-esse
Dutch edit
Etymology edit
From Middle Dutch -esse, borrowed from Old Northern French -esse, from Late Latin -issa (as in abbātissa (“abbess”)).[1]
Pronunciation edit
Suffix edit
-esse
- Creates the female form of some persons or occupations, as English -ess.
- secretaris (“secretary, receptionist”) – secretaresse (“female secretary, female receptionist”)
Derived terms edit
References edit
French edit
Pronunciation edit
Etymology 1 edit
Inherited from Old French -ece, from Latin -itia. The modern spelling is due to a phonetic merger with etymology 2; see below. Related to -ise.
Suffix edit
-esse f (plural -esses)
Derived terms edit
Etymology 2 edit
Inherited from Middle French -esse, from Old French -esse, from Late Latin -issa, from Ancient Greek -ισσα (-issa).
Suffix edit
-esse f (plural -esses)
Derived terms edit
Italian edit
Pronunciation edit
Suffix edit
-esse (non-lemma form of verb-forming suffix)
- suffix forming the third-person singular imperfect subjunctive of -ere verbs
Anagrams edit
Middle English edit
Etymology 1 edit
From Old French -esse from Latin -issa, from Ancient Greek -ισσα (-issa).
Alternative forms edit
Suffix edit
-esse
Synonyms edit
- -en (displaced)
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit
- English: -ess
References edit
- “-esse, suf.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 24 June 2018.
Etymology 2 edit
Suffix edit
-esse
- Alternative form of -yssh
Middle French edit
Etymology 1 edit
Inherited from Old French -ece, from Latin -itia. The modern spelling is due to a phonetic merger with etymology 2; see below. Related to -ise.
Suffix edit
-esse
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit
- French: -esse
Etymology 2 edit
Inherited from Old French -esse, from Late Latin -issa, from Ancient Greek -ισσα (-issa).
Suffix edit
-esse
- -ess (used to form feminine nouns from masculine ones)
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit
- French: -esse