A short guide in english affixation
PRODUCTIVE SUFFIXES IN MODERN ENGLISH
N A T I V E
| -dom kingdom | the meaning of collectivity | Germanic, noun-forming, neutral |
| -er teacher | the agent of action | Germanic, noun-forming, neutral |
| -ing learning | the act of doing | Germanic, noun-forming, neutral |
| -ling hireling | the idea of diminutiveness, depreciation | Germanic, noun-forming, evaluative |
| -ie, -y antie | the idea of diminativeness | Germanic, noun-forming, evaluative |
| -ness goodness | the idea of state, condition | Germanic, noun-forming |
| -ful thankful | the idea of presence of some quality | Germanic, adjective-forming, neutral |
| -less powerless | the idea of absence of some quality | Germanic, adjective-forming, neutral |
| -ish reddish | the idea of being similar to depreciatory (often) | Germanic, adjective-forming, sometimes exvaluative |
| -like lifelike | the idea of being similar to having the characteristics of | Germanic, adjective-forming, neutral |
| -ly womanly | the idea of having the appearance of, manner of | Germanic, adjective-forming, neutral |
| -en blacken | the idea of making into or making like | Germanic, verb-forming, neutral |
B O R R O W E D
| -ee, -ey, -y trustee | the idea of an object of the action | Romanic, noun-forming, neutral |
| -ess poetess | the idea of feminine derivatives | Romanic, noun-forming, neutral |
| -let booklet | the idea of deminutiveness | Romanic, noun-forming, neutral |
| -ry, -ery machinery | the idea of collectivity | Romanic, noun-forming, neutral |
| -tion organization | the idea of action, state or result | Romanic, noun-forming, neutral |
| -ism atheism | the idea of system, trend, theory, movement | Greek, noun-forming, neutral |
| -ist dramatist | the idea of a person advocating a doctrine, a system, etc | Greek, noun-forming, neutral |
| -ite socialite | the idea of belonging to | Greek, noun-forming, neutral |
| -able drinkable | the idea of ability to an action | Romanic, adjective-forming, neutral |
| -al logical | the idea of being the kind of | Romanic, adjective-forming, neutral |
| -ize, -ise organize | the idea of conforming to or charging | Romanic, verb-forming, neutral |
PRODUCTIVE PREFFIXES IN MODERN ENGLISH
N A T I V E
| after- afternoon | temporal quality | Germanic |
| out- outcast | the idea of exceeding, surpassing | Germanic |
| over- overtake | the idea of being above something | Germanic |
| under- undergrowth | the idea of being beneath, of being insufficient, of being subordinate of | Germanic |
| up- upstairs | the idea of moving upwards | Germanic |
| un- unwilling | the idea of showing a reversal of an action | Germanic |
B O R R O W E D
| contra-, contro-, counter- contradict | the idea of being against, contrary | Romanic |
| dis- distract | the idea of separation or negation | Romanic |
| ex- export | the idea of being beyond or not now | Romanic |
| extra- extraordinary | the idea of being beyond or outside of | Romanic |
| in- (il-, ir-, im-) inability | the idea of negation | Romanic |
| inter- intercommunication | the idea of being together, between, among | Romanic |
| mis- misadventure | the idea of being wrong, ill or amiss | Romanic |
| non- non-stop | the idea of negation | Romanic |
| post- postwar | the idea of being after, later, subsequent | Romanic |
| pre- pre-revolutionary | the idea of priority | Romanic |
| re- rewrite | the idea of repetition | Romanic |
| retro- retroaction | the idea of moving or being backwards | Romanic |
| sub- submarine | the idea of under, below, beneath | Romanic |
| super- supernatural | the idea of above, over | Romanic |
| trans- transplant | the idea of being over, through, across, beyond | Romanic |
| ultra- ultramodern | the idea of being excessive, uncommon | Romanic |
| vice- vice-president | the idea of being instead of, in place of | Romanic |
| anti- antithesis | the idea of being opposite, against, instead | Romanic |
NON-PRODUCTIVE SUFFIXES IN MODERN ENGLISH
N A T I V E
| -hood boyhood | the idea of being in general state | Germanic, noun-forming | |
| -ship clerkship | the idea of state, condition or profession | Germanic, noun-forming | |
| -ster gangster | the idea of a person with a depreciatory meaning | Germanic, noun-forming, evaluative | |
| -th length | the idea of state or quality | Germanic, noun-forming | |
| -y perjury | the idea of the result of the action | Germanic, noun-forming | |
| -y crafty | the idea of being full of, characterized by | Germanic, adjective-forming | |
B O R R O W E D
| -age marriage | the idea of act, process, collection or person | Romanic, noun-forming |
| -an, -ian guardian | the idea of belonging to following a certain doctrine | Romanic, noun-forming |
| -ence, -ance obedience | the idea of action or indicating state or quality | Romanic, noun-forming |
| -ant, -ent servant, student | the idea of a person acting as a agent | Romanic, noun- and adjective-forming |
| -ard, -art drunkard, coward | the idea of a person (with intensive, contemptuous shades of meaning | Romanic, noun-forming, evaluative |
| -er officer | the idea of a person connected with some sort of activity | Romanic, noun-forming |
| -eer profiteer | the idea of an agent (with intensification of meaning) | Romanic, noun-forming |
| -cy diplomacy | the idea of state, condition, office | Romanic, noun-forming |
| -ion opinion | the idea of abstract notions | Romanic, noun-forming |
| -ive affirmative | the idea of having a nature or quality of a thing | Romanic, noun-forming |
| -ence existence | the idea action, state, quality, degree | Romanic, noun-forming |
| -ment payment | the idea of state, process, condition | Romanic, noun-forming |
| -or actor | the idea of agent of the action or a person | Romanic, noun-forming |
| -ry, -ery poetry | the idea of collectivity | Romanic, noun-forming |
| -ty liberty | the idea of quality, state or condition | Romanic, noun-forming |
| -ic, -ics music, phonetics | the idea of quality in the «manner of», «pertaining to» | Greek, noun-forming |
| -ine heroine | the idea of feminine quality | Greek, noun-forming |
| -y academy | the idea of abstract quality | Greek, noun-forming |
| -ary ordinary | the idea of pertaining to, of the nature of | Romanic, adjective-forming |
| -ese Japanese | the idea of belonging to certain place or a country | Romanic, adjective-forming |
| -ic Celtic, domestic | the idea of pertaining to or belonging to | Romanic, adjective-forming |
| -ive talkative | the idea of having a tendency to, character or quality of | Romanic, adjective-forming |
| -ous glorious | the idea of having the nature of, full of | Romanic, adjective-forming |
| -ate graduate | the idea of causation | Romanic, verb-forming |
| -fy intensify | the idea of bringing to a certain state | Romanic, verb-forming |