-lich
German edit
Alternative forms edit
- -licht (nowadays uncommon)
Etymology edit
Adjective: From Middle High German -lich, -līch, from Old High German -līh, from Proto-West Germanic *-līk. Cognate with English -ly and Dutch -lijk.[1]
Adverb: From Middle High German -līche, from Old High German -līhho.
Pronunciation edit
Suffix edit
-lich
- Used to form adjectives from verbs, to express that "something can be done with the person or thing described".
- verstehen (“to understand”) + -lich → verständlich (“that can be understood, understandable”)
- Used to form adjectives from verbs, to express that "that the person or thing described does something".
- Used to form adjectives from nouns, to indicate "affiliation".
- Abenteuer (“adventure”) + -lich → abenteuerlich (“associated with adventure, adventurous”)
- Used to form adjectives from nouns (times), to indicate "repetition".
- Used to form adjectives from adjectives, to express "a weakening or differentiation".
Derived terms edit
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Friedrich Kluge (1989) “-lich”, in Elmar Seebold, editor, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache [Etymological Dictionary of the German Language] (in German), 22nd edition, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN
Middle English edit
Etymology 1 edit
Suffix edit
-lich
- Alternative form of -ly (“adjectival suffix”)
Etymology 2 edit
Suffix edit
-lich
- Alternative form of -ly (“adverbial suffix”)