natural nomenclature to
name (a) hominids or early humans from the places where traces of
their former presence have been found: Afarensis (< Afar, in Ethiopia),
Neanderthalensis, Rhodesiensis, etc.; (b) plants or animals, in connection with the places they originate from: Alabamensis, Gabonensis,
Ozarkensis, etc. (specialist works list dozens of such appellations). In
the items so formed, the first element is always a Latin or Neo-Latin
noun placed before the affixed form in -ensis: Australopithecus Afarensis (austral < austral + -o- = “southern”), Homo Rhodesiensis, Neviusia
alabamensis, etc.
8
402
The verbs in -ose which may likewise be held as the sources of nouns in -osis
are similarly back-formations from the latter: ankylose, diagnose, ecchymose,
metamorphose, necrose, phagocytose (1905), etc. (11 items).
Regarding -VCis words, -is is on a graphic basis the most unpredictable of all the endings and suffixes reviewed in this chapter.
16.2.5 -on
This noun-forming suffix (from different sources, according to dictionaries (from -ion, Collins D.; from -ion in Physics and from Gk -on in
Chemistry, D.com; by extraction from pre-existing nouns such as electron, argon, etc. or alternately a variant of -one in Chemistry, OED) can
indicate (a) subatomic or quantum particles; (b) inert gases or isotopes;
(c) chemical substances; (d) molecular and genetic units. The words in
which it occurs being indicative of state-of-the-art sciences, this suffix
has been particularly prolific since the 20th century. In the domain of
physical particles -on affixes to all sorts of bases (non-learned words,
Greek letters, or proper names) or to productive element-B combining
forms:
(13)
Subatomic or quantum particles
a. free bases + -on: anyon (1982 < any + -on) and sim. gluon (1971 < glu(e)),
boson (1947 < Bos(e)), fermion (id. < Fermi), graviton (1942 < gravit(y)),
tauon (1975 < tau), etc. (15 items);
b. CFs + -on: baryon (1953) <~ bary(o)- = “heavy” + -on) and sim. chronon
(1933 <~ chron(o)-), hadron (1966 <~ hadr(o)- = “thick”), meson (1939 <~
mes(o)- = “environment”), tachyon (1967 < tachy- = “fast”), etc. (30 items).
At the origin of the denomination of subatomic particles (mesotron,
1938 < meso- + (elec)tron vs. meso- + -tron in OED, negatron, 1919 <
nega(tive) + (elec)tron, vs. < nega(tive) + -tron in OED, positron, 1933,
< posi(tive) + (elec)tron), electron has, by apheresis, given birth to a
new scientific suffix9, -tron, designating vacuum tubes, instruments for
accelerating atomic particles or chambers used in experiments (cf. §7.6,
i-iii.). This C-initial (hence stress-neutral) suffix is associable with free
morphemes or productive combining forms according to the fancy of
laboratory units or researchers to whom it generally behoves to name
their discoveries.
9
A definition adopted by Collins D., Wordsmyth D. and OED vs. D.com in which
it is qualified as a combining form.
403
Most suffixed forms in -on which refer to Bio- or Elementary
Chemistry have also entered the lexicon since the 20th century. In these
semantic fields -on is again apt to attach (by concatenation or affixreplacement or further to truncation of a neoclassical ending) to free
bases or productive combining forms:
(14)
Biology and Bio-Chemistry
a. cell biology and genetics: free bases + -on: codon (1963 < cod(e)), interferon
(1957 < interfer(e)), plasmon (1932 < plasm(a)), etc. (16 items); CFs + ‑on:
cyton (1910 < cyt(o)- = “cell”), erythron (Collins D., not listed in D.com or
OED <~ erythr(o)- = “red”), karyon (date? <~ kary(o)-, not listed in OED),
leukon (id. <~ leuk(o)- = “white”, id.), phylon (id. <~ phyl(o)-, id.), etc. (12);
b. inert gases, isotopes and chemistry of elements: free bases + -on: actinon
(1920 < actin(ium)), argonon (20th (not listed in OED) < argon), lanthanon
(1947 < lanthan(um) vs. < lanthan(ide) in OED), radon (1918 < rad(ium)),
silicon (< silic(a)), thoron (1918 < thor(ium)), etc. (12 items); CFs + -on:
krypton (<~ krypt(o)-), neon (id. <~ neo-), xenon (id. <~ xen(o)-), etc. (10).
Still in Chemistry, -on, an alteration of -one, is occasionally used to
denote non-ketonic compounds: aglucon (< a- + gluc(ose) + -on =
aglucone), aglycon (a- + glyc(odise) + -on = aglycone), diazinon
(< diazin(e) + -on), parathion (1947 < para- + thi- + on(e)).
The -on suffix is also encountered in the senses of (a) “unit” (as
above in Genetics), in various scientific disciplines (Computing, Linguistics, Logic, Zoology); (b) “glossary or dictionary”. These meanings
of -on are not given in the dictionaries of the Corpus which have dedicated an entry to this suffix:
(15)
Other senses of the -on suffix
a. various units: computron (20th < comput(e)r, “a notional unit of computing
power”, not listed in OED), ergon (< Gk <~ erg, “work measured in terms of
the quantity of heat to which it is equivalent”), etymon (< L, “linguistic form
from which another form is derived”), hegemon (1904 < Gk), taxon (1929 <
Gk vs. < G in OED), etc. (15 items);
b. dictionaries or glossaries: etymologicon (< L < Gk “an etymological d.” <~ etymologic + -on) and sim lexicon (< id.), monasticon (< Neo-L “a book giving
an account of monasteries <~ monastic), onomasticon (< Gk “a list or collection of proper names” <~ onomastic), synonymicon (< Neo-L vs < synonym
(after lexicon), in OED, “a dictionary of synonyms” <~ synonymic), etc.10
10
This suffix is also found in fiction works Eroticon, Necronomicon, etc.
404
The nouns in -icon listed above must not be confused with metaplasmic
formations which have the morpheme icon as their final element, ie
emoticon (1990 < emot(ion) + icon), favicon (21st < fav(ourite) + icon,
not listed in OED). The -icon element found in some video technology
words actually resulted from an apocope of iconoscope (orthicon, 1939
< orth(o)- + icon(oscope), vidicon (1950 < vid(eo) + id.).
The remainder of nouns in -icon listed in the Corpus have no
transparent base: basilicon (“an ointment”), catholicon (“a panacea”),
diaconicon (“a sacristy in Eastern or Early Church”), euphonicon (“a
kind of piano”), harmonicon (a syn. of harmonica), helicon (“a coiled
tuba carried over the shoulder”), kamptulicon (“a kind of elastic floor
cloth”), lycopersicon (“tomatoes”), pantechnicon (“a furniture van”),
salpicon (“stuffing farce”).
Marathon has, by apheresis, engendered a new suffix (defined as
such in Macmillan D., Cambridge D., D.com and OED), -(a)thon, very
popular in the naming of media events soliciting support for charity:
hackathon, phonathon, talkathon, telethon, walkathon.
A last heterogeneous group of nouns in -on have resulted from
metaplasmic combinations or arbitrary imitation of the -on suffix.
(16)
quercitron (< quer(cine) + citron, Botany), rayon (1924, apparently formed
from ray + -on), southron (a var. of southern, modelled on Saxon, Briton, etc.),
tiglon (1927 < tig(er) + l(i)on cp. liger < li(on) + (ti)ger), waitron (1980, Americanism = waiter/tress, modelled on patron, according to D.com vs. < wait(er)
+ -tron suffix3 (“contemptuously regarding waiting at tables as a mindless, robotic activity”), in OED).
As a bound ending -on is found as element C in dozens of neoclassical
compounds.
(17)
Stress assignment in neoclassical formations in -on
a.-on →-S-1 in C2, VDig, -ic + -on or in -ION: -astron, ‑athlon, -bion, -chondrion (-C2 + -ION), -chthon, ‑d(a)emon, -dendron, -karyon, -neuron, -opticon, -optron, -osteon, ‑plastron, -toxicon, -toxon (95 items);
b.-on → S-2 in -VC- + on: -blepharon, -cephalon, -enteron, ‑gon, -hemeron,
-metron, -odon, -phoron, -phyton, -pteron, ‑stemon, -syndeton, -xylon (150
items);
c.-on → S-1 in -VC- + on: -hedron (cf. §5.4.2), -pogon, ‑zoon (cf. §5.4.6)
405
Most of the remaining indecomposable items in -on of the Corpus are
again erudite words, also constructed on Greek or Latin stems: hynerpeton, hyponychon, ornithon, paragon, phlogiston, telamon, Tetragrammaton, etc. (200 items). Non-learned monomorphemic words in
-on such as bacon (< OF < Gmc), beacon (< Western Gmc), Briton (<
Anglo-F < L), garrison (< OF < Gmc), reason (id. < L), salmon (id.),
season (id.), Saxon (< LL) etc. are not numerous.
16.2.6 -um
Defined as a noun-forming suffix in the dictionaries of the Corpus
which have dedicated an entry to it (Collins D., Wordsmyth D, D.com),
-(i)um (< L < Gk -ion, dim suffix) is strictly a scientific suffix, serving
chiefly to indicate metallic elements, groups forming positive ions, or
biological structures. 1,500 words in -um, of which about half (≈ 760)
are in -ium are retrievable from the Corpus. The latter form is the one
occurring in most suffixal constructions.
Metallic elements (natural or artificial) discovered over the last
two centuries have quasi-systematically been named with the -ium suffix
(one notable exception is tantalum). Thus, 75% of the elements of the
periodic table which to this day comprises 118 units, end in -ium. Most
of these nouns have been formed from a personal name. In this lexical
field, there have been successive fashions. At a time, it was Greco-Latin
and sometimes Nordic mythological figures which were favoured by
scientists who needed to name their discoveries (e.g. neptunium < Neptune, plutonium < Pluto or thorium < Thor). Places were some metals
were extracted also had their moments of vogue (germanium < Germany, scandium < Scandia, thulium < Thule, etc.). In the second half of the
20th century, eminent figures of the scientific community were in their
turn honoured in the naming of metallic or transuranian elements (einsteinium, fermium, mendelevium, etc.). In the last decades, a probable
consequence of promotional imperatives imposed by the market economy, a new trend has emerged, highlighting laboratories and research
centres at the origin of new discoveries (e.g. berkelium < (University of)
Berkeley), darmstadtium (< Darmstadt (Institute)), nobelium (< Nobel
(Institute)), etc. Coinages associating Greco-Latin roots and -ium have
406
parallely continued to exist. Finally, some metallic elements have not
yet been given an official name and, pending unanimous consent within
the scientific community, have received an appellation conforming to
the criteria of provisional denominations of the International Union of
Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). Thus, element 112, identified in
1996, was provisionally named ununbium further to association of the
Latin affixes un- (“one”), bi- (“two”) and ‑ium, until it was renamed
copernicium after Copernicus.
(18)
Elements of the periodic table
a.proper names + -ium: americium (1946 < Americ(a), borhium (1971 <
Bohr), curium (1946 < Curie), darmstadtium (1994 < Darmstadt (Institute),
formerly ununnilium or eka-platinum), einsteinium (1955 < Einstein), fermium (id. < Fermi), roentgenium (2004 < Roentgen), etc. 56 items;
b. neoclassical CFs or roots + -ium: c(a)esium (< Neo-L caesius = “blue”),
protactinium (1918 < prot(o)- + actinium), technetium (1947 < Gk root technét(os) + -ium), etc. (20 items);
c. provisional denominations according to the criteria of the IUAPC: ununhexium (< un- + un- + hex- + -ium), ununoctium (< -un + oct- + -ium), ununpentium (< -un + pent- + -ium), ununtrium (< -un + tri- + -ium).
Whilst metals which were identified before the 19th century were not
affected by this affixation process (e.g. bismuth, tungsten), most have a
synonymous variant in -um, used as the base of adjective derivatives in
‑ic and in -ous qualifying the respectively higher or lower valence with
which the said element enters into compounds (cf. last par. of §1): auric/aurous, cupric/cuprous, ferric/ferrous, plumbic/plumbous, stannic/
stannous, etc.
(19)
antimony (15th < Med. L), arsenic (14th < L < Gk), bismuth (Neo-L < G), cobalt
(18th < G), copper (c. 1000 = cuprum), gold (bef. 900 = aurum), iron (bef. 12th
= ferrum), lead (bef. 900 = plumbum), manganese (17th ult. < It.), mercury (14th
< L = hydrargyrum), nickel (18th < Sw.), silver (bef. 900 = argentum), tin (bef.
900 = stannum), tungsten (18th < Sw. = wolframium < wolfram = tungsten < G),
zinc (17th < id.).
The metallic element iridium occurs in blends used in the naming of
alloys: osmiridium (< osm(ium) + iridium), platiniridium (< platin(um)
+ iridium). -ium is also attested in the ensuing composite suffixes:
407
16.2.6.1 -arium (+ var. -orium)
A rival form of -ary, -arium (< L -ārium, neuter of adj. in -ārius) des­
ignates receptacles and places dedicated to a specific purpose, notably
artificial environments designed for the detention of live species: crematorium, herbarium, insectarium, oceanarium, rosarium, termitarium,
vomitorium, etc. (18 items with a free base, 15 with a bound stem, e.g.
aquarium, vivarium).
16.2.6.2 -onium
Originally abstracted from ammonium (< ammon(ia) + -ium), this suffix is used in Particle Physics to refer to complex cations: charmonium
(1975 < charm + -onium), ionium (1907 < ion), quarkonium (1977 <
quark), etc. (17 items).
16.2.6.3 -idium
This diminutive suffix, a post-classical Latin cognate of Greek -idion,
is used in Botany, Biology or Anatomy to indicate micro-organs or micro-organisms: aecidium (< Neo-L <~ aec(ium) + -idium) and similarly
antheridium (Neo-L <~ anther), arachnidium (< arachnid(a)), basidium
(< bas(is) vs. < L in OED), coccidium (Neo-L <~ cocc(us)), pistillidium
(Neo-L vs. < pistil(l) in OED), spermidium (Neo-L <~ sperm), etc. (60
items).
Some items are suffixed with the Greek cognate -idion: enchridion (< en- + kheir(o)- = “hand” + -idion), pyramidion (< Neo-L <~
pyram(id) + -idion), stasidion (< Gk <~ stas(is) + -idion). Botany and
Zoology dictionaries not accessible from the OL search engine list dozens of additional items of this kind: cerrophidion, dendrophidion, etc.
16.2.6.4 -ulum (+ var. -culum)
Another diminutive, from Latin neuter singular -ulus, this affix entails
S-1 (cf. -ular, -ulous, etc. §15.5): animalculum (< Neo-L <~ animal +
culum), fr(a)enulum (< Neo-L <~ fr(a)en(um) + -ulum vs. < fr(a)enum
in OED), omentulum (<?, not listed in OED, <~ oment(um) + -ulum),
etc. Authentic suffixed forms in -(c)ulum are a minority (15 of 55
items according to D.com and/or OED). Nouns in -bulum, which are
408
all synchronically indecomposable, originate from another Latin suffix,
indicative of an instrument. The Corpus lists about 450 learned compounds with a prefinal combining form associated with -ium or -um:
(20)
Neoclassical compounds affixed with
a. -ium (-ION) → S-1 (no exc.): -angium, anthium, ‑bacterium, -brachium,
-bronchium, -calycium, -cardium, -carpoium, ‑chondrium, -cladium, -cleidium, -clinium, ‑clinorium, ‑conidium, -cranium, -cybium, -dentium, ‑dinium,
dochium, ‑dymium, -epithelium, -folium, -gastrium, -genium, -gonium, -gyn­
ium, -lobium, -logium, -metrium, ‑monium, -mysium, ‑nephrium, -neurium,
-onychium, -orchium, -orchidium, ‑ovarium, -pallium, -phonium, -podium,
-posium, ‑pterygium, -pygium, -scopium, -spherium, -splenium, ‑sporium,
-stegium, -stemium, -stylium, -tarsium, ‑thalamium, -thecium, -therium,
-thorium (300 items in all)
b.-C2um → S-1 (no exc.): -centrum, -dendrum, -glossum, ‑partum, -phyllum,
-septum, -spermum, -sternum (70 items in all);
c.-VCum → S-2 vs. S-1: S-2: -anthemum, -cephalum, ‑cerebelum, -dactylum,
-gonum, -pulmonum, -sepalum, ‑stichum, -stomum, -trichum, -tympanum (70
items in all) vs. S-1: -chrysum (3 items).
With the exception of some items such as collegium or pr(a)esidium
which can synchronically be linked to a word, the 700 nouns in -(/i/)
um which remain in the Corpus have no recognisable base. Most of
these words are connected with anatomic, botanic, chemical or medical
terminologies: bothrium, bretylium, geranium, etc. Words in -ium all
abide by the -ION generalisation. A large majority of those in -VCum
are stressed two syllables back. Suffixations of the classes illustrated
in (18), §16.2.6.1–3 and (20) above obviously still betoken potential
productivity.
Nouns in -eum are exceptionally real suffixed forms (3 of 44
items). Graphically speaking, no convincing distribution rule can
be put forward as regards their stress patterns. The only salient fact
is that a majority of such words carry primary stress on the e of the
-eum sequence: amoeb(a)eum, athen(a)eum, calistheneum, codiaeum,
Coliseum, ecthoreum, endophloeum, epigeum, erechteum, gyn(a)eceum, heracleum, hypogeum, lyceum, mausoleum, mithraeum, museum, nymphaeum, odeum, ommateum, perigeum, perin(a)eum, periton(a)eum, proctod(a)eum, propodeum, propylaeum, prytaneum, retineum,
stomod(a)eum, uraeum vs. compliance with the -ION generalisation:
calcaneum, caseum, castoreum, corneum, hordeum, ileum, linoleum,
409
mezereum, oleum, periosteum, petroleum, pileum, succedaneum, suppadaneum, vitreum. The five words in -uum contained in the Corpus
all abide by the -ION generalisation: continuum, menstruum, residuum,
triduum, vacuum.
16.2.7 -us
About 2,000 common nouns in -(i)us are listed in the Corpus. Most
are indicative of medical or anatomical terms or (often extinct) biological species. The corpus of -(i)us nouns comprises more than 700
compounds.
(21)
a.-ius (-ION) →S1 (no exc.): -bius, -brachius, -cardius (15 items);
b.-C2us or VDig us, us →S1 (no exc.): -adelphus, -anthus, ‑bacillus, -branchus,
-carpus, -centrus, -cercus, -cirrus, ‑coccus, -glossus, -lingus, -morphus, -myscus, -ophthalmus, -rhincus, -saurus, -taxus (280 items);
c.-VCus, -us → S-2 vs. S-1: S-2: -anthropus, -cephalus, ‑cladus, -clonus, -culus (cf. §15.5), -dactylus, -didymys, ‑gnathus, -lobus, -nosus, -onymus, -pagus, -parus, -philus, ‑phorus, -pterus, -pus, -pscittacus, -stomus, -thalamus,
‑todus (+ var. S-1), -tomus, -tonus (275 items) -vs. S-1: ‑nodus, -rhinus; -urus
(10); -pithecus (36) allows [-10] or [-100].
Words like lactobacillus, streptobacillus, etc. (8 items), aporocactus,
echinocactus, etc. (7), altostratus, nimbostratus, etc. (4), and adenovirus, enterovirus (75) are compounds in which the final element is a free
morpheme: bacillus (“type of bacteria”), cactus (“plant of the family
Cactaceae), stratus (“type of cloud”), virus (“infectious agent”).
A Latinised variant of -saur, -saurus is potentially the most productive of all final sequences listed in (22). Thus, no less than 900
species of reptiles of the Secondary Era named with this compo­site
element are listed in Wikipedia and Paleontology dictionaries (cf.
§16.1.3). The form in -us is usually preferred in specialist works. Although Saurosuchus is the only relevant compound retrieved from the
Corpus, -suchus is another productive final element, used in the naming of crocodile-like reptiles of the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous
Ages. More than 80 fossil species named with this element can be
found in Wikipedia: Argentinosuchus, Aristosuchus, Australosuchus,
Protosuchus, etc.
410
The Corpus contains about 30 items in which -us can synchronically be held as a separable suffix. Most of these words are actually
erudite synonymic variants of Anglicised nouns of classical origin: aqueductus (= aqueduct), asphaltus (= asphalt), bulbus (= bulb), iambus
(= iamb), etc. An equal number of nouns which may formally be interpreted as suffixed forms are markedly lexicalised: abecedarius (“a
poem in which lines begin with letters of the alphabet in regular order”),
angelus (“a series of prayers”), Ecclesiasticus (“one of the books of the
Apocrypha”), solidus (“the punctuation mark /”), etc.
In conclusion, an overwhelming majority of words in -us are
nouns with a bound stem. This affix keeps strong potential productivity
in natural history taxonomy, more particularly in paleontological classifications, in association with neoclassical combining forms (Compsognathus, Megalosaurus, Ramapithecus, etc.) or with free morphemes
which normally conjoin with the element B in -us further to the insertion of a linking <o>: Albertosaurus, Argentinosaurus, Australopithecus, Kentosaurus, etc.
16.3 Exceptions to truncation of neoclassical endings
Whereas base truncation quasi-systematically occurs, as has been
shown repeatedly in this study, when a suffix is attached to a word
containing a neoclassical ending (or an ending from another language
interpretable as such), some exceptions exist, chiefly with well-established words: mediumistic (19th the n. medium was very popular at the
heyday of spiritualism).As seen in the 2nd par. below §13(13), most
nouns in -e/i/um are immune to base truncation when they form a verb
with -ise: mediumise, museumise (1925), pal(l)adiumise, radiumise (r.
1906), vacuumise (1939 < vacuum) vs. bacterise <~ bacterium, tellurise (< tellurium).
Deletion does not occur when one of the separable suffixes reviewed in this chapter appends to separable or bound -id: Camelidae <~
camelid <~ camel, Ne'reides < 'Nereid <~ 'Nere(us), etc.). Well-established scientific terms in -on also tend to produce adjective affixation by
411
juxtaposition: baryonic (1959 < baryon), electronic (1902 < electron,
cp. electric < Neo-L), neutronic (1933 < neutron), photonic (1929 <
photon), protonic (1928 < proton), etc., cp. mesonic (1939 < meson) or,
alternately, mesic (id. < mes(on) + -ic, id.).
The scientific suffix -oid is apt to attach to consonant-final neo­
classical bound endings (e.g. sinusoid < sinus (in the s. of “curve”),
virusoid (cp. viral), cp. medusoid < medus(a).
Neoclassical common nouns or proper names in -o often yield
-ic, -al or -(i)an) adjectives which do not entail deletion of this final
vowel, either further to insertion of an n or direct appendage of the
suffix: Argoan, embryon(al/ic), heroic (< L <~ hero), Neronian, Platonic, Plutonic, Virgoan (cp. Mexican <~ Mexico < Aztecan, Monacan <
Monaco < L).
412
17. Stress-assignment and suffix stacking,
overall recapitulation
17.1 Stress-assignement
17.1.1 Neutral suffixes
i. C-initial suffixes (chiefly sep.): -dom, -ful, -hood, -less, -like, -ly,
-ment, ‑ness, -ry, some, -ship, -ster, -ty, -way, -ward(s), -wise (exc:
-self and -teen) + suffixes resulting from abstraction from free morphemes: -bot (sep.), -cade (sep. or bound), -fest (sep.), -gate (sep.),
-nik (sep.), -scape (chiefly sep., e.g. with a bound stem: xeriscape),
-tron (sep. e.g. ignitron or bound, in the latter case mostly attached
to truncated words, e.g. perceptron), -ware (Computing, sep.);
ii. V-initial agent, person and instrument suffixes (chiefly sep.) ‑ant,
-ard, -ate, -ar, -ent, -er, -ator, -itor, or (special case: C-initial plural
of -trix, feminine of nouns in -tor) > -trices: e'xecutrix > eˌxe'cutrices or -'trices), -ess, -ist (mostly analysable as replacing the noun
affixes -ism or -y when bound, e.g. exorcist, bigamist) and -ite;
iii. V-initial adjective suffixes (chiefly sep.) -ed, -ing, -ish and -y;
iv. V-initial noun suffixes of action, process, condition, result: -acy
(mostly attached to truncated words when bound, eg. lunacy < lunatic), -age (sep. or bound), -al (sep.), -ance/-ancy (sep. or bound,
in the latter case mostly analysable as replacing the adjective affix
-ant), -ence/-ency (id. -ent), -ery (sep. or bound, in the latter case
attached to opaque stems), -ing (chiefly sep.), -ature (sep. or bound)
and -ure (sep. or bound)
17.1.2 Stress-bearing suffixes
i.person suffixes -ee (sep.), -eer (sep. + v. sep. or bound, in the latter case attached to opaque stems) and -ese (+ adj., chiefly sep.,
attached to truncated words when bound, e.g. Portuguese);
ii.adj. suffix -esque (chiefly sep., attached to opaque stems when
bound, e.g. grotesque);
iii. v. suffix -esce (chiefly bound, mostly attached to opaque stems);
iv. n. suffix -ette (all senses, chiefly sep.);
v.typically French suffixes or graphic sequences (chiefly bound,
mostly attached to opaque stems): -C'C'e (-elle, -esse, etc.) -aire,
-aise, -eur, -euse, -eux, -Vche, -Vste;
vi.
-oon (bound, attached to opaque stems), -een (chiefly bound,
mostly attached to opaque stems);
vii.
-(i)ana (sep.), -ola (chiefly sep., sometimes attached to opaque
stems when bound, e.g. Victrola), -rati (sep. or bound, in the latter
case mostly attached to truncated words, e.g. cinerati);
viii.learned suffixes: -iasis, -itis, -osis, -oma (sep. or bound, in the latter case mostly attached to opaque stems), -rama (sep. or bound,
in the latter case mostly attached to truncated words e.g. cosmorama), -rrh(o)ea (bound, attached to opaque stems);
ix. prefinal combining forms: -hedr-, myc-, -zo-.
17.1.3 S-1 suffixes (separable or bound, in the latter case in transparent or opaque formations)
i. -ic(al/s)
ii.-ION (ion, -ial, -ian, -eous, etc.); specific cases -eal and -ean, governed by S-1/2 -al and -an: ˌEuro'pean <~ 'Europe + -an (weak
preservation) vs. Pro'methean < Pro'methe(us) + -an (strong preservation);
iii.-ity/-ety;
iv. -(e/i)fy;
v. -ible/-igible;
vi. -icide;
vii.-meter
414
17.1.4 S-1/2 suffixes (separable or bound, in the latter case in transparent or opaque formations): prefinal C2 or non-reduced VDig
+ suffix → S-1; other cases: V/V-initial suffix, see -ION, or -VC
+ suffix → S-2
i. adjective suffixes: -al, -an, -ant, -ary, -ent, -oid, -ous;
specific cases: (a) final syl. containing a free V + -al = S-1: hormonal, suicidal, etc.; (b) non-functional prefinal C2 in some words
where -ary or ‑ous are preceded by two syllables: legendary, hazardous, etc.
ii. neoclassical suffixes (including non-norm. pl.) or mere terminations: -a, -ad, -ae, -e (non-mute = [i]), -es, -i, -id, -is, -o, -on, -um,
-us; S-1/2 has no exceptions. On a graphic basis, however, no clearcut rules can be set forth for words where a -VC sequence is followed by a termination (cf. statistics §16(1)).
17.1.5 “Mixed suffixes”
i. -able (chiefly sep., mostly analysable as replacing the verb affix
-ant when bound, e.g. tolerate/tolerable): neutral but with S-1 variation when preceded by a consonant cluster or by a syllable containing a free vowel (demonstrable, identifiable, realisable, etc.);
ii.-ate (sep.): neutral in nouns indicating status or function (cardinalate, etc.); otherwise: -ate in dissylables = [01] in v. vs. [10] in n. and
adj. in GB; S-1 for adj. of three syllables or more with a prefinal C2
(incarnate, etc.) vs. S-2 in v. (bound or sep. demonstrate, incarnate,
originate, etc.);
iii.-ive and -ory: stress-imposing when preceded by -C2 (sep. or bound,
e.g. instinctive, compulsory) or by one syllable (chiefly sep. e.g. 'migrative/atory, cp. GB mi'grate); neutral in other sep. formations,
e.g. amusive, anticipative/atory <~ anticipate + -ive/-ory, persecutive/ory <~ persecute + -ive/ory, etc.); specific case: variants -'atory
and -'utory in GB (anticipatory, statutory, etc.);
iv. independent suffixes -ative/-atory and -itive/-itory (sep. or bound
allomorph of a verb base): initial stress when preceded by one
syllable, neutral otherwise (declarative/atory, etc., competitive/itory
415
<~ compete, etc., bound allomorphs acquisitive <~ acquire, repetitive <~ repeat, etc. ≠ inhibitive/ory < inhibit + -ive/ -ory, etc., cf.
iii. above) with S-1 variation when preceded by C2 (auscultative/
atory, etc.); specific case: bound allomorphs in -utive/utory of verbs
in -olve: evolutive <~ evolve, etc. ≠ persecutive/ory <~ persecute
+ -ive/ory, etc., cf. iii. above; specific variation in GB -'atory (confirmatory, purificatory, etc.);
iv.-ment (bound, in opaque formations): experiment, etc., same rules
as for -ate (chiefly bound, in the latter case mostly in opaque formations);
vi. -ise: initial stress in three-syllable formations (sep. or bound canalise, civilise <≠ civil, etc., otherwise sep. and chiefly neutral: federalise, etc.);
vi. -ism: neutral in non-learned sep. formations (careerism, federalism,
etc.); S-2 in bound words when preceded by two syl.: exorcism,
etc.); id. in -VCism CF compounds; vacillation in -C2ism CF compounds ('hierarchism vs. ˌiso'morphism);
vii.-y: neutral in non-learned sep. formations (discovery, difficulty, etc.);
prefinal -C2 is not functional in association with -y, either in opaque
three-syl. words (faculty, industry, etc.) or in CF compounds. In CF
compounds, precisely, sep. or bound -y entails S-2 when preceded
by -VC- (pho'tography, ge'ography, etc.) vs. S-3 (and sporadically
S-4, e.g. 'heterodoxy) when preceded by C2 ('cheiromancy, 'orthodoxy, etc.).
416
17.2 Suffix stacking1
17.2.1 Germanic suffixes (nearly always separable) + separable
Germanic or non-native suffixes
i. Gmc + Gmc
a. adj. suffixes (-ed, -en, -ern, -fold, -ful, -ing, -ish, -less, -ly, ‑some,
-y) + adv. forming -ly (no restriction except for -ly + -ly); and n.
forming -ness); -like rarely combines with ‑ly and -ness: childlikeness, godlikeness, ladylikeness, manlikely/ness, twinlikeness, warlikeness;
b. comparatives + -most: farthermost, furthermost, lowermost,
etc.; the irregular comparative elder has combined with -ish,
-ly (elder(ish/ly)) and -ship (eldership), better with -ness; the
deadverbial comparatives inner and outer with -ly and ‑ness;
further with -some;
c. n. suffix -th (extinct) + v. suffix -en (id.): depthen (arch.), lengthen, strengthen (bound allomorphs of free adj. bases, e.g. length <
long);
d. potential combinations: n. suffix -ster + -dom, -hood (+ ‑ship?)
and -ish, only gangsterdom, gangsterhood and gangsterish are
listed in the Corpus.
ii. Gmc + hybrid suffix -er:
a. adj. suffix -ern (closed class): westerner, etc.
b. v. suffix -en (extinct) + -er: hastener, moistener, etc.
c. potential combinations: -hood (+ -dom and -ship?), only statehooder is listed in the Corpus.
iii. Gmc + L
a.-ster + -ism and -ist (adj.): gangsterism, hispterism, pranksterism, funksterist2, etc.
1
2
The formatives resulting from abstraction from lexemes (e.g. -nik, -scape,
-tron) have not been included here.
Reminder: transparent noun suffixations in -ist are alternately adjectival (a Calvinist, Calvinist theology, etc.). However, on account of type-blocking derivatives in
-ist from nouns in -ster are normally only adjectives (e.g. pranksterist tradition of
“art terrorism”, etc.), except when they acquire a different meaning from that of the
417
b. potential combinations: -ful, -ness + -ise (neological formations:
awfulise, fitnessise).
17.2.2 Separable hybrid suffix -er + separable Germanic or nonnative suffixes
i. -er (+ var. -ar) + Gmc
a. + adj. suffixes -ish (loaferish, quakerish, etc.), -less (leaderless,
ownerless, etc.), -like (computerlike, lawyerlike, loverlike, etc.),
-ly (beggarly, easterly, etc.; most such formations are obs.);
b. + n. suffixes -ful, -dom, -hood and (mainly) -ship: containerful,
prayerful, beggardom, bestsellerdom, computerdom, beggarhood, widowerhood, advisership, commandership, dealership,
examinership, etc.
ii.-er (+ var. -ar) + L
+ -ism, -ist, -ise: consumerism, Quakerism, ranterism, Shakerism,
computerist, computerise, containerise, consumerise; reminder: n.
such as bakery, robbery, etc. are better treated in terms of being
suffixed with -ery (bak(e) + ‑ery, rob + b + -ery, etc.); + -ial: managerial.
17.2.3 Separable Latinate suffixes or bound allomorphs of free bases
(e.g. repetitive < repeat) + separable Germanic suffixes
L + Gmc
a. adj. suffixes -able, -(i)al, -(i)an, -ant, -ary, -ent, -ese, ‑esque,
-ic(al), -ible, ative, -itive, -ive, atory, -itory, -oid3, -ory, -ous + -ly
and -ness: advisably/ness, ceremonially/ness, Australianly/ness,
3
418
base, which is precisely the case with hipsterist, alternately used as a noun in the
sense of “advocate of hipsterism” (≠ hipster), cf. last par. of §7.4.6.
No examples of items in -oid + -ly or -ness are recorded in the Corpus, The
-oid + -ness combination is however retrievable from scholarly texts (e.g.
“All the planets exhibit oblate spheroidness to some degree, […]” Chandran
1993: 52.
defiantly/ness, customarily/ness, differently/ness, Japanesely/
ness, Chaplinesquely/ness, atheisticly/ness, coercibly/ness,
abortively/ness, affirmatively/ness, competitively/ness, repetitively/ness, consolatorily/ness, expositorily (no n. formed from
independent suffix -itory + -ness is listed in the Corpus), conciliatorily/ness, gluttonously/ness, etc.
b. n. suffixes -ation, -ion and -ature, -ure + -less: foundationless,
expressionless, signatureless, moistureless, etc.
c. agent n. suffix -or and “patient” n. suffix -ee + -ship: inspectorship, instructorship, traineeship, trusteeship, etc.
d. suffix of person -ite + -ish: Ishmaelitish, Moebitish, Ninevitish, etc.
17.2.4 Separable Latinate suffixes or bound allomorphs of free bases
(e.g. redemption < redeem) + hybrid suffix -er
i. v. suffixes -(e/ify), -ise: codifier, humidifier, centraliser, coloniser,
etc.
ii. n. suffixes -ance, -ation and -ion: conveyancer, remembrancer,
foundationer, redemptioner, restorationer, electrocutioner, executioner, extortioner, etc.
17.2.5 Separable Latinate suffixes or bound allomorphs of free bases (e.g.
acquisition < acquire) + Latinate suffixes (separable or inseparable further to truncation or phonetic readjustment4 of a free base)
i. v. suffixes (-ate, -(e/i)fy, -ise) +
a. adj. suffixes -able, -ive, -ory (with -ate), -able, -cative/‑catory (with -ify), -able, -ative/-atory (with -ise): authenticatable,
4
Reminder, suffixes attached to transparently suffixed formations are inseparable
in the ensuing combinations -(a/i)ble + -ity (accountability < accountable, etc.,
cf. §0(4c'); suffixes in -y (-acy, -ary, -ery, -ity) + i-initial suffixes (conspiracism
< conspiracy, complementarity < complementary, slaverism < slavery, mediocritise < mediocrity); Truncation of the -y of -ity is quasi-systematic in further
affixations: -ity + -arian (equalitarian < equality), -ity + -ate (facilitate < facili­
ty) vs. futuritial < futurity.
419
substantiatable, motivative, nauseative; acidifiable, classifiable,
codifiable, etc.; classificatory, purificative, purificatory, simplificative; advertisable, hybridisable, magnetisable, relaxative,
relaxatory, etc.
b. agent n. suffix -or: (with -ate): alienator, asphyxiator, calumniator, etc.
c. n. suffixes -ion, -ation, -fication (with -ify): accentuation, alienation, asphyxiation, etc.; acidification, classification, codification, etc.; Americanisation, colonisation, criminalisation, etc.
d. potential combinations: -ify + -ant and -ic: calorifiant, acidific.
ii. adj. Suffixes +
a. n. suffixes
-able/-ible, -(e/i/u)al (+ var. -ar), -(e/i/u)an (+ n.), -ary, -ese (+
n.), -ic, -ine, -ative, -itive, -ive, -oid, -ous (+ var. -ose) + ‑ity:
adaptability, changeability, accessibility, perfectibility, etc.;
accidentality, emotionality, territoriality, modularity, etc.; elementarity, complementarity; Chinesity, Japanesity, etc. (from
Internet pp., r., more com. Chineseness, Japaneness, etc.); atomicity, periodicity, sphericity, etc.; alkalinity, chlorinity, crystallinity; connectivity, creativity, distributivity, reactivity, etc.;
defectuosity, schistosity, scrupulosity, etc.
-(e/i/u)al (+ var. -ar), -(e/i/u)an (+ n.), -ary, -ic, ‑ative, -ive,
-itive5, -oid + -ism/ist: ceremonialism, colonialism/ist, controversialist, provincialism, etc.; Italianism/ist, Keynesianism/ist,
etc.; plebicitarism, reactionarism; Biblicism, Celticism, Gothicism, historicism, etc.; corporativism, constructivism,/ist, progressivism, etc.; euneuchoidism, parasitoidism;
-ic + -ian: academician, atomician, magnetician, etc.; ‑ic + ‑ate:
canonicate, pontificate (the homographic v. is now chiefly used
in a dem. sense “to speak in a pompous manner”);
potential combinations: -ic + -acy: graphicacy, -oid + -ity: spheroidity;
5
420
Although no relevant items are listed in the Corpus, -itive (stand-alone suffix)
+ -ism or -ist combinations are, unsurprisingly, found in scholarly texts (e.g.
[…] “competitivist theories of justice and right”; “In this paper I will argue that
competitivism should be rejected”, Steven Luper-Foy 1986: 167.
b. + v. suffixes
-(e/i/u)al (+ var. -ar), -(e/i/u)an, -ic, -ative, -ive + -ise: adverbialise, commercialise, modularise, etc.; Egyptianise, Italianise,
Victorianise, etc.; geometricize, historicise, phonemicise, etc.;
narrativise, perfectivise;
potential combinations: -ent (or -ence, with c > t) + -iate: differentiate; -ian + -ate: Italianate; -ic + -ate: metricate; pontificate
(cf. a.), -ine + -ise: alkalinise.
iii n. suffixes
a. suffixes of condition, action, result, etc. +
v. suffix: -ion, -ity + -ise: abolitionise, resurrectionise; mediocritise, -ity + -ate: facilitate;
n. suffix: -acy, -ation, -ion, -ition + -ism/-ist: conspiracism/ist,
supremacism/ist; abolitionism/ist, assimilationism/ist, conversationist, inspirationism, acquisitionism6, etc.; ‑ery + -ism: slaverism, etc.; -ity + -arian (n. and adj.): equalitarian, humanitarian, etc.
adj. suffix: -age + -able: carriageable, marriageable, packageable; -ence (c > t) + -ial: differential, existential, etc.; -(at/it/
ut)ion + -able, -al/-ary: communionable, companionable, emotionable, exceptionable, objectionable; abortional, abstractional, conversational, deflationary, extortionary, inflationary,
etc.; -ity + -al, futuritial, gentilitial, natalitial; -ment + -al:
developmental, environmental, governmental, impedimental,
judg(e)mental, + (from Internet pp.) assessmental, assignmental, etc.
Potential combination: -age + -ist: assemblagist; -ity + ‑ous:
multiplicitous; -ure + -ise: moisturise and -able: pleasurable
b. agent suffixes and suffixes of persons or instruments +
v. suffix: -arian, -or + -ise: antiquarianise, totalitarianise, unitarianise; oratorise, conveyorise, reflectorise;
6
Although absent from the Corpus, -ition (stand-alone suffix or bound allomorph
of a verb base) + -ism or -ist combinations are there again found in other sour­
ces, including scholarly books (e.g. acquisitionism/ist: “The problems of acquisitionism, though admittedly somewhat different, are analogous in nature”;
“[…] establishing this harmony then is possible in either an acquisitionist or a
statist perspective”, D. J. De Leonardis 1998: 223 & 210.
421
n. suffix: -arian + -ism/-ist: contractarianism/ist, equalitarianism,
humanitarianism/ist, totalitarianism/ist, Unitarianism, etc.; -ee
+ -ism: abstenteeism, presenteeism, refugeeism; -or + -ate: collectorate, inspectorate, protectorate, etc.
adj. suffix: -arian + -ist (contractarianist, etc., see preceding
par.); -ist + -ic(al): Calvinistic(al), etc.; -or + ‑(i)al: combinatorial, conspiratorial, protectoral, senatorial, etc.; -ian: oratorian, senatorian
potential combinations: -(i)an + -age: guardianage; -ent + ‑ism/
ist: preexistentism/ist; -ist + -ary: evengelistary; -ite + ‑ism: favo(u)ritism; -o(u)r + -ism/ist (behavio(u)rism/ist) and -ian (senatorian).
17.2.6 Separable Latinate suffixes or bound allomorphs of free bases
+ Latinate suffixes (separable or inseparable further to truncation or phonetic readjustment of a free base), summary and
conclusion
The suffix combinations set out in §§17.2.3–5 above essentially reflect
the following facts:
i.-ise and (to a lesser extent) -ify are the only verb suffixes which
have remained productive when conditions for null conversion are
not met with (cf. §19);
ii. -ation is the most productive Latinate suffix of action, process,
condition or result now attachable to a verb, -ance being still marginally used for this purpose whilst -age has seemingly taken on
a new lease of life, at least in North American English, rivalling
with -ing in the nominalisation of short verbs (funding/fundage,
etc.);
iii.-ism and its correlate designating a person -ist are the most prolific
noun suffixes in the denotation of respectively a political, philosophical, religious, scientific, etc. system or doctrine and one of its
followers; -ist may also compete with ‑er in learned compounds
(calligrapher/ist, idolater/trist) and in non-scientific usages, in
combination with a base in ‑ation or -ion referring to an activity
422
(often of a political kind) or an attitude (often seen in a negative
light): restoration(er/ist), extortion(er/ist);
iv.-ian is the most commonly used suffix denoting someone identifiable with a geographic area and its culture, customs and language.
It also rivals -ist in the designation of a follower of a political,
historical, artistic, philosophical etc. doctrine, system or school;
v. a rival of -ness, -ity is the only Latinate suffix forming nouns from
adjectives;
vi.-able is the only adjective suffix (chiefly deverbal), employed to
qualify the ability or potentiality of performing an action;
vii -al is the most commonly used denominal adjective suffix qualifying a noun of action, condition or result (judg(e)mental, preferential, restrictional, etc.), often in competition with -ary when
the base is a noun in -ion; -ic and -ous generally qualify more
scientific concepts;
viii. -ive, -ative, -itive and their competitors (or synonymic variants)
-ory, -atory, itory are the most common deverbal adjective suffixes
used to qualify a tendency, adhesion or condition, having in this
respect a narrow paradigmatic relation with nouns in -ion, -ation,
-ition: intuitive/intuition, anticipative/atory/anticipation, competitive/itory/competition.
Discarding adverbialisations in -ly and nominalisations in -ness, which
are compatible with nearly all adjectives (whether already suffixed or
monomorphemic, or Germanic or Latinate), as well as potential combinations represented by only one example each in the Corpus (e.g.
pleasurable), there remain 101 licensed sequences7 made up of two successive suffixes, as listed in the table below, inspired from Fabb’s: 529 &
531 (conventions: A = adjective, H = hybrid, N = noun and V = verb).
7
Plag (2002) listed 86 possible combinations.
423
Gmc + Gmc, H or L
<A
comp -er + Gmc -most
A>A
<N
-ern
+ H -er
A>N
< N or A -ster
+ L -ism/ist
N>N
<A
-th
+ Gmc -en
N>V
<A
-en
+ H -er
V>N
H + Gmc or L
< V or N -er
+ Gmc -ish, -less, like, -ly
+ L -(i)al
N>A
<V
-er
<V
-er
< V or N -able/ible
<N
-(e/i/u)al
<N
<N
<N
<N
-(e/i/u)al
-(e/i/u)an
-(e/i/u)an
-ary
<V
-ative
<N
-ese +
<N
-ic
< N.
<N
<N
-ic
-ic
-ine
424
lowermost
Northerner
hipsterism/ist
strengthener
moistener
loaferish, leaderless, lover-like,
easterly, managerial
+ Gmc -ful, -dom/-hood/-ship
+ L -ism, -ist
N>N
containerful, computerdom widowerhood, leadership,
consumerism/ist
+ L -ise
N>V
consumerise
L + L, H or G
+ L -ism/ist, -ity A > N
reliabil(ism/ist/ity)
+ L -ism/ist, -ity A > N
tribalism/ist, provinciality
+ L -ise
A>V
colonialise
+ L -ism/ist, -ity A > N
Keynesian(ism/ist)
+ L -ise
A>V
Italianise
+ L -ism, -ity
A>N
reactionarism,
complementarity
+ L -ism/ist, -ity A > N
comparativism/ist,
causativity
+ L -ity
A>N
Chinesity, more
com. -ness
+ L -ian, -ism/ist,
-ity
A>N
academician, Celticism/ist, atomicity
+ L -ate
A>V
metricate
+ L -ise
A>V
Celticise
+ L -ity
A>N
crystallinity
<V
<V
-itive
-ive
+ L -ity
+ L -ism/ist, -ity
A>N
A>N
<V
<N
<N
<N
-ive
-oid
-ous
-arian
+ L -ise
+ L -ism
+ L -ity
+ L -ism/ist
A>V
A>N
A>N
N>N
<N
-arian
< V or N -ee
+ L -ise
+ Gmc -ship
+ L -ism
N>V
<N
<N
<V
<V
-ist
-ite
-or
-or
<V
<V
<V
<V
<V
<V
<V
<V
<V
<N
<V
-or
-acy
-age
-ance
-ation
-ation
-ature
-ence
-ence
-ery
-ion8
+ L -ic
+ Gmc -ish
+ L -(i)al, -ian
+ Gmc -ship,
+ L -ate
+ L -ise
+ L -ism, ist
+ L -able
+ H -er
+ L -ism/ist
+ Gmc -less
+ Gmc -less
+ L (c > t) -ial
+ H -er
+ L -ism
+ Gmc -less,
+ L -able, -al,
-ary
<V
8
-ion
+ Gmc -ship,
+ H -er
N>N
competitivity
creativism/ist, creativity
narrativise
eunuchoidism
nebulosity
humanitarian (ism/
ist)
antiquarianise
N>A
N>A
N>A
trusteeship, absenteeism
Calvinistic
Israelitish
senatorial/ian
N>N
N>V
N>N
N>A
N>N
N>N
N>A
N>A
N>A
N>N
N>N
inspectorship/ate
conveyorise
supremacism/ist
marriageable
conveyancer
inspirationism/ist
inspirationless
signatureless
preferential
referencer
slaverism
N>A
afflictionless, emotionable, motiva­
tional, abolitionary
In a different approach than that advocated in H&P: 1701, ie parsing nouns
in -ation other than declaration, inspiration etc. (<~ declare, inspire + -ation,
stand-alone suffix) as resulting from concatenation of -ate and -ion (anticipation, participation <~ anticipate, participate + ion, etc.) instead of replacement
of -ate by -ation (cf. § 2.3.6).
425
+ L -ism/ist9
N>N
<V
-ion
+ L -ise
N>V
<A
<A
<A
<V
<V
<N
<N
-ity
-ity
-ity
-ment
-ure
-ate
-ate
+ L -al
+ L -arian
+ L -ate
+ L -al
+ Gmc -less
+ L -ive, -ory
+ L -ion10, -or
N>A
N>N
N>V
N>A
N >A
V>A
V>N
< N or A -ise
< N or A -ise
+ L -able
+ H -er, L -ation
V>A
V>N
<N
-ify
+ L -able, -cative,
-catory
V>A
<N
-ify
+ H -er,
+ L -cation
9
10
426
V>N
Same comment as in the foregoing footnote.
Id.
relationship, extortion(er/ist) exhibition(ism /ist)
abotitionise (≠
abolish)
gentilitial
equalitarian
facilitate
developmental
pleasureless
originative,
origination, originator
rationalisable
womaniser, ionisation
diversifiable, exemplificative, classificatory
beautifier, beautification
Part V
Further issues
18. Compounds
18.1 Combining-form compounds
The formidable word-formation potential of neoclassical combining
forms has been emphasised repeatedly in this study. According to Bouffartigue and Delrieu (1982), there are about 600 combining elements
inherited from Greek and (less frequently) Latin productively used
in the formation of new words in languages which, like English, can
draw from this linguistic input. A similar number of combining forms,
a quarter of which have the aptitude to be either initial or final elements
in learned compounds (e.g. grapholect, photograph), are listed in most
English-Language Dictionaries. A Cross Reference of Latin and Greek
elements, also accessible from the OL search engine, yields much more
impressive data, cataloguing no less than 1780 initial combining forms
in -o.
Stress-placing effects have been studied in previous chapters, first
in relation to S-1 or stress-bearing element-B combining forms (-icide,
‑meter, -hedr-, -myc(ete/in), -rama, -rrh(o)ea), -zo-) then to compounds
containing an element C (-a, -al, -an, -er, -es, -id, -is, -ism, -ist, -oid,
-on, -ous, -us, -um, -y, etc.). After exclusion of the stress-affecting elements already reviewed (-icide, -meter, -rama, etc.), this subsection will
deal with learned compounds with no bound ending or separable suffix
(e.g. blastospore = blast(o)- (A) + -spore (B) or electrocardiograph =
electr(o)- (A') + cardi(o)- (A) + -graph (B)).
18.1.1 Morphemic status and syllabic makeup
As pointed out in §7.6, several lexicographers have been inclined to
define productive Greco-Latin final elements as suffixes (cf. Cambridge
D., Free D., Macmillan D., OEtymD, Wordsmyth D.). Such classifications
have here been deemed inappropriate since C-initial suffixes are by all
accounts overwhelmingly separable and stress neutral (de'velop#ment#
vs. Ger'manophile/phobe <~ 'German + -o- + -phile/ ‑phobe, cp. *German#phile/phobe).
In neoclassical compounds, element A standardly contains two or
three syllables1 whereas B is generally monosyllabic (the most common
dissyllabic B elements are -anthrope (philanthrope, etc.), -dactyl (pterodactyl, etc.) and -opter (coleopter, etc.) 2.
18.1.2 Two-element compounds, stress placement principles
and statistical generalisations
18.1.2.1 Three-syllable compounds
As established by Guierre (1984:115), three-syllable A + B learned
compounds receive initial stress:
(1)
(Sorted by graphic rhyme)
catacomb, centiped(e), decapod, pseudod, astrolabe, homophobe, technophobe,
episode, demagog(ue), Miocene, endocrine, megaphone, oxytone, endoscope,
gyroscope, isotope, misanthrope, philanthrope, sporophore, megathere, monoglot, otocyst, holocaust, cosmonaut, etc. (900 items),
18.1.2.2 -ION, prefinal C2 or Vdig
As is the case in A + B + C learned constructions (ˌmega'therium, ˌhippo'campus, ˌdino'saurus, etc., two-element compounds of more than
three syllables have their element A comply with S-1 when it ends in
-ION or has a prefinal -C2 or VDig-. In this context, the stress-inducing
syllable of element A is nearly always closed by a linking -o:
1
2
430
The few four-syllable A elements encountered are actually adaptations from
free morphemes, e.g.: ac'celerograph (< acceler(ation) + -o- + -graph vs. accelero(meter) + graph in OED), hal'lucinogen (1954 < hallucin(ation) + -o- +
‑gen), ten'taculocyst (< tentacul(um) + -o- + -cyst).
Compounds in -dactyl abide by the -C2 stress-assignment rule (ˌptero'dactyl,
etc.). So do those in -opter in all senses (Optics, Ophthalmology or Zoology: di'opter, cole'opter, ho'ropter, etc.), except that of aircraft ('gyroˌcopter,
'heliˌcopter, 'orniˌthopter, etc.).
(2)
First CF in
a.-ION (-e/io): angiogram, angiosperm, basidiospore, bibliophile, brachiopod, brachiosaur, cardiogram, choreograph, heliograph, heliotrope, homeopath, hyetograph, ideogram, idiolect, mimeograph, myriapod, osteoclast,
Paleocene, paleograph, physiocrat, plesiosaur, stereoscope, stereotype,
trach­eocele, etc. (55 elements, 100 items);
b.-C2 or -Vdig + -o: electrograph, electrophone, kaleidoscope, laryngograph,
ophthalmoscope, oscilloscope, oscillogram, pharyngoscope, plethysmograph, salpingogram, salpingoscope, thalassocrat, tyrannosaur, etc. (46 elements, 110 items); exc.: 'aristocrat, GB, vs. US a'ristocrat.
The -ION generalisation rule is not retained when, instead of being
final, the biphonemic vowels of element-A combining forms are followed by a consonant and a linking -o-: ˌperi'odoscope, ˌmete'oroscope,
etc. Some neoclassical compounds with no element C exhibit initial
combining forms which, although closed by a linking -o-, are not GrecoLatin roots but free morphemes or adaptations from free morphemes
(or elements synchronically interpretable as such): e.g. Da'guerr(e)o-(<
(Louis) Daguerr(e) + -o-, Da'guerr(e)otype), hal'lucino- (cf. footnote
1 above), in'ducto- (prob. a shortening of induct(ion) + -o-, in'ductotherm), ˌperi'odo- (< period + -o-, peri'odoscope), per'specto- (< L <~
perspect(ive) + o- vs. < perspect(ive) + -o- in OED, per'spectograph),
etc.
18.1.2.3 Neo-Latin compounds
A relatively dependable rule can be ascribed to Neo-latin compounds,
recognisable by their linking -i-. In such words stress strikes the antepenult, at the cost of possible mismatches with transparent bases: cu'licifuge, di'chroiscope, hu'midistat (1918 < humid + -i- + -stat), in'sectifuge
(< 'insect + -i- + -fuge), o'doriphore (< 'odor + -i- + ‑phore), or'ganigram
(1962 < F <~ 'organ(ise) + -i- + -gram), po'lariscope (< L <~ 'polar +
-i- + -scope vs. polar(ise) + -i- in OED), etc. The most productive final
element of this kind is -iform (320 items), which derives its sense (“having the shape of form of ”, chiefly used in Botany or Biology), from that
of the homographic noun. In its alternative meaning (“resembling”), this
adjective combining form may have synonymous variants constructed
with other suffixes, chiefly -oid and sporadically -al/-ar, ‑ate, -ic, -ine.
As illustrated by the ensuing sample, quite a few learned adjectives of
431
this class which appear to have a transparent base are authentic suffixed
forms:
(3)
apo'plectiform (< F <~ 'apoplex(y) + -iform, = -oid ≠ -ic), ca'lyciform (< calyx
(> c) + iform = -ate or -eal), co'ralliform < 'coral + (l) + iform), co'lumniform (<
L stem + iform <~ column = ‑ar), cy'lindriform (id. <~ cylind(e)r = -ic or -oid),
embry'oniform (< embryo + n + -iform = -oid ≠-onic or -onal), ˌepi'leptiform
(<ˌepi'lept(ic) + iform = -oid ≠ -ic), gra'nitiform (< 'granite + iform = -oid,
-ic), ˌlaby'rinthiform (< 'labyrinth + iform vs. < modern L in OED = -ian, -ic
or -ine), ˌlani'ariform (< laniary + iform vs. < L stem + iform in OED = -ary),
me'talliform (< L stem + l + -iform <~ 'metal ≠ -oid, -ic), mo'nadiform (< 'monad + iform ≠ -al, -ic), ˌpara'boliform (< pa'rabol(a) + iform = -ic), pe'taliform
(< petal + -iform = -oid ≠ -ous), ra'cemiform (< 'raceme + -iform = -ous, -ose),
san'daliform (< 'sandal + iform), va'riciform (< L <~ 'varix + -iform = -oid -≠
-ous, -ose), etc.
However, contrary to the 100% efficient S-1 -icide combining form
(cf. §4.3), some non-proparoxytone items are recorded in relation
with ‑iform. First of all, items in -ul- + -iform place primary stress in
the same manner as other words in which this sequence precedes an
adjective and/or noun suffix3. Finally, the ensuing adjectives preserve
the primary stress of their base: 'choleriform (< 'cholera), 'digitiform
(< scientific L <~ 'digit), 'resiniform (< 'resin), 'ruiniform (< ruin +
var. ru'iniform, MWD, given as sole pronunciation in OED, updated
2011).
18.1.2.4 Remainder of the Corpus
Other A + B learned compounds, of which 95% have a connective
-o-, reveal that A elements (which standardly contain three syllables)
predominantly have antepenult stress when the onset of their last syllable is a velar or a liquid, as opposed to a [(-)010] pattern in other
configurations.
3
432
Initial combining forms in -ulo are likewise stressed before -ul-: cellulo-,
granulo-, nebulo-, tentaculo-, uvulo- (cf. acidulous, spectacular, etc., §15.5):
ˌace'tabuliform and sim. botuliform, cumuliform, fistuliform, granuliform, mandibuliform, oculiform, operculiform, poculiform, spiculiform, strombuliform,
tubuliform, umbraculiform, etc.
(4)
Element A in
a. /k, g, l, r/ + -o- → [(-)100]: amylo-, ankylo-, anthraco-, astero-, blepharo-, cephalo-, conchylo-, conifero-, cotylo-, dactylo-, deutero-, diptero-,
dolicho-, cephalo-, entero-, gastero-, glycero-, gyneco-, hetero-, hyraco-,
laparo-, martyro-, mastigo-, etc. (53 CFs, 170 items);
b. other /C/ + -o- → [(-)010]
actino-, adeno-, adreno-, aletho-, amebo-, amino-, anemo-, aniso-, apato-,
astheno-, aveno-, balano-, carcino-, chlamydo-, cinemato-, corytho-, cyprino-, dynamo-, germano-, etc. (107 CFs, 700 items).
Whereas (4) is quite efficient on a sheer statistical basis, accounting for
870 of 890 items, there are 16 element-A combining forms (10% of
attested elements) evading the onset dichotomy set out above. Although
these elements have yielded barely more than 20 items, it must be borne
in mind that more constructions of this kind are likely to emerge from
larger corpora (e.g. Italophobe, Italophone).
(5)
/k, g, l, r/ + -o → [(-)010]): adelo- (1 item: adelopod), allelo- (<~ al'lel(e) + -o-,
1: allelomorph), ailuro (1: ailurophile), italo- (< Ital(ian) + -o-, 1: Italophile +
var. [1000], the italo- CF is given with [100] as first pronunciation in OED, not
updated), meteoro- (< meteor + -o-, 1: meteorolite, the meteoro- CF is given
[1000] as sole pronunciation) in OED, updated 2001, opalo- (< opal + -o-, 1:
opalotype), mercuro- (2: mercurochrome, a trademark, mercurophen, id.), securo- (< secur(ity) + -o-, 1: securocrat), tonsilo- (< tonsil + -o-, 1: tonsilotome);
other C + -o- → [100]): adipo- (3: adipocele/cere/cyte), cerato- (or kerato- 5:
ceratosaur, keratocele/cyte/phyte/scope), mechano- (1: mechanograph), merito- (1: meritocrat (1960), a BF < meritocracy), platino- (< platin(um) + -o-, 1:
platinotype), roentgeno- (< Roentgen + -o, 3: Roentgenograph/gram (1905),
-scope (1905), retino- (< retin(a) + -o-, 1: retinoscope).
Even though 11 of the 16 initial combining forms in (5) can be treated
as stress-preserving derivatives from a free morpheme (e.g. 'retinoscope
<~ 'retin(a) + -o-), no minor rule can be inferred from this since, besides
the remetrified cases with no stress-preserving variant of o'palo- (< 'opal)
and ton'silo- (< 'tonsil) noted above, stress displacements occur with other
transparent bases: ˌcine'mato- (<~ 'cinema + -t- (cf. §1.3) + -o-, ˌcine'matograph), dy'namo-(<~ 'dynamo, dy'namogram), fi'brino- (<~ 'fibrin + -o-,
fi'brinogen), Ger'mano- (<~ 'German + -o-, Ger'manophobe), mem'brano- (< 'membran(e) + -o-, mem'branophone, 1935), etc.
It must finally be noted that 17 of the 160 initial combining forms
of type (4) display stress variation (e.g. Oligocene, [1000] or [0100]):
433
(4')
Three-syllable A elements (nl = not listed in EPD and/or LPD)
a. /k, g, l, r/ + -o-: [-100] (in compliance with (4a) above) + var. [010] oligo(EPD & LPD), phanero- (id.), pharmaco- (LPD); phosphoro- (id.) vs. →
[010] (in contradiction with (4a) above) + var. [100]: dactylo- (EPD)
b. other C + -o-: [010] (in compliance with (4b) above) + var. [100]: acido- nl
(D.com.), gameto- (LPD), hepato- nl (D.com & OED), melano- nl (D.com &
MWD), pneumato- nl (all dictionaries of the Corpus), vs. [100] (in contradiction with (4b) above) + var. [010]: chromato- (EPD & LPD), galvano(LPD), nemato- (id.), palato- (id.), somato- (id.), spermato- nl (id., sper'mato
is given as first pronunciation in all North American dictionaries of the Corpus), -stomato- (id.), trypano- (EPD & LPD);
18.1.3 Stress placement in compounds with two pre-B elements
Complex learned compounds in which an element B is preceded by
two combining forms place primary stress on the last element before
element B, in conformity with the principles set forth in the preceding
subsection:
(6)
ˌbaro'thermograph, ˌchorda'mesoderm, ˌcolpo'cystocele, ˌecho'cardiogram,
eˌlectro'cardiogram, ˌferro'glocophane, ˌhysterosal'pingogram, ˌiso'drosotherm, ˌmesa'regolith, ˌmyelome'ningocele, ˌpachy'cephalosaur, ˌphyto'pathogen, ˌproto'zoophage, etc. (700 items)
18.1.4 Stress placement in compounds in which element B
is a polysyllabic free morpheme
Learned formations associating an element-A combining form and a polysyllabic4 free base take primary stress on the first syllable of element B
when the latter belongs to specialised (chemical, etc.) terminology.
(7)
ˌamphi'prostyle and sim. amphopeptone, archiphoneme ectoenzyme, geosyncline, menispermine, neucleohistone, phospholipid, photocathode, pterodactyl
(cf. also footnote 2 of this chapter), pyrophillite, etc. (300 items)
However, when element B is a non-scientific word or a specialised word
which has passed into relatively current vocabulary (e.g. culture, cycle,
4
434
Most such bases are dissyllabic.
litre, metre, syllable), primary stress generally falls on element A whilst
element B receives secondary stress as in standard compounds.
(8)'amphiˌtheatre and similarly apiculture, aquaculture, centilitre, decilitre, centimetre, decametre (about kilometre cf. §4.4), exoplanet, megacycle, monocycle,
hexasyllable, monosyllable, etc.
18.1.5 Productivity in non-specialist language
A fair number of initial and final combining forms as well as learned
Greco-Latin prefixes have become established in everyday language,
most particularly in computing, political and societal contexts. The
most productive of these elements are:
(9)
Non-learned senses
a. initial elements: arch(i)- (“of highest rank”); bio- (“life”); chrono- (“time”),
crypto- (“concealed”), cyber- (“rel. to computer science or networks”), eco(“rel. to ecology”), giga- (in the fig. s. of “colossal”), euro- (“of the European Union”), exo- (“outside earth”), hyper- (“in excess”), macro- (“great
in size or duration”), maxi- (“very large”), mega- (in the fig. s. of “great”),
micro- (“small or minute”), mini- (“smaller or shorter than the standard
size”); mono- (“one, single”), na(n)no- (in the fig. s. of “extreme smallness”), narco- (in the s. of “connected with drug trafficking”), neo- (“new”),
pan- (in the s. of “unifying all members of a cultural or ethnic group”), petro- (in the s. of “rel. to oil-producing countries”), poly- (“much or many”),
proto- (“earliest form of ”), pseudo- (“false, unauthentic”), psycho- (“of the
mind”), techno- (“rel. to technology”), tele- (in the s. of “transmission over
a distance”);
b. final elements: -clast (“something that breaks”), -crat: (“ruler, member of
a ruling body”), -graph (in the s. of “instrument for writing, drawing, recording”); -naut (“voyager, traveller”); -path (in the s. of “suffering from an
ailment”), -phile (“a lover of ”); -phobe (“a person having a specific fear or
hatred”); -phone: “musical, sound reproduction or transmission instrument”
+ “a native speaker of a given language”).
Besides the dozens of items constructed with one (or two, e.g. technophobe) of the elements in (9) which are listed in the Corpus (e.g.
biodiversity, bioethics, biomedicine, cyberspace, cybersex, ecoterrorism, gigaflop, Eurobond, exobiology, exoplanet, hyperlink, hypertext,
hypervelocity, microchip, microwave, minibar, minibus, minicam,
435
minicomputer, miniskirt, monohull, monoplane, narcodollar, narcotrafficker, pan-Arabism, pan-Americanism, petrodollar, pseudoscience,
psychobabble, technofear, techno-thriller, teleprompter, televangelist,
telework, meritocrat, technocrat (cf. §7.6), sociopath, audiophile (“a
lover of high-fidelity sound”), technophobe, payphone, smartphone,
aquanaut, cybernaut, oceanaut, etc.), a huge number of similar compounds are retrievable from neology dictionaries or Internet pages:
arch-idiot, arch-feminist, arch-sex-symbol, biofood, chrononaut, crypto-communist, crypto-fascist, cyber police, ecobus, ecoforestry, gigahit,
Euro-enthusiast, Euroskeptic, maxicoat, maxiskirt, narcostate, petromonarchy, protoconservative, psychoscience, technokid, technopark,
meritocrat, nerdophile, wikiphile, wikiphobe, etc. Most of these compounds have been coined over the last fifty years.
18.1.6 Suffixable A + B compounds
As has been expounded in previous chapters, learned combining-form
compounds are apt to be affixed with (a) neoclassical suffixes (Brontosaurus, necrophilia, etc.); (b) -ism and -y: monarchy, monarchism, photography, etc.) + (correlatively) -ist and -er (monarchist, photographer,
etc.); (c) S-1–2 adjective suffixes (decapod(al/an/ous), harmonious,
etc.). About -ise verbalisations of A + B combining form compounds,
see §13(4) and penult par. of §13.2.2.3.
18.2 Standard compounds
18.2.1 General features
In their study of standard two-component compound words, Chomsky
and Halle (SPE:17) noted that placement of primary stress on the first
component (henceforth component A vs. component B for the second
436
component) is massively the norm5. Whereas this observation holds
true statistically, other scholars (notably Huart-Friedlander, 1989, Deschamps et al, 2004, Giegerich, 2004 & 2009, Plag et al, 2008) have
since established that more intricate stress-assignment principles need
be defined for this lexical family.
In terms of primary-stress assignment, the most salient fact
which emerges from lexical corpora is that compounds are basically
subject to a categorial dichotomy, most nouns receiving primary stress
on component A and many adjectives or adverbs on component B.
(10)
n.: blackbird, buyout, catch-all, courtyard, darkroom, eyelid, fireplace, flowerbed, grammar school, greenhouse, handshake, housing project, knowall, know-how, landslide, looking glass, mole-hill, old boy, redneck, rip-off,
seashore, she-wolf, steamboat, string-pulling, sunup, textbook, walkover,
winning-post, wire-tapping, witchhunt, yes-man, etc. vs. adj.: burnt-out (cp.
'burnout, n.), cool-headed, dark-blue, dead-beat (cp. 'deadbeat, n.), dirt-cheap,
double-bedded, duty-free, far-out, ice-cold, jet-black, knee-deep, long-standing,
loud-mouthed, never-ending, pitch-dark, run-down (cp. 'rundown, n.), spot-on,
stone-deaf, stuck-up, tax-free, top-heavy, etc.
A fair number of noun compounds attest to metaphorical or metonymic
transfers, hence the famed pairs in which such lexemes are to be contrasted with mere noun phrases (c.f. “nuclear stress rule” vs. “compound
stress rule”, SPE: 17) which, barring contrastive stress (e.g. a 'black
bird not a 'blue one!), display a [21] stress sequence): 'blackbird (“common European thrush”) ≠ black bird (“any bird whose colour is black”),
'blackshirt (“a member of the Italian Fascist Party under Mussolini”)
≠ black shirt (“a shirt whose colour is black”), 'darkroom (“a room
for developing film”) ≠ dark room (“a room which is not well-lit”),
5
It is incidentally worth noting that post-primary secondary stresses (cp. ˌloud
'mouthed, with pre-primary secondary stress) are only noted in some dictionaries when component B is polysyllabic: 'teenˌager (post-primary secondary
stress on the first syllable of disyllabic component B. always noted in English
dictionaries) vs. 'teenage (post-primary stress monosyllabic component B, no
notation of secondary stress in EPD, LPD, OED, a convention which has been
adopted henceforth, cp. 'teenˌage in American Heritage D., Collins D., Macmillan D., MWD).
437
'greenhouse (“a glass house for growing or conserving plants out of
season”) ≠ green house (“a house whose colour is green”), etc. 6
Adjective compounds in which component B is affixed with
-ed are very productive (1150 items in the Corpus): ˌbald-'headed,
ˌhalf-'witted, ˌloose-'limbed, ˌpale-'faced, etc. On account of their late
primary stress, such adjectives frequently mismatch with corresponding noun compounds: 'balhead vs. ˌbald'headed and similarly 'bareback; ˌbare'backed, 'fathead; ˌfat-'headed, 'flatfoot; ˌflat'footed, 'halfwit;
ˌhalf 'witted, 'hothead; ˌhot-'headed, 'freehand; ˌfree'handed, 'loudmouth; ˌloud'mouthed, 'pureblood; ˌpure'blooded. Another productive
class of adjective compounds, although to a lesser degree than those
in -ed, is that in which component B is affixed with -ing (400 items):
ˌall-em'bracing, ˌeasy'going, ˌever-'changing, ˌfar-'reaching, etc.
When an adjective compound is composed of a noun + a noun +
-ed, secondary + primary stress is still noted in 75% of cases in British
English, in contrast with primary + secondary stress which is compulsory in American English. A variant conforming to the US pattern is nearly always attested in British English: 'hatchet-ˌfaced, 'starch-reˌduced,
'vacuum-ˌpacked, 'pidgeon-ˌtoed, 'wasp-ˌwaisted, etc. The same dichotomy applies to compounds in which component B is a departicipial
adjective from a strong verb: ˌclose-'knit, ˌfar-'flung, ˌfull(y)-'grown,
ˌheavy-'set, high-'flown, ill-'bred, long-'drawn, low-'born, ˌready-'made,
soft-'spoken, etc. vs. 'airborne, 'bed-ˌridden, 'home-bound, 'home-spun,
'panic-ˌstricken, 'punch-drunk, 'spoonfed, 'stage-struck, 'time-worn,
'worm-ˌeaten, 'weather-ˌbeaten, etc. In adjective compounds made up
of a noun + a noun + -ing (instead of an adjective + a noun + -ing as
in long-standing, etc.), the primary + secondary stress pattern is compulsory in both dialects: 'awe-inˌspiring, 'blood-ˌcurling, 'death-ˌdealing, 'earth-ˌshaking, 'ear-ˌsplitting, 'mind-ˌblowing, 'soul-desˌtroying,
'thought-proˌvoking, etc.
As is the norm with other finally stressed words (Japanese, etc.,
cf. §5.1.3), adjective compounds are susceptible to stress-shift when
they are used attributively: A ˌclose-knit 'family; An ˌeasygoing 'person;
He has ˌjet-black 'hair, etc.
6
438
Many more examples of such contrasting pairs can be found in Kingdon, 1958:
192–193.
18.2.2 Two-component compounds, secondary rules
The assignment of primary stress to component A in noun compounds
does not apply in the ensuing syntactic combinations and semantic contexts (Giegerich, 2004 & 2009, Huart-Friedlander, 1989, Deschamps et
al, 2004, Trevian 2003):
i. nouns in -er or -ing + adverbial particle: ˌchucker-'out and sim.
hanger-on, looker-up, listener-in, backer-up, runner-up, washer-up,
etc.; ˌcarrying-'on and sim. dressing-down, goings-on, going-over,
summing-up, telling-off, ticking-off, etc. exc: 'talking-to;
ii. place names: ˌBuckingham 'Palace and sim. Abbey Road, Greenwich Village, Lake Ontario, Mount Rushmore, Park Avenue, Pearl
Harbor, Penny Lane, Piccadilly Circus, Sahara Desert, Victoria
Station, Windsor Castle; exc.: street names ('Baker Street, etc.);
iii. compounds in which component A denotes the substance the second is made of: ˌbrick 'wall, ˌcheese 'sandwich and sim. cotton
dress, leather jacket, olive oil, orange squash, paper napkin, pork
pie, etc.; exc.: compounds in which component B is cake, juice,
milk and water: chocolate cake, lemon juice, coconut milk, soda
water, etc.;
iv. compounds in which component A sub-classifies the second: baby
brother, child psychology, computer science, dollar bill, gentleman
farmer, information technology, pound note, twin sister, woman
writer, etc.
Despite the generalisations set out above, compounds are subject to
much variation and a fair number of minor rules. Thus adjective and
adverb compounds take early primary stress when component B is
‑blind, -happy, -long, -proof, -proud, -sick, -sore, -strong, -tight, -weary and ‑worthy: 'colourblind, 'moonblind, 'fool-ˌhappy, 'trigger-ˌhappy,
'headlong, 'sidelong, 'fireproof, 'shockproof, 'houseproud, 'purseproud,
'airsick, 'homesick, 'footsore, 'saddle-sore, 'headstrong, 'airtight, 'watertight, 'life-ˌweary, 'world-ˌweary, 'airˌworthy, 'seaˌworthy, 'trustˌworthy, etc.).
Alliterative and assonant formations (including v. and adv.) are
a most unpredictable class, nearly evenly split between the secondary
439
+ primary and primary + secondary patterns (or primary + unnoted
secondary stress, when the second component is monosyllabic, e.g.
'flip-flop): ˌboogie-'woogie and similarly creepy-crawly, freeze-frame,
fridge-freezer, handy-dandy, hanky-panky, helter-skelter, hibbie-gibbies, higgledy-piggledy, hoity-toyty, Humpty-Dumpty, hush-hush,
jeepers-creepers, jiggery-okery, linsey-woolsey, never-never, poohpooh, razzle-dazzle, roly-poly, silly-willy, swing-wing, touchy-feelie,
walkie-talkie, wheeler-dealer, willy-nilly, etc. vs. 'chiff-chaff and 'fender-ˌbender and similarly fiddle-faddle, flimflam, flip-flop, goody-goody,
hobnob, hodgepodge, hotchpotch, ping-pong, pompom, pretty-pretty,
riff-raff, rumble-tumble, seesaw, so-so, ticktock, tittle-tattle, whimwham,
wishy-washy (+ [2010]), etc.
All alliterative and assonant formations with late primary stress
are subject to stress-shift when they occur in attributive position: ˌhushhush 'service (EPD), etc.
18.2.3 Two-component foreign compounds
With the exception of loans from Germanic languages which are subject to the same stress-assignment principles as native compounds
(e.g. 'alpenstock, 'bergschrund, 'dachshund, 'doppelˌganger, 'edelweiss, 'glockenspiel, 'kirschˌwasser, 'poltergeist, 'sauerkraut), foreign compounds place primary stress on component B and secondary
stress on A:
(11)
440
Non-native compounds
a. French loans: Avant-garde, beau-monde, belles lettres, bon-vivant, faux pas,
foie gras, Grand Guignol, haute cuisine, Mardi Gras, nouveau riche, pis
aller, volte-face, etc. (200 items);
b. Latin loans: Agnus Dei, angina pectoris, bona fide, casus belli, cum laude,
lingua franca, modus operandi, nolens volens, omnium gatherum (a fanciful
coinage), etc. (200 items);
c.Loans from other languages: bossa-nova, Dalai-Lama, Fiana Fail, mezzo-soprano, olla podriga, osso bucco, paso doble, pina colada, prima donna,
tutti-frutti, etc. (150 items)
18.2.4 Compounds comprising three elements or more
Most compounds of this kind place primary stress on the last component (C or D) and secondary stress on the first:
(12)
ˌcash-and-'carry and sim. cat-and-dog, cloak-and-dagger, cut-and-dry(ed),
deaf-and-dumb, down-and-out, hand-to-hand, happy-go-lucky, hide-and-seek,
high-and-mighty, hit-and-miss, Jack-the-lad, Johnny-come-lately, Jack-of-alltrades, Jack-o-lantern, know-it-all, make-or-break, merry-go-round, off-theshoulder, out-and-out, rub-a-dub, off-the-record, ready-to-wear, sell-by-date,
second-in-command, smash-and-grab, sunny-side-up, tug-of-war, up-and up,
wife-to-be, etc. (350 items) vs. 'hand-me-down, 'reach-me-down, 'father/ 'mother
(etc.) -in-ˌlaw, 'rent-a-car/crowd/mob/quote, for'get-me-not, 'fly-by-night,
hard 'done by, 'might-have-beens, 'jack-in-the-ˌbox, 'pick-me-up, 'so-and-so,
'stay-at-home, 'stick-in-the-ˌmud, 'such-and-ˌsuch.
Such formations are again subject to stress shift when used attributively: ˌdown-and-out 'person, ˌhappy-go-lucky 'fellow, ˌoff-the-record
'quote, etc. (examples taken from EPD).
18.2.5 Suffixable compounds
When they denote an abstract concept, generally linkable to a political
or philosophical stance or system, standard compounds are affixable
with some of the most productive English suffixes: -er, -ism, -ist, -ise,
-ish: ‑esque, Big-brother(ish/esque), ivory towerism, Third-worlder,
Third-world(ism/ist), Third-worldise, etc.
441
19. Conversion
The English language is known to draw extensively from this
word-formation process, alternatively called null conversion or zero
derivation, whereby a word’s syntactic category mutates to another with
no change of form.
Linguists have abundantly commented on the flexibility of this
process which affects thousands of words, many of which are among the
most frequent of the lexicon: drink, (e)mail, empty, mutter, pepper, salt,
sleep, stop, strike, switch, whistle, talk, etc.
Not fully understood are the conditions in which this process
overrides derivation by attachment (or removal in the case of back-formations) of a suffix (Frenchify < French1, diagnose < diagnosis, etc.).
Another intriguing factor is that, whereas words with a separable prefix
freely allow null conversion (e.g. remake, retake, v. and n.), transparently suffixed derivatives are in many cases incompatible with this process.
19.1 Noun-verb and verb-noun conversion
19.1.1 Native words
The most obvious fact which emerges from the study of dictionary corpora is that native words (or words which have been anglicised for so
long that they are now interpretable as such, e.g. butcher, catch, mail,
push, rape, roll, rush, stain, slander, strain, trick, all from O or MF), ie
monosyllables or dissyllables, massively lend themselves to syntactic
1
The null-conversion nonce-use of to French = “to pretend to be French” is obsolete, OED. The verb to French is otherwise only found in lexicalised senses: “to
prepare food according to a French method” (D.com); “to style hair in a fashion
regarded as French”, now hist. and rare (OED).
recategorisation. The most common conversion processes are obviously
from noun to verb and vice-versa. Determining which element of noun/
verb homonyms has come first into the language is often a challenging
task. Generally, it is the word which has the more basic meaning (H&P:
1641) which can be held as the original deriving form: v. > n. catch >
catch, cheat > cheat, go > go, run > run, pay > pay, slip > slip, take >
take, etc. vs. n. > v. butcher > butcher, field > field, fish > fish, power >
power (cp. empower = “to give legal authority or power to”), rat > rat,
etc. Null-conversion derivatives have in many cases only narrower and/
or lexicalised meanings: Let’s have a got at it… The prisoners were
butchered by the guards… Here is my take on the situation… Houses
powered by solar energy… John ratted on me, etc. Verbalisation by
conversion is common from noun compounds: belly-dance, blackmail,
court-martial, email, facelift, freelance, etc.
Native nouns and verbs with a separable suffix do not allow conversion (e.g. childness (< child + -ness, no possible v. formation) vs.
witness (n. and v., dem. <≠ wit + -ness), baker (< bak(e) + -er, id.) vs.
butcher (indecomposable)).
19.1.2 Conversion-prone endings
The ensuing bound endings, commonly found in words of more than
two syllables, have been pretty productive in noun to verb conversion:
i. -age: (dis)advantage, average, bandage (spec. s., dem. <≠ band in
the s. of “strip of material”), barrage, camouflage, damage, garage,
massage, mortgage, outrage, pillage, presage, rampage, ravage,
rummage, sabotage, savage2, salvage, voyage;
ii. -ance/-ence: advance, balance, distance, finance, instance, romance, cadence, (tele)conference, evidence, experience, inconve­
nience, influence, licence, reference (= “furnish with references or
arrange (notes, etc.) for easy reference” but also syn. with “refer
to”), sentence, sequence, silence3;
2
3
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The noun is itself a null-conversion from the adjectival homograph.
Other examples can be retrieved from Web pages: ordinance, residence (e.g. Board
of the Lifelong Learning Institute residenced at Caldwell College), surveillance.
iii. -[+ pal C] (graphic representations (s)s or (C)t) + -ion, action
(v. = “take legal action”, both dem. <≠ act), auction, audition (<≠
audit), caption, caution, condition, confection, disillusion4, fraction, function, mention, mission, munition, motion, option (dem. <≠
opt), passion (the v. is obs.), pension, petition, portion, (re)position
(dem. <≠ posit or pose), question (id. <≠ quest), ration, requisition,
sanction, section, station, transition, vacation;
iv. -ment: augment, cement, comment, ferment, fragment, lament,
pigment, segment, torment, complement, compliment, decrement,
document, experiment, increment, instrument, ornament, regiment,
sediment;
v. -[+ pal C] (graphic representations (s)s or (C)t) + -ure: capture,
caricature, conjecture, feature, fissure, fracture, lecture, manufacture, measure, pasture, picture, pleasure (dem. <≠ please), posture,
pressure (dem. <≠ press), puncture, rupture, structure, suture, tenure, texture, torture, treasure, venture, vulture + mature adj. > v. and
premature adj. > n.
Conversion from -ment nouns is remarkable in that verbs differ in the
realisation of this ending ([-ment] vs. [-mənt], cf. §13(8))5 and even
in the assignment of stress in the ensuing dissyllables (n. = [10] vs. v.
= [01]): augment, ferment, fragment (+ var. [10] for the v.), pigment
(id.), segment (id.), torment (id.). Quite a few verbs in -ise have been
formed from nouns of class ii to v, mostly since the 19th century (cf. 3rd
par. below §15, footnote 54): apartmentise, fragmentise, parchmentise,
sacramentise (r.), segmentise (= segmentalise), sentimentise (r. = sentimentalise), abolitionise, disillusionise (= disillusion), fictionise (more
com. fictionalise), fractionise (= fractionalise), insurrectionise (insurrect is obs.), missionise (= mission, now r. essentially used in the passive form, OED, updated 2002), religionise (r.), resurrectonise (obs. =
resurrect), revolutionise, sectionise (r. more com. section), subventionise, acculturise, denaturise (= denature), miniaturise (1909), picturise
(= picture + spec. s. = “to represent in a motion picture”), posturise
4
5
Although the adj. illusioned may seem to indicate that the v. illusion has existed
at some stage, OED indicates that it was “formed as illusional adj. + -ed suffix”.
Except for comment which has ['kDment] for both, although the variant
com'ment is recorded for the verb in EPD and in OED (not updated, 1891).
445
(= posture), pressurise (1944, spec. s. = “adjust air pressure” or “apply
pressure to a gas or liquid” ≠ v. pressure), rapturise (r. = enrapture),
texturise (1959 = texture).
Over the last two centuries, verbalisation with -ise has increasingly been formed from adjectives in -al derived from nouns in -ment
or [+ pal] + -ion or -ure: compartmentalise (1945), departmentalise, experimentalise, monumentalise, sacramentalise, segmentalise, sentimentalise; constitutionalise, conventionalise, emotionalise, factionalise,
fictionalise (1925), fractionalise (1947), functionalise, institutionalise,
interjectionalise, nationalise, operationalise, professionalise, regionalise (1917), sectionalise, sensationalise, traditionalise, vocationalise;
culturalise, naturalise, structuralise (1965), etc.
The noun/verb pairs package, reference (3rd s.) and sculpture,
which are transparently derivable from respectively pack (itself n. and
v.), refer (v.) and sculpt (v.), are the only convincing cases (cp. action
<≠ act, pleasure <≠ please, pressure <≠ press, transition <≠ transit
and other such examples listed in i-v above) of evasion of the general
incompatibility of transparently suffixed nouns with null-conversion.
In the same manner nouns in -ee convert to verbs only when they are
now semantically obscure or lexicalised: referee (n. and v.) vs. abductee, trainee, etc. (cf. §5.1.1). Monomorphemic nouns in -oo or -oon also
verbalise by conversion (shampoo, tattoo, cocoon, etc., vs. smackeroo,
etc. cf. §5.1.7).
19.1.3 Noun suffixes allowing conversion
-eer is the only historically authentic separable noun suffix apt to yield
verbs by null-conversion: engineer, mountaineer, orienteer, privateer,
profiteer, racketeer, sloganeer (cf. §5.1.2). Synchronically indecomposable nouns in ‑eer also freely convert to verbs: buccaneer, pioneer,
volunteer, etc. It has been seen in §§7.2.1, 7.4.7.2 and 7.4.8.3 that, although no examples are attested in the Corpus, the formatives -cade,
-nik and -scape6, which all originate from abstractions from free morphemes, also allow noun to verb conversion: motorcade, tractorcade
6
446
In the sense “to transform or improve an area named by the base”.
(+ from Web pp.), beatnik , peacenik, landscape, roofscape (+ from
Web pp.), waterscape.
19.1.4 Conversion in neoclassical combining-form compounds
Nouns ending with the neoclassical final combining forms -graph and
‑type (for the latter chiefly in senses connected with text and photographic printing), freely convert to verbs. Dictionaries referred to in
the inventories below are the only source in the Corpus attesting to the
existence of a v. correlate. However, most items of the latter kind are
also noted as bicategorial in OED, as indicated below.
(1)
n. > v.
a. -graph: autograph, chromatograph (MWD + OED), chronograph (D.com),
cinematograph, cryptograph (American Heritage D.), heliograph, holograph
(D.com + OED), lithograph, mimeograph, monograph, paragraph, photograph, polygraph, pyrograph (D.com + OED), radiograph, stenograph, stereograph, telegraph;
b. -type: collotype, daguerreotype, electrotype, ferrotype, heliotype, linotype,
lithotype, phototype, polytype, prototype (D.com + OED), stenotype, stereotype, teletype.
When there is no noun base in -graph, verbs ending with this combining
form are, according to D.com, back-formations from nouns in -graphy:
calligraph < calligraphy, choreograph < choreography7. Verbalisations
in -ise from nouns in -graphy are also licensed: biographise < biography
(although attested biograph has no semantic link with either item8 = “a
device for screen projection”), orthographise < orthography. Whereas the combining form -logue formerly yielded verbs by null-conversion, verbalisation with the -ise suffix has now become the norm, hence
the synonymous variants catalog(ue)/catalogise, dialog(ue)/dialogise,
monolog(ue)/monologise, prolog(ue)/prologise and the single forms
epilog(u)ise, homologise (< homolog(ous) vs. < homolog(y) in OED,
although the n. homolog(ue) is attested). Most verbs in -logise are derivatives from nouns in -logy with no putative source in -log(ue) or no
7
8
The nouns calligraph (“a beautiful specimen of writing”) and choreograph (a
synonym of choreographer) are however recorded in OED.
In the sense of “biographer” biograph is obsolete.
447
semantic link with existing nouns ending with this form (e.g. analogise = “make an analogy”, no s. connected with analogue): anthologise,
apologise, astrologise, etymologise, eulogise, geologise, mineralogise,
mythologise, neologise, etc.
19.1.5 Homographic pairs with a separable prefix
Nouns and verbs with a separable prefix convert very productively in
either direction. In such homographic pairs, stress alternation is quasi-systematic9:
(2)
n. vs. v.
a. [10] vs. [01]: discount, foretaste, miscount, mishit, mismatch, misprint, misshape, misuse, prefab10, rebore, rebound, recap (= retread cp. insep. recap,
n., “a shortening of recapitulation” and v recap, id. < recapitulate), recharge,
recoke, recount (cp. insep. v. recount = “tell”), redraft, refill, refit, reheat, relaunch, remake, rematch, replay, reprint, rerun, reset, resit, respray, retake,
rethink, retouch, retread, rewind, rewrite, uplift, upgrade, upload, etc. exc.:
[01]: misdeal (+ var. 10] for the n.), dislike (the n. is stressed [10] in the contrastive phrase likes and dislikes), distrust, download ([10] in US), mistrust;
b.[100] vs. [201]: countersign, interact, interchange, interspace, overbid,
overcall, overcharge, overdose, overload, overuse, undercharge, underline,
understeer, etc.
c. [1020] vs. [2010]: counterbalance, overburden, etc.
There are 340 homographic two- or three-syllable nouns and verbs with
an inseparable prefix. In terms of stress-assignment, this class eludes
any form of rationalisation, with close to 45% alternating forms ('rec­
ord (n.) vs. re'cord (v.), 'introvert (n.) vs. ˌintro'vert (v.), etc.), 45% with
final stress (concern, demand, etc.) and 10% with initial stress (profile,
purchase, etc.).
9
10
448
It needs, however, be noted that this class of items exhibits much variation, with
nouns bearing alternately primary stress on the stem and verbs on the prefix.
Originally a shortening of the adjective prefabricated.
19.2 Adjective-noun and noun-adjective conversion
In sharp contrast with noun to verb conversion, syntactic recategorisation of adjectives to nouns is massively licenced with transparent suffixed forms.
19.2.1 Native suffixes
The only native adjective suffixes licensing conversion to nouns are
-ly, in the sense “occurring at regular intervals in relation with units
of time”, to denote periodicals (daily11, (bi)weekly, (bi)monthly, (bi)
yearly), -y, as in crazy (slang), wool(l)y, woody (“a station wagon with
wood panelling on the outside of the body”) and, potentially, -ful, cf. a
hopeful, the only discrete noun formed from an adjective with this suffix
actually recorded in the Corpus, not to be confused with generic (thus
uncountable) deadjectival denominalisations such as the rightful or the
faithful (e.g. Only the rightful will be saved; Commander of the Faithful) which stem from the same recategorisation process as the poor, the
blind, etc.
Unsuffixed native adjectives have otherwise yielded a few nouns
by conversion, most often with a lexicalised sense: dear (e.g. she’s a
dear), heavy (“a wrestler” or “a villain” in a film, novel, etc.”), right,
sweet, etc. As pointed out in H&P: 1642, some nouns of this type are
preferably or strictly used in the plural: basics, blues, greens, shorts,
smalls (GB = “underclothes”), smarts, etc.
19.2.2 Latinate suffixes
With the exception of those in -ous, adjectives affixed with a separable
or bound stress-imposing suffix are apt to convert to nouns (for more
examples, see relevant chapters for each suffix):
11
The Britishism daily also refers to a “daily househelp”.
449
(3)
adj > n.
a. auto-stressed: -ese (sep or bound): Japanese, Portuguese, etc.
b. S-1: -ic(al) (bound): comic, musical, radical; -ible (sep. or bound): convertible, deductible, comestible, etc.
c.S-1/2: -(i/u)al + allomorph -ar (sep. or bound): national, natural, intellectual, mortal, spectacular, regular, etc.; ‑(i/u)an (sep. or bound): Angolan, Italian, Papuan, human, etc.; -(i/u)ary (sep. or bound): reactionary, revolutionary, military, primary, etc.; -(e/i/u)ant/-(i/u)ent (sep. or bound): asphyxiant,
dependant, itinerant, aperient, innocent, etc. ‑(at/it/ut)ive (sep. or bound):
defective, digestive, derivative, formative, explosive, narrative, relative, positive, diminutive, etc.; -oid (sep. or bound): ellipsoid, lemuroid, paranoid,
etc.; -atory, -ory (sep.): signatory, vomitory, crematory, depository.
The generally neutral suffix -able has also yielded nouns by null conversion, chiefly from antonymous adjectives prefixed with un-. The
nouns so formed are often exclusively or principally used in the plural:
expendables, inseparables, undesirable, unmentionables, untouchable.
Antonymous adjectives in -ible behave similarly: incompatibles, (sturdy) indefensibles (these two examples are from Fowler (1985 [1926]:
276 and 594).
19.2.3 Noun to adjective conversion
Nouns affixed with -ist in which this suffix means “an advocate or supporter of ” double up as adjectives when they are correlative to a noun
in -ism denoting a political, artistic, philosophical or scientific system,
school or doctrine (activist, capitalist, centralist, corporatist, cubist,
Darwinist, monarchist, etc., cf. §10.3). So do nouns suffixed with -ite
in which the latter element conveys the same meaning of someone associated with a leader, doctrine system, etc. (Labourite, Luddite, etc.),
but also that of someone associated with a place or a tribe (Israelite,
Yemenite, etc.), cf. §10.4).
450
19.3 Adjective/verb conversion
According to H&P (: 1643) far fewer verbs have converted from adjectives than from nouns, a contention confirmed by data from dictionary corpora. Adjective sources are overwhelmingly native: bare, better,
best, bitter, blind, blue, blunt, brave, brown, busy, calm, clear, dim, dirty,
double, dry, empty, further, green, fake, free, humble, lower (“let, put or
bring down or cause to descend” ≠ indecomposable v. lower [laʊə]),
mellow, muddy, narrow, open, pale, red, right, shy, slim, slow, smooth,
spruce, tame, tense, tidy, treble, triple, worst, wrong, yellow, etc.
As made obvious by the sample above, regular and irregular
comparatives and superlatives (better, best, further, lower, worst) are
compatible with null-conversion. Dirty and muddy indicate that so is,
theoretically, the denominal adjective suffix -y (≠ indecomposable adj.
pretty (up), weary, no semantic or even etymological relation to the v.
wear). Yet no other examples of this sort are attested in the Corpus.
Adjective compounds constructed with ‑proof, defined as a suffix or
a combining form in dictionaries (with the s. of “to make impervious
to”), also convert to verbs: rainproof, waterproof, etc.
All in all, the conditions in which this conversion process is made
possible remain unclear. Putting aside one-syllable adjectives ending
with a sonorant which are incompatible with the now unproductive verb
suffix -en (cf. §8.1.1), there seems to be no way of knowing (short of
resorting to historical analyses, ie direct loans or calques from French,
e.g. empurple, enrich), why such one-syllable deverbal adjectives as
deaden, deepen, fasten (in the s. of “to make fast” <≠ to fast = “to eat
no food”, from n.), sicken, shorten, smarten (≠ v. smart in the s. of “to
itch”), stiffen, lighten, thicken, weaken, whiten have been formed with
‑en whilst others like blind or fake have not. Deadjectival verbs constructed with the suffix -ify (falsify, nullify, pinkify, prettify (more spec.
than to pretty), purify, rarify, uglify, vilify) and the prefixes be- and en(and its pre-bilabial allomorph em-) add to the confusion of this issue:
belittle, benumb (= to numb), embitter (fig. s. cp. to bitter vermouth),
embrittle (1902 = to brittle), empurple (the v. purple is apparently obs.),
enfeeble, enlarge, ennoble, enrich and the remarkable embolden (the
451
redundancy of the verbalising affixes em- and -en may have been influenced by the v. encourage). The prosodic and consonant features of
better, further, lower account for their verbalisation by conversion, in
contrast with worsen. Contrary to worse, the allomorphic superlatives
best and worst have formed verbs by conversion12. No less perplexing is
the fact that some one-syllable adjectives (e.g. blond, dour, gaunt, huge,
late, plain, rude, tall (cp. short)) have yielded no verb, either with -en
(when applicable, e.g. gaunt), or with -ify (as in pinkify), or by conversion. Some of the foregoing gaps cannot be put down to lexical blocking
(e.g. *late, v., because of the existence of linger and tarry) as shown
by the verb old (= “to age”), recorded as “rare” in OED13. It should be
noted that, in everyday English, null-conversion verbs derived from an
adjective of colour have been displaced by verb syntagms such as go/
turn blue, green, etc., except in poetry or when there is a lexicalised
meaning (e.g. brown the meat in small batches). Finally, whether lexicalised or not, some deadjectival verbs are used only or nearly always
in association with an adverbial particle: brazen it out, dumb down, thin
down/away/off/out, pretty up, small down (r. before 20th century according to OED), spruce up, wise up (cp. wizen).
Even though the adjective multiple is synchronically to be held
as the base of the v. multiply, non-native adjective multipliers verbalise
by null conversion: centuple, quadruple, quintuple, septuble, sextuple,
decuple, double, treble, triple14). Although they may be synonymous
with the afore-mentioned verbs (e.g. quadruple or quadruplicate =
“make four times as great”), verbs in -plicate chiefly refer to the act of
“reproducing a document” since they have themselves been derived by
conversion from nouns referring to one of a given number of copies:
duplicate, triplicate, quadruplicate, quintuplicate, sextuplicate, septuplicate, octuplicate, multiplicate (“to make multiple copies of, to replicate” + general s., syn. with “to multiply”, OED). All these words are
12Had worst verbalised with the suffix -en it would have entailed confusion with
worsen further to the deletion of its /t/, cf. chasten, christen, hasten, moisten, etc.
13
Other verbs such as biggen, blunten, far, great, gruff, kind, lithe, new, poor and
wild are recorded in OED as obsolete or dialectal.
14
Since they are dissyllabic the multipliers double, treble, triple are synchronically assimilable to native words. Nouns in -Cle of more than two syllables are also
apt to entail null-verbalisation: chronicle, manacle.
452
alternately adjectival (e.g. triplicate contracts, in multiplicate (+ gen. s.
for the adj. = “multiple, manifold”). However, centuplicate (n., v. and
adj.) is used as a more common synonym of centuple.
19.4 Verb-adjective conversion
Adjectives formed from past particles replicating the infinitive of a
strong verb (split personality, an open-and-shut case, thinly-cut slices,
etc.) are traditionally not considered as cases of null conversion.
It has been seen that S-2 -ate words are often verbal and adjectival (or nominal): v. and adj. → elaborate, separate, etc.; v. and n. →
duplicate, graduate, etc. In the same manner as in noun/verb pairs in
-ment, the pronounciation of the ending is conditioned by syntactic categories: v. = [-e1t] vs. adj. or n. = [-ət], cf. §13(8)15.
15
Stress differences also exist when homographic v./adj. -ate words have a pre­
final consonant cluster, cf. §13(4).
453
20. Secondary stress
20.1 General principles
Once the position of primary stress has been established in a word, the
assignment (if applicable) of secondary stress rests upon three major
rules (cf. last par. before §0(2)):
i. no word is supposed to comprise two unstressed syllables initially:
→ *[00(-)];
ii. stress adjacency is normatively disallowed in words which are neither compounds (ˌloud-'mouthed, 'teenˌager, etc., cf. §18.2) nor formations with a separable prefix (e.g. ˌun'balance, etc.;
iii. when primary stress is shifted further to the influence of a suffix,
the initial stress of the base is converted into secondary stress in
the derivative (e.g. ˌcharacte'ristic <~ 'character) on condition this
does not entail violation of rule ii (e.g. ˌderi'vation vs. *deˌri'vation
<~ de'rive).
British lexicographers have traditionally transcribed no stressed syllables after a primary stress except in compounds of the 'teenˌager
type: anticipate ([0100]), generalise ([1000]), intellect ([100]), etc.
In North-American dictionaries notation of a secondary stress is conversely systematic whenever a lexeme comprises a non-reduced vowel
at least two syllables after that carrying primary stress: anticipate
([0102]), generalize ([1002]), intellect ([102]), etc.
The arguments in favour of a lower degree of accentuation,
which would more adequately be described as tertiary, after a primary stress carry much weight considering that the vowels concerned
are free (long or diphthonged) or followed by a consonant cluster,
in other terms in full conformity with the definition of heavy syllables as set forth in SPE. Another well-known difference between
British and American dialects is the realisation of the separable or
bound affixes -ary, -ery, -ory: desultory ([-təri], GB vs. [-ˌtͻ:ri], US,
cf. §15.7.1.6.
Whereas there is no recorded violation of rule i. above, the EPD
and LPD corpora contain several items evading rule ii. First, quite a
few nouns in -ee (appointee, retiree, etc.) which, as noted in §5.1.1, all
display a normative variant; then a few solitary cases such as electricity which also allow an alternative regular pronunciation (eˌlec'tricity +
ˌelec'tricity).
It has also been reminded in previous chapters that the stress patterns imposed by various affixes are subject to rhythmic or contrastive
speech adjustments which are liable to entail stress deletion or retraction, chiefly in the cases of words bearing final stress1: He’s ˌJapa'nese
vs. a ˌJapanese 'car; The lantern is Chi'nese vs. a ˌChinese 'lantern, etc.
(see relevant sections and subsections).
20.2 The condensation/information dichotomy
The presence of a non-reduced vowel in the syllable immediately before
that carrying primary stress has led to many discussions since SPE’s
analysis (§97) which posited that the second vowel of condensation did
not reduce because it was stressed in the earlier cycle, namely in the
verb condense, in contrast with that of compensation, in which the previous cycle (that of the v. compensate) was merely carried over. However, examples like information have revealed that the phenomenon
of reduction vs. non reduction of the stressed vowel of a former cycle
is not tenable despite morphosemantic reinterpretations such as that
attempted for information in SPE.
Furthermore, in traditional cycle theory, a full vowel is supposed
to carry a degree of stress, which implies that derivatives such as condensation should be treated as sanctioning three consecutive stressed
syllables, a proposition which goes against what have long been held
1
456
In words constructed with a non-stressed stress-placing suffix, there may also
be deletion of primary stress in noun phrases: a ˌfundamental 'problem, etc.
as the basic rhythmic rule of English. Burzio’s position on the matter (1994, 2007), namely that the second syllable of condensation (and
other words with a non-reduced inter-tonic syllable) does not actually
preserve stress but vowel quality from its base seems to have been accepted by other researchers concerned with this issue, notably S. Collie
(2008) and A. Dahak (2009).
Collie’s study (ibid.) stands out as one of the most complete and
thorough treatments on stress preservation, adopting a neo-stratal model departing from classical OT’s uncompromising rejection of the cycle,
ie a model essentially grounded on the influence of word frequency in
phonological allomorphy as theorised by Hay (2002, 2003). In her study,
Collie has confronted about 750 derivatives with a stress-imposing suffix (chiefly -arian, -ation, -ean, -(i)al, -(i)an, -iana, ic(al), -ity, -ology)
containing a secondary stress with EPD’s and LPD’s transcriptions. Of
these 750 derivatives about 70 turn out to display variation between
weak preservation (given as first pronunciation in a majority of cases)
and retraction of secondary stress one syllable back (e.g. anˌtago'nistic
+ ˌantago'nistic < an'tagonist vs. ˌanfractu'osity + anˌfractu'osity <~
an'fractuous). One striking fact is that there are disagreements between
EPD and LPD on many of these words (e.g. auˌthori'tarian < au'thority, no var. given in LPD vs. ˌauthori'tarian + auˌthori'tarian in EPD).
Thus, fewer derivatives displaying this kind of variation are listed in
LPD than in EPD whilst those which are listed in the former dictionary
are more often given with the regular variant as first pronunciation. A
third of the derivatives with pretonic variants listed in EPD and/or LPD
are actually nouns containing a separable prefix and which as such allow two consecutive secondary stresses: ˌcoˌhabi'tation and similarly
concelebration, cooperation, de-escalation, defoliation, deforestation,
depopulation, desalination, desegregation, discolouration, dissatisfaction/factory, dissimilarity, foreseeability, illegibility, impartiality,
impassability, implausibility, impossibility impracticality, irregularity,
prefabrication, repatriation, unsuitability.
The variants in which these words undergo deletion of their
post-prefix secondary stress are obviously indicative of rhythmic simplification or contrastive stress. Taking into account all regular variants
listed in LPD and/or EPD (e.g. miscegenation, derivable from the rare
457
v. mis'cegenate, given with initial secondary stress as first pronunciation in both dictionaries, and with a regular var. misˌcege'nation in
LPD, deregulation (id.), anastomosis (id. <~ anastomose), there remain in both corpora only two items evading weak preservation with
no possible regular pronunciation. Both are low-frequency specialist
items: ˌCunobe'linus < Cu'nobelin and ˌTerpsicho'rean (or -'chorean) <
Ter'psichore. Remarkably, the first word is given with a weak-preservation pronunciation [kjuˌnD-]) in the OL dictionaries which have recorded it (Collins D., D. Thesaurus) whilst the base of the second is given
with a secondary stress preceding primary stress in OED: ˌTer'psichore.
Given the disagreements between dictionaries relative to the pronunciation of the words discussed above and the huge amount of variation they are subject to, weak-preservation remains a very reliable
secondary-stress assignment rule.
As regards non-reduced inter-tonic syllables of the condensation
type, alternative pronunciations with a reduced vowel are also most
often recorded in EPD, LPD and various dictionaries of the Corpus,
even in the case of condensation ([-den-], [-dən-]). Thus, the contrasted
examples provided by Pater (2000) display variants in all but one case,
even in items of d. in which the intertonic vowel is supposedly reduced
(° = var. recorded in EPD and/or LPD, °° = var. given in MWD):
a.
b. + red. V. var. c.
d. + full V. var.
condénse còndènsátion°infórm
ìnformátion°
exhórt
èxhòrtátion°trànspórt trànsportátion°
contést
còntèstátionconsúlt cònsultátion°
impórt
ìmpòrtátion°°sègmént sègmentátion°
àugmént
àugmèntátion°transfórm trànsformátion°
àuthénticàuthèntícity°
As is generally the case, these variants are indicative of an unresolved
conflict which, in the present case, as inferred by Burzio (2007), actually bears on vowel preservation vs. vowel reduction, a hypothesis which
finds support in the fact that, in British dictionaries, the intertonic syllables in b. are never noted as carrying any degree of stress.
458
General conclusion
The review of English word stress which has been presented in this
study is a faithful reflection of the intrinsic complexity of an oral grammar subject to the ongoing confrontation of two antagonistic phonological frameworks, namely Germanic retraction and Latin S-1 and
S-2 stress distribution.The resultant conclusion is not that there are no
convincing stress-placing rules as D. Jones put it in the introduction to
his pronunciation dictionary (1917 and further editions) but actually so
great a number of rules that they tend to overshadow the overall consis­
tency of the English stress system.
In a strictly pragmatic approach, a dozen highly productive and
efficient stress-imposing affixes or generic sequences (-ee (sep.), -ible,
‑ION, -ic(al/s), -ify, -ity, -Vte, learned nouns in -y, -C2 + Latinate adjective affixes or neoclassical endings, inseparable prefixes + verb, adjective or adverb stems vs. inseparable prefixes + n. stems) and a slightly
higher number of neutral suffixes besides C-initial ones (adj. suffixes
-able, -ed, -ish, -y, adj. and n. suffix -ing, n. suffixes -age, -ant/‑ent,
-ance/y, -ence/y, -ism, ‑ure, -er, -or, -ist, v. suffix -ise in items of more
than three syllables) suffice to account for 75% of polysyllabic English
words. Among the leading researchers in accentology, Fournier (1992)
has for his part designed an algorithm reducing stress-assignment to 10
major principles.
An important conclusion to be drawn not only from non-native
adjective suffixes (-al, -an, -ous, etc.) but also from the huge extent of
variation found in word pronunciation is that the Latin S-1/2 stress-assignment system is alive and well and obviously affecting derivatives
formed with suffixes that are purportedly neutral as confirmed by cases
such as those of -able, -ly in -arily, -atedly, -atingly, -atively and -ory in
anticipatory, statutory (in British English), etc.
Whereas the rules governing affix selection and combination are
no less overwhelmingly numerous and intricate than those accounting for stress-placement, the most striking finding that emerges from
459
the survey of large lexical corpora and nonce words gleaned from
Web pages is that derivational morphology (immediately recognisable
graphically) has kept its primacy in word-formation. No less strikingly,
the Latinate morphological input is still highly active in Present-Day
word coinages despite various allegations or dire warnings about the
excessive simplification or, more bluntly put, the across-the-board impoverishment undergone by English consequentially to its status as the
first language of international communications.
Once adverbialisation and the somewhat circumscribed contexts
of null conversion are set aside, Latinate suffixes are in many cases
predominent. As oft-stated in this book, only Latinate suffixes (chiefly
‑ise) have remained productive in verb formation. As regards nouns, all
agent, person, instrument and language suffixes which are still productive (as established in §8.2.3 -ish is no more active in this function) are
Latinate (-ant, -ent, -ese, -ist, -ian) or, in the case of -er, partly Latinate.
So are most suffixes of action, condition and result or abstract or scientific concepts (-ance/-ence, -ancy/ency, -ation, -ics, ‑ism, -ity, -y and,
possibly, -age, under the influence of American English after an eclipse
of several decades).
No less remarkable is the case of -ee which not only displays
ever-growing productivity, still under the impulse of US English, but
now encompasses a much larger range of uses than that of its original
deverbal “patient” noun-forming function.
In comparison with the above-mentioned noun suffixes, the deadjectival Germanic -ness and the primarily inflectional -ing, alternatively used deverbally or denominally in derivational morphology,
still stand out as extremely prolific, -dom, -hood and -ship remaining
to a much lesser degree the other productive noun-forming suffixes of
English.
It is in adjective formation that a lesser imbalance is found between suffixes of Germanic and Latinate stocks in terms of contemporary productivity (-ed, -ing, -ish, -less, -like, -y vs. -able, -al, -(i)an,
-ant, -ary, -ative, -atory, -esque (being ult. of Gmc origin, this suffix
could arguably be classed as non-Latinate), -ist, -ive, -ory and, in the
learned lexicon, -ic and -ous, with no Germanic rivals).
460
In sum, despite centuries of consummated divorce, English and
French have to this day kept a sizeable heritage of common affixes
endowed with quasi-identical semantics and potential productivity.
Regarding the rules governing suffix selection and stacking, several facts must be pointed out.
What has held true from the principles laid down by level-ordering is that native suffixes have the inherent characteristic of appending
to free bases. Taking into account neologisms such as awfulise, fitnessise or beautifulise (which, should it be definitively adopted, would
co-exist with the well-formed beautify), it seems tempting to infer that
the evolution of English may eventually render moot the alleged ungrammaticality of the Germanic suffix + Latinate suffix combination,
another essential pillar of level-ordering.
As has hopefully been made clear in this book, base-driven suffixation rules, for which due tribute has to be paid to the scholars who
pioneered this theoretical approach, most of all Giegerich, provide a
more consistent and satisfactory framework in accounting for derivational morphology. Such models incorporate a versatile set of parameters which, besides long identified syntactic category input/output (e.g.
deadjectival noun-forming -ity or -ness, denominal adjective-forming
-al, -ic, -ous), include prosodic, phonemic and syllable-onset rules
(e.g. *completity, *Lebanonise, *murdereress) with possible collusion
of several of the latter (e.g. verbal -en attaching to one-syllable bases
ending in a non-sonorant or noun-forming -al attaching to two-syllable
verbs with an inseparable prefix (hence with final stress).
Among the questions which remain ill-resolved is that of determining what factors dictate selection for a given suffix when there exist
several with equivalent semantics.
There again, the most convincing path to follow is that which
consists in establishing a typology of lexical bases in accordance with
their potential adequation with the stock of available affixes (e.g. -ise
and ‑ify). The validity of this approach is indisputably borne out by the
rules presiding over the construction of neoclassical combining-form
compounds to which much interest has been devoted in the present
study (e.g. -graphic (150 items) rather than -graphous or -graphal (res­
pectively 2 and 3 non-obsolete items in the Corpus). However, usage
461
is capricious and lexical blocking is by no means an ironclad rule with
low-frequency scientific words (cf. -podal/-podan/-podous, -morphic/
-morphous, etc.)2.
As is traditionally done in research work, I hope that any erroneous conclusion or theoretical misconception which may be found in the
preceding pages will spur further investigations in a field where there is
still so much to learn and to understand.
2
462
Reminder: in non-scientific vocabulary -ion bases are particularly liable to circumvent lexical blocking, cf. -ional/-ionary and -ioner/-ionist.
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470
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