-ón
GalicianEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Old Galician and Old Portuguese -on, probably from the ending of Latin words belonging to the Third Declension (-ō, -ōnem), used sometimes to change the sense or usage of original term. In this case, Galician -ón would be cognate to Portuguese -ão, Spanish -ón, Italian -one and French -on, compare Romanian -oi.
PronunciationEdit
SuffixEdit
-ón m (feminine -ona, plural -óns, feminine plural -onas)
- (added to verbs) A person or thing that does an action indicated by the root verb; used to form an agent noun.
- forms a noun from a different (usually larger) but related or similar one
- forms the augmentative of nouns
LigurianEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Latin -ōne(m), accusative of -ō (3rd declension noun suffix).
PronunciationEdit
SuffixEdit
-ón m (plural -oìn, feminine -ónn-a)
- Emphasizes that something is large, grand, intense, important
- Used with a verb stem to form agent nouns
SpanishEdit
PronunciationEdit
Etymology 1Edit
Probably from the ending of Latin words belonging to the Third Declension (-ō, -ōnem), used sometimes to change the sense or usage of original term. In this case, Spanish -ón would be cognate to Portuguese -ão, Italian -one, French -on (whence English -oon), and Romanian -oi.
SuffixEdit
-ón m (feminine -ona, plural -ones, feminine plural -onas)
- emphasizes that something is large, grand, intense, important
- indicates that someone or something has large attributes, or larger than usual
- for few cases, indicates that something is used wrong or frequently (forming adjectives and or nouns)
- boca + -ón → bocón (“big-mouth, big-mouthed, boastful”)
- emphasizes contempt for subject
- forms a noun from a different (usually larger) but related or similar one
- suffixed to verbs, doing something repeatedly or often
- (rare) for very few cases, indicates small size of or a lack of something (such as an ironic augmentative)
- pelo + -ón → pelón (“with little or no hair”)
- rabo + -ón → rabón (“with little or no tail”)
- rata (“rat”) + -ón → ratón (“mouse”)
- tapa + -ón → tapón (“cork, stopper, a little cover or lid”)
- monte + -ón → montón (“heap, pile, a "little mountain"”); although its origin may be a comparison with a little mountain of something, it also means "big amount"
Usage notesEdit
- The suffix produces adjectives or nouns.
- Some Spanish words ending with this suffix have neither a Latin nor a Greek etymology, but an Arabic one:
- Many Spanish words end with -on (lacking a written accent, being always paroxytone), but most of those cases is an inflection for the third-person plural (ellos, ellas, also used with ustedes) preterite indicative form of a verb:
See alsoEdit
Etymology 2Edit
Borrowed from English -on, a suffix extracted from argon, krypton and neon, the first three noble gases to be named, respectively from Ancient Greek ἀργόν (argón, “lazy, inactive”), κρυπτόν (kruptón, “hidden”) and νέον (néon, “new”); hence, ultimately from Ancient Greek -ον (-on), cognate with Latin -um.
SuffixEdit
-ón
- (chemistry) ending of every chemical element belonging only to the noble gases group, except helium (in Spanish helio)
Usage notesEdit
- Aside from the group of noble gases, 1 element in the periodic table ends with "a" (plata), 1 with "c" (zinc), 2 with "e" (azufre, cobre), 1 with "l" (níquel), 1 with "r" (flúor), none with "ón" and the rest with "o"; boron = boro, carbon = carbono (carbón means charcoal), silicon = silicio.
Etymology 3Edit
Borrowed from English -on, a suffix extracted from electron, originally a blend of electric + ion, named by Irish physicist George Johnstone Stoney.
SuffixEdit
-ón
- (nuclear physics) ending of most or every subatomic particle
Further readingEdit
- “-ón”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014