-er

See also: Appendix:Variations of "er"

Languages (34)

Afrikaans • Bavarian • Breton • Catalan • Chuukese • Danish • Dutch • French • Gagauz • German • Hungarian • Latin • Luxembourgish • Middle Dutch • Middle English • Middle French • Norman • Northern Kurdish • Norwegian Bokmål • Norwegian Nynorsk • Old English • Old French • Old Frisian • Old Swedish • Polish • Portuguese • Saterland Frisian • Scots • Spanish • Swedish • Turkish • Walloon • Welsh

Page categories

English

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ə/
(General American) enPR: ər, IPA^(key): /ɚ/
Audio (US): (file)
Homophones: -or; -a (non-rhotic)

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Latin -ariusbor.

Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz

Proto-West Germanic *-ārī

Old English -ere

Middle English -er

English -er

Inherited from Middle English -ere, -er, from Old English -ere, from Proto-West Germanic *-ārī, from Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz, usually thought to have been borrowed from Latin -ārius. However, Gąsiorowski suggests that *-ārijaz is a native formation; he derives it from earlier *-azrijaz, which he etymologises as a zero-grade form of *-sōr suffixed with *-ih₂, creating a suffix *-sr-ih₂ for forming feminine agent nouns, which was then masculinised by attaching *-ós.

Cognates

Cognate with Saterland Frisian -er, West Frisian -er, Dutch -er, German Low German -er, German -er, Danish -er, Swedish -are and Icelandic -ari.

Compare the synonymous but unrelated Old French -or, -eor (Anglo-Norman variant -our), from Latin -(ā)tor, from Proto-Indo-European *-tōr.

Alternative forms

-'er (following an abbreviation, or sometimes following a number)

Suffix

-er

(added to verbs) A person or thing that does an action indicated by the root verb; used to form an agent noun.
Antonym: -ee

‎read + ‎-er → ‎reader

‎cook + ‎-er → ‎cooker

‎compute + ‎-er → ‎computer

‎run + ‎-er → ‎runner

‎toast + ‎-er → ‎toaster

‎swim + ‎-er → ‎swimmer

‎do good + ‎-er → ‎do-gooder
(added to verbs, informal) A person or thing to which the root verb is done or can be done satisfactorily.
‎look + ‎-er → ‎looker (“an attractive person”)

‎keep + ‎-er → ‎keeper (“a person or thing worth keeping”)
(added to nouns, chiefly denoting occupations) A person whose occupation is the root noun; (more broadly, occasionally with adjectives) a person characterized by the root.
‎astrology + ‎-er → ‎astrologer

‎baby boom + ‎-er → ‎baby boomer

‎conlang + ‎-er → ‎conlanger

‎cricket + ‎-er → ‎cricketer

‎trumpet + ‎-er → ‎trumpeter

‎zine + ‎-er → ‎ziner
(added to numbers, measurements or nouns denoting quantified sets) A person or thing to which a certain number or measurement applies.
‎six + ‎-er → ‎sixer

‎six foot + ‎-er → ‎six-footer

‎three-wheel + ‎-er → ‎three-wheeler

‎first grade + ‎-er → ‎first grader
(slang, chiefly entertainment, with few limitations) Used to form nouns shorter than more formal synonyms.
‎percent + ‎-er → ‎percenter (“commission agent”)

‎one hand + ‎-er → ‎one-hander (“one-man show”)

‎oat + ‎-er → ‎oater (“a Western-themed movie”)
(added to nouns) A person who is associated with, or supports a particular theory, doctrine, or political movement.
‎birth + ‎-er → ‎birther

‎flat earth + ‎-er → ‎flat-earther

‎truth + ‎-er → ‎truther

‎woke + ‎-er → ‎woker
(added to nouns or occasionally adjectives, generally) A thing that is related in some way to the root, such as by location or purpose.
‎bacon + ‎-er → ‎baconer (“pig raised for bacon”)

‎chocolate chip + ‎-er → ‎chocolate chipper (“cookie containing chocolate chips”)

‎sternwheel + ‎-er → ‎sternwheeler (“vessel driven by a sternwheel”)
(slang, added in slang speech to verbs or adjectives, generally) Indicates a correspondence or coincidence between the action or condition indicated by the root and the noun being described.
‎piss + ‎-er → ‎pisser (“a hilariously funny happenstance or situation”)

Usage notes

The suffix may be used to form an agent noun of many verbs. In compound or phrasal verbs, the suffix usually follows the verb component (as in passerby and runner-up) but is sometimes added at the end, irrespective of the position of the verb component (do-gooder) or is added to both components, often with humorous effect (washer-upper). Rarely, it may even appear three times, as in picker-upperer.
The occupational sense is often applied generally to members of a group, as in crewer (“a member of a crew”) and Z-lister (“one on the Z-list”); fans and hobbyists, as in K-popper (“a fan of K-pop”), and those who use a particular tool or instrument, as in JavaScripter (“a programmer who uses JavaScript”).
The entertainment slang sense is sometimes referred to as the Variety -er.

Derived terms

English terms suffixed with -er (agent noun)

English terms suffixed with -er (occupation)

English terms suffixed with -er (measurement)

English terms suffixed with -er (ideology)

English terms suffixed with -er (relational)

Translations

The translations below are a guide only. For more precise translations, see specific words ending with this suffix.

(used to form agent nouns) person or thing that does...

Afrikaans: -er
Albanian: -es m, -ese f, -ës m, -ëse f, -tar m, -tare f
American Sign Language: OpenB@SideChesthigh-OpenB@SideChesthigh OpenB@SideTrunkhigh-OpenB@SideTrunkhigh
Arabic: مُـ (ar) (mu-)
Egyptian Arabic: مِـ (mi-)
Armenian: -իչ (-ičʻ)
Bashkir: -сы (-sı), -се (-se), -со (-so), -сө (-sö)
Catalan: -dor (ca) m, -dora (ca) f, -triu f, -er (ca) m, -era (ca) f
Chinese:
Mandarin: ...者 (zh) (-zhě), ...家 (zh) (-jiā)
Czech: -ič m, -ač m, -itel m, -átor m, -ec (cs) m
Danish: -er (da)
Egyptian: -y
Faroese: -ari
Finnish: (person that does) -ja (fi), -ri (fi); (thing or tool that does) -in (fi), -uri (fi), -ari (fi)
French: -eur (fr) m, -euse (fr) f
Galician: -eiro (gl) m, -eira (gl) f
German: -er (de) m
Greek: -άς (el) m (-ás), -ού (el) f (-oú)
Guaraní: -hára
Hungarian: -ó (hu)/-ő (hu)
Icelandic: -ari m
Ido: -er
Igbo: onye-
Indonesian: peng- (id), pem- (id), pe (id)
Interlingua: -ero m, -era f, -ario m, -aria f, -ista m or f
Irish: -éir m
Italian: -ore m, -tore m
Japanese: ...者 (ja) (...しゃ, -sha), ...家 (ja) (...か, -ka), ...手 (ja) (...て, -te)
Kongo: mu-
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: -van (ku), -er (ku)
Kyrgyz: -чы (-cı), -чи (-ci), -чу (-cu), -чү (-cü)
Latin: -tor m
Latvian: -ājs (lv) m, -āja f, -ējs (lv) m, -ēja f, -ents m, -ente f, -ists m, -iste f, -ors m, -ore f, -ers m, -eris m, -ere f, -ieris m, -iere f
Malay: peng- (ms), pem-
Maori: kai-
Mongolian: -гч (-gč)
Navajo: -é
Nupe: -ci
Old English: -ere m, -a f
Pashto: -ونکی
Persian: ـکننده (-konande), ـگر (-gar)
Portuguese: -dor (pt) m
Romanian: -tor (ro) m, -toare f
Russian: -тель (ru) m (-telʹ) (-а́тель m (-átelʹ) / -я́тель m (-játelʹ) / -и́тель (ru) m (-ítelʹ)), -ник (ru) m (-nik), -о́вщик (ru) m (-óvščik), -щик (ru) m (-ščik), -щи́к (ru) m (-ščík), -чик (ru) m (-čik), -ик (ru) m (-ik), -и́к (ru) m (-ík), -ец (ru) m (-ec), -а́тор (ru) (-átor), -а́ч (ru) m (-áč), -ер (ru) m (-er)
Sanskrit: -क m (-ka)
Scottish Gaelic: -adair, -air, -aire, -ear, -iche
Spanish: -dor (es) m, -dora (es) f, -ero (es) m, -era (es) f
Swahili: m-
Swedish: -re (sv)
Tagalog: taga- (tl)
Thai: นัก... (th) (nák...), ผู้... (th) (pûu...), คน... (th) (kon...), ช่าง... (th) (châang...)
Turkish: -cı (tr), -çı (tr), -cu (tr), -çu (tr), -ci (tr), -çi (tr), -cü (tr), -çü (tr), -an, -yan, -en (tr), -yen (tr)
Welsh: -wr (cy) m, -ydd (cy) m, -wraig f
Wiradjuri: -daayn
Yoruba: oní-

person whose occupation is...

Afrikaans: -er
American Sign Language: OpenB@SideChesthigh-OpenB@SideChesthigh OpenB@SideTrunkhigh-OpenB@SideTrunkhigh
Armenian: -իչ (-ičʻ)
Bashkir: -сы (-sı), -се (-se), -со (-so), -сө (-sö)
Catalan: -er (ca) m, -era (ca) f
Chinese:
Mandarin: ...员 (zh) (-yuán) (general), ...工 (zh) (-gōng) (of physical work), ...手 (zh) (-shǒu) (of sports, games or instruments), ...师 (zh) (-shī) (of a skilled job), ...家 (zh) (-jiā) (honorific), ...的 (zh) (-de) (informal)
Czech: -ař (cs) m, -ář (cs) m, -íř m, -ník (cs) m, -ista m, -ák (cs) m, -ec (cs) m, -ik (cs) m, -log m, -graf m, -ér m, -er (cs) m, -or m
Esperanto: -isto (eo)
Finnish: -ja (fi), -ri (fi)
French: for players of instruments or games, often translated as joueur m/joueuse f de followed by the name of the instrument or game played, but some words have specific translations
Galician: -eiro (gl) m, -eira (gl) f
Greek: -άς (el) m (-ás), -ού (el) f (-oú)
Hebrew: -ַאי m (-ay), -ָן m (-an)
Hungarian: -us (hu), -ász (hu)/-ész (hu), -s (hu)/-os (hu)/-as (hu)/-es (hu)/-ös (hu), -lógus (hu)
Icelandic: -maður (is) m
Ido: -ist
Interlingua: -ero m, -era f, -ario m, -aria f, -ista m or f
Irish: -éir m
Italian: (for players of instruments) -ista m/f, (for players of sports) -ista m/f, giocatore m/giocatrice f di followed by the name of the sport
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: -kar (ku), -er (ku)
Kyrgyz: -чы (-cı), -чи (-ci), -чу (-cu), -чү (-cü)
Mongolian: -чин (-čin), -ч (-č)
Nupe: -ci
Persian: ـکار (fa) (-kâr)
Polish: -arz (pl) m, -arka (pl) f, -acz (pl) m, -aczka f, -ca (pl) m, -czyni f, -nik (pl) m, -niczka f, -ciel m, -cielka f
Portuguese: -eiro (pt)
Scottish Gaelic: (for players of sports) -air m, -adair m
Spanish: -ista (es) m or f, -dor (es) m, -dora (es) f, -ero (es) m, -era (es) f
Swedish: (for players of instruments) -are (sv), -ist (sv), -spelare; (for players of sports) -spelare
Tagalog: taga- (tl)
Thai: นัก... (th) (nák...), ช่าง... (th) (châang...)
Turkish: -cı (tr), -ci (tr), -cu (tr), -cü (tr); -çı (tr), -çi (tr), -çu (tr), -çü (tr)
Welsh: -wr (cy) m, -ydd (cy) m, -wraig f
Wiradjuri: -daayn

(with numbers, measurements or quantified sets) ranked by or having...

Czech: -ák (cs) m
Finnish: -inen (fi), -nen (fi)
French: not used in French
Hungarian: -s (hu)/-os (hu)/-as (hu)/-es (hu)/-ös (hu), -ú (hu)/-ű (hu)/-jú/-jű
Italian: not used in Italian
Latvian: -nieks (lv) m, -niece f
Polish: -ak (pl) m
Yoruba: oní-

Etymology 2

From Middle English -ere, from Old English -ware (suffix denoting residency or meaning "inhabitant of"), from Proto-West Germanic *-wari, from Proto-Germanic *warjaz (“defender, inhabitant”), from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to close, cover, protect, save, defend”).

Suffix

-er

(added to a proper noun) Suffix denoting a resident or inhabitant of (the place denoted by the proper noun); used to form a demonym.
‎New York + ‎-er → ‎New Yorker

‎London + ‎-er → ‎Londoner

‎Dublin + ‎-er → ‎Dubliner

‎New England + ‎-er → ‎New Englander
Suffix denoting residency in or around a place, district, area, or region.
‎island + ‎-er → ‎islander

‎highland + ‎-er → ‎highlander

‎eastend + ‎-er → ‎eastender

Derived terms

English terms suffixed with -er (inhabitant)

British Virgin Islander

Translations

(used form a demonym) resident or inhabitant of...

American Sign Language: OpenB@SideChesthigh-OpenB@SideChesthigh OpenB@SideTrunkhigh-OpenB@SideTrunkhigh
Armenian: -ցի (-cʻi)
Catalan: -er (ca) m, -era (ca) f
Czech: -an (cs) m, -ec (cs) m, -ák (cs) m
Dutch: -er (nl) m, -se (nl) f
Esperanto: -ano (eo)
Finnish: -lainen (fi)
French: often translated as habitant m/habitante f de followed by the name of the place, but some words have specific translations
Galician: -eiro (gl) m, -eira (gl) f
Georgian: -ელი (-eli)
Hungarian: -i (hu), -lakó (hu)
Ido: -an
Japanese: 人 (ja) (-jin)
Malay: orang (ms)
Nupe: -ci
Persian: ـی (-i)
Portuguese: -ês (pt), -ense (pt), -ão (pt), -eiro (pt), -ista (pt), -enho (pt)
Russian: -ец (ru) (-ec), -анин (-anin), -анка (-anka), -ка (ru) (-ka)
Scottish Gaelic: -ach, -each
Swedish: -bo (sv), -are (sv)
Yoruba: oní-

Etymology 3

From Middle English -re, -er, from Old English -ru (plural suffix), from Proto-Germanic *-izō (plural suffix). Cognate with Dutch -er (plural ending), German -er (plural ending). See also -ren.

Suffix

-er

(obsolete, no longer productive) Suffix used to form the plural of a small number of English nouns.
childer, calver, lamber, linder ("loins")

Derived terms

-ren

Etymology 4

From Middle English -er, representing various noun-suffixes in Old French and Anglo-Norman, variously -er, -ier and -ieur, from Latin -aris, -arius, -atorium. As a productive suffix, now merged with the occupational sense of Etymology 1.

Suffix

-er

Person or thing connected with.
‎bottle + ‎-er → ‎butler

Etymology 5

From Middle English -ere, from Old English -ra, from Proto-West Germanic *iʀō, *-ōʀō, from Proto-Germanic *-izô or Proto-Germanic *-ōzô (a derivative of Etymology 6, below); related to superlative -est.

Suffix

-er

(added to certain adjectives and adverbs, now especially short ones) More; used to form the comparative.
‎hard + ‎-er → ‎harder

‎wet + ‎-er → ‎wetter

‎motley + ‎-er → ‎motlier

‎eerie + ‎-er → ‎eerier

‎clayey + ‎-er → ‎clayier

Usage notes

(more; used to form the comparative): Most adjectives whose comparatives are formed using the suffix -er also form their superlatives using the suffix -est.
- Final -y preceded by a consonant becomes -i- when the suffix -er or -est is added.
  easy → easier → easiest; gray → grayer → grayest
- When the stress is on the final (or only) syllable of the adjective, and this syllable ends in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, the final consonant is doubled when the suffix is added.
  dim → dimmer → dimmest
- The suffixes -er and -est may be used to form the comparative and superlative of most adjectives and adverbs that have one syllable and some that have two or more syllables.
  hot → hotter → hottest; fast → faster → fastest; funny → funnier → funniest; sugary → sugarier → sugariest
- Some adjectives and adverbs form their comparatives and superlatives irregularly:
  good → better → best; far → farther → farthest, or far → further → furthest, depending on the meaning
- The comparatives and superlatives of other adverbs and adjectives that have two or more syllables, and adjectives that are participles are formed with more and most.
  rigid → more rigid → most rigid; enormous → more enormous → most enormous; burnt → more burnt → most burnt; freezing → more freezing → most freezing
- If in doubt, use more to form the comparative and most to form the superlative; for example, thirsty may become thirstier and thirstiest, but more thirsty and most thirsty are also acceptable.
Words ending with -ng are pronounced /ŋ/ by most dialects instead of /ŋɡ/. However, when -er or -est is added to an adjective, the /ɡ/ appears (in most dialects).
long (/lɒŋ/) → longer (/ˈlɒŋ.ɡə(ɹ)/); young (/jʌŋ/) → youngest (/ˈjʌŋ.ɡɪst/)

Translations

used to form the comparative of adjectives

American Sign Language: OpenA@SideChesthigh OpenA@SideNeckhigh
Armenian: ավելի (hy) (aveli)
Basque: please add this translation if you can
Breton: -oc'h (br)
Burmese: please add this translation if you can
Czech: -ejší, -ější, -čí, -ší
Dutch: -er (nl)
Esperanto: pli (eo) (used before the adjective)
Finnish: -mpi
French: plus (fr) (used before the adjective)
Galician: máis (gl)
Georgian: please add this translation if you can
German: -er (de)
Greek: -τερος (-teros)
Ancient: -τερος (-teros), -ίων (-íōn)
Hungarian: -bb
Italian: più (it) (used before the adjective)
Japanese: より (ja) (yori), もっと (ja) (motto)
Khmer: ជាង (km) (ciəng)
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: -tir (ku)
Lao: please add this translation if you can
Latin: -or, -ior
Lü: please add this translation if you can
Macedonian: по- (po-)
Old English: -ra
Old Norse: -ari
Persian: ـتر (-tar)
Polish: bardziej (pl) (used before the adjective)
Portuguese: mais (pt)
Romani: -eder, po (used before the adjective), maj (used before the adjective)
Russian: бо́лее (ru) (bóleje) (used before the adjective), -ее (ru) (-eje) (various suffixes exist)
Serbo-Croatian: -и m, -а f, -е n
Shan: please add this translation if you can
Spanish: más (es) (used before the adjective)
Swedish: mer (sv) (used before the adjective), -are (sv)
Tagalog: mas (tl) (used before the adjective)
Thai: -กว่า (th) (-gwàa)
Tibetan: please add this translation if you can
Turkish: daha (tr)
Vietnamese: ... hơn (vi)
Welsh: -ach, mwy (cy) (used before the adjective only if polysyllabic)
Zhuang: please add this translation if you can

Etymology 6

From Middle English -er, from Old English -or, from Proto-West Germanic *-ōʀ, Proto-Germanic *-ōz.

Suffix

-er

(added to certain adverbs) More; used to form the comparative.

Translations

used to form the comparative of adverbs

Czech: -eji, -ěji
Dutch: -er (nl)
Finnish: -mpi
French: plus (fr) (used before the adverb)
Galician: máis (gl)
German: -er (de)
Hungarian: -bb
Italian: più (used before the adverb)
Macedonian: по- (po-)
Persian: ـتر (-tar)
Polish: bardziej (pl) (used before the adverb)
Portuguese: mais (pt)
Spanish: más (es) (used before the adverb)
Swedish: mer (sv) (used before the adverb), -are (sv)

Etymology 7

From Middle English -eren, -ren, -rien, from Old English -erian, -rian, from Proto-West Germanic *-rōn, *-iʀōn, from Proto-Germanic *-rōną or *-izōną. Cognate with West Frisian -erje, Dutch -eren, German -eren, -ern, Danish -re, Swedish -ra.

Suffix

-er

(added to a verb or imitative sound) Frequently; used to form frequentative verbs.
twitter, clamber, bicker, mutter, wander, flutter, flicker, slither, smother, sputter

Synonyms

(used to form frequentative): -le

Translations

used to form frequentatives

Finnish: -(e)lla, -(e)llä
Hungarian: -g
Portuguese: -ejar (pt)

Etymology 8

From Middle English -er, from Anglo-Norman -er, Old French -er, the infinitive verbal ending.

Suffix

-er

(chiefly law, added to a verb) Instance of (the verbal action); used to form nouns from verbs.
‎disclaim + ‎-er → ‎disclaimer

‎remit + ‎-er → ‎remitter

‎misname + ‎-er → ‎misnomer

‎rebut + ‎-er → ‎rebutter

‎attain + ‎-er → ‎attainder

Derived terms

English terms suffixed with -er (action noun)

Etymology 9

From Middle English -er, -ere (diminutive suffix). Compare -el.

Suffix

-er

(added to a verb or noun) Used to form diminutives.
‎shive + ‎-er → ‎shiver

‎slive + ‎-er → ‎sliver

‎splint + ‎-er → ‎splinter

Etymology 10

English Wikipedia has an article on:

Oxford "-er"

Wikipedia

Attested in the UK since the 19th century. Originally Rugby School slang. Later adopted by Oxford University and then wider British society.

Suffix

-er

(originally school slang) Used to form slang or colloquial equivalents of words.
‎association + ‎-er → ‎soccer (“association football”)

‎football + ‎-er → ‎footer (“association football”)

‎rugby + ‎-er → ‎rugger

‎Radcliffe + ‎-er → ‎Radder (“a building at Oxford University”)

Derived terms

-zza

Related terms

-ers

Translations

used to form slang equivalents

Finnish: -is (fi)
Hungarian: -ci

Etymology 11

From Middle English -er, from Old English -er, -or, from Proto-Germanic *-raz. Compare -le.

Suffix

-er

(now chiefly dialectal) A suffix creating adjectives from verbs, indicating aptitude, proneness, or tendency toward a specified action:
‎clive + ‎-er → ‎cliver (“apt to cleave or adhere to, tenacious, expert as seizing”)

‎slip + ‎-er → ‎slipper (“tending to make slip, slippery”)

‎wake + ‎-er → ‎waker (“tending to wake, watchful”)

Synonyms

-le

Etymology 12

From Mandarin -兒 / -儿 (-ér).

Suffix

-er

(Chinese literature) Junior, child, younger person. (Attached to a name, usually one syllable of the given name.)
Li’er said hello to his father.
- 1979, Women of China‎^[1], page 44:
  Yue’er began to laugh again and her tears shimmered like dew on a lotus leaf disturbed by a breeze. Then we heard a sound. It was Man’er.
- 2002 [1934], Xiao Hong, “The Field of Life and Death”, in Howard Goldblatt, transl., The Field of Life and Death & Tales of Hulan River, →ISBN, page 32:
  The fish was laid out on the table, but Ping’er had not come back, nor had his father.
- 2014 [1959], Zhong Lihe, “The Little Ridge”, in T. M. McClellan, transl., From the Old Country: Stories and Sketches of China and Taiwan, →ISBN, page 202:
  Ying’er was not yet three years old. Li’er had always been the one to play with her or to carry her places on his back.

Usage notes

Especially in Mandarin Chinese literature that has been translated into English, the suffix is often left untranslated in unaccented pinyin. This practice is similar to the use of -kun / -chan / -san or sensei in English-language Japanese fiction.
Often, an apostrophe (used to mark syllable boundaries in pinyin) is inserted before the hyphen (as in Li'er), though it can also be omitted (Yinger).

Coordinate terms

-chan

References

“-er”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “-er”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

're, RE, Re, Ré, r.e., re, re-

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch -er.

Pronunciation

Audio: (file)

Suffix

-er

-er

Bavarian

Etymology

From Middle High German -er, from Old High German -ari, from Proto-West Germanic *-ārī. Cognates include German -er and Luxembourgish -er.

Pronunciation

(Vienna) IPA^(key): /-a/

Suffix

-er

Used to form agent nouns from verbs; -er

Derived terms

Breton

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɛʁ/

Suffix

-er

person or thing that (does the action indicated by the root); used to form an agent noun.
‎brezhoneg (“Breton (language)”) + ‎-er → ‎brezhoneger (“Breton-speaker”)

‎c'hoari (“game; to play”) + ‎-er → ‎c'hoarier (“player, actor”)

‎tredan (“electricity”) + ‎-er → ‎tredaner (“electrician”)

Derived terms

Breton terms suffixed with -er

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin -ārius. Compare the borrowed doublet -ari.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈe]
IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈeɾ]

Suffix

-er m (noun-forming suffix, plural -ers)

forms nouns meaning the location or object where something is usually found
‎vespa (“wasp”) + ‎-er → ‎vesper (“wasp nest”)
forms nouns meaning a plant which is cultivated to produce something
‎garrofa (“carob”) + ‎-er → ‎garrofer (“carob tree”)
forms nouns meaning the purpose of something or an object used for that purpose
‎tovallola (“towel”) + ‎-er → ‎tovalloler (“towel rail”)

Usage notes

The equivalent suffix -era can be used to form feminine nouns with these meanings, but usually only the masculine or feminine form will be found in Catalan.

Suffix

-er (adjective-forming suffix, feminine -era, masculine plural -ers, feminine plural -eres)

forms nouns and adjectives referring to an inhabitant of somewhere
‎Brasil (“Brazil”) + ‎-er → ‎brasiler (“Brazilian”)
forms nouns and adjectives referring to engaging in a profession
‎camió (“truck”) + ‎-er → ‎camioner (“truck driver”)
forms nouns and adjectives referring to being prone to some activity or characteristic
‎mentida (“lie”) + ‎-er → ‎mentider (“liar, deceptive”)
forms relational adjectives
‎llet (“milk”) + ‎-er → ‎lleter (“milk [relational adjective], dairy”)

‎pel·lícula (“film”) + ‎-er → ‎pel·liculer (“film [relational adjective], filmic, cinematic”)

Usage notes

Because these senses are used to form adjectives of two forms or nouns referring to animate objects, both the masculine and feminine forms will be found in Catalan, with the lemma entry found at the masculine form.

Derived terms

Catalan terms suffixed with -er

References

“-er”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
“-er” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.

Chuukese

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɛɾ/

Suffix

-er

(added to possessive nouns) their
(added to verbs as an indirect object) them

Related terms

Chuukese possessive determiners

		Small objects, concepts	Large objects, living things	Suffix
Singular	First person	ai	nei	-ei
	Second person	omw, om	noum	-om
	Third person	an	noun	-an
Plural	First person	äm (exclusive) ach (inclusive)	nöu̇m (exclusive) nöüch (inclusive)	-em (exclusive) -ach (inclusive)
	Second person	ämi, ami	noumi	-emi
	Third person	ar	nour	-er

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse -ari

Suffix

-er

Forms agent nouns from verbs, with the sense "someone or something that [verb]s".
Forms plural forms of many nouns.
Forms the present tense of many verbs.
Forms demonyms.
‎Berlin + ‎-er → ‎berliner

‎Paris + ‎-er → ‎pariser
Forms informal action nouns from verbs.
(especially definite) Forms informal abbreviations of nouns, with elision.
‎hotdog + ‎-er → ‎hotter

‎fjernsyn (“television”) + ‎-er → ‎fjerner
Forms a piece of currency from numbers.
‎fem (“five”) + ‎-er → ‎femmer (“fiver, five pounds/dollars/kroner/etc.”)
Forms a die throw result from numbers.
Du skal slå mindst en treer for at komme videre.
You must throw at least a three to move on.

Usage notes

Senses 1 and 3 often lead to heteronymic pairs. For example, from løbe (“run”) [ˈløːb̥ə] comes løber (“runs”) [ˈløːˀb̥ɐ] (verb form) and løber (“runner”) [ˈløːb̥ɐ] (noun), distinguished by stød.

Derived terms

Danish terms suffixed with -er

Dutch

Alternative forms

-der

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ər/

Etymology 1

From Old Dutch *-āri, -ere, from Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz, borrowed from Latin -ārius. Cognate with Dutch -aar.^[1]

Suffix

-er m (plural -ers, feminine -ster)

Forms agent nouns from verbs.
Synonym: -aar

‎hoeden + ‎-er → ‎hoeder

‎spelen + ‎-er → ‎speler
Forms nouns for a person associated with something.
‎schip + ‎-er → ‎schipper

Derived terms

Dutch terms suffixed with -er (agent noun)

Descendants

Afrikaans: -er

Etymology 2

From Old Dutch *-āri, -ere, from Proto-Germanic *warjaz.

Suffix

-er

Forms nouns denoting male inhabitants or residents of a place.
Een Amsterdammer
A (male) inhabitant of Amsterdam

Synonym: -aar
Formings adjectives denoting something originating from a place.
Het Groninger museum
The museum of Groningen

Synonym: -s

Antonyms

(antonym(s) of “male inhabitant”): -se (“female inhabitant”)

Derived terms

Etymology 3

From Old Dutch -iro, -oro, from Proto-Germanic *-izô, *-ōzô.

Suffix

-er

Forms the comparative form of adjectives.

Derived terms

Category Dutch adjective comparative forms not found

Etymology 4

From Middle Dutch -er, from Old Dutch -ro, from Proto-West Germanic *-eʀā, from Proto-Germanic *-aizōz.

Suffix

-er

(archaic, except in fixed expressions) Used to form the (strong) feminine singular genitive.
onverrichter zake ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

de schoonheid ener vrouw ― the beauty of a woman
(archaic, except in fixed expressions) Used to form the (strong) feminine singular dative.
te goeder trouw ― in good faith

Usage notes

Mostly encountered vestigially, such as in fixed expressions; see for example the descendants at -wijs.

References

^ A. van Loey, "Schönfeld's Historische Grammatica van het Nederlands", Zutphen, 8. druk, 1970, →ISBN; § 175

French

Pronunciation

This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready.

IPA^(key): /e/

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Italic *-āzi

Proto-Indo-European *-os

Latin -ereinflu.

Latin -āre

Old French -ier

Middle French -er

French -er

Inherited from Middle French -er, from Old French -ier, from Latin -āre, from Proto-Italic *-āzi.

Suffix

-er

forms infinitives of first-conjugation verbs
aimer ― to love

Usage notes

In newly formed verbs, this suffix may be preceded by a euphonic consonant /t/ after a base ending in an oral vowel to avoid hiatus. In verbs formed from bases ending in nasal vowels, /n/ is inserted and the nasal vowel is denasalized:
‎agio (“agio”) + ‎-er → ‎agioter (“to speculate”)

‎blabla (“chit-chat”) + ‎-er → ‎blablater (“to chit-chat”)

‎bourdon (“bumblebee; drone”) + ‎-er → ‎bourdonner (“to buzz, drone”)

Conjugation

Conjugation of -er (see also Appendix:French verbs)

infinitive	compound	avoir + past participle
infinitive	simple	-er
present participle or gerund¹	simple	-ant /ɑ̃/
present participle or gerund¹	compound	ayant + past participle
past participle		-é /e/
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il, elle, on	nous	vous	ils, elles
(simple tenses)	present	-e /ə/²	-es /ə/	-e /ə/	-ons /ɔ̃/	-ez /e/	-ent /ə/
	imperfect	-ais /ɛ/	-ais /ɛ/	-ait /ɛ/	-ions /jɔ̃/	-iez /je/	-aient /ɛ/
	past historic³	-ai /e/	-as /a/	-a /a/	-âmes /am/	-âtes /at/	-èrent /ɛʁ/
	future	-erai /ə.ʁe/	-eras /ə.ʁa/	-era /ə.ʁa/	-erons /ə.ʁɔ̃/	-erez /ə.ʁe/	-eront /ə.ʁɔ̃/
	conditional	-erais /ə.ʁɛ/	-erais /ə.ʁɛ/	-erait /ə.ʁɛ/	-erions /ə.ʁjɔ̃/	-eriez /ə.ʁje/	-eraient /ə.ʁɛ/
(compound tenses)	present perfect	present indicative of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
	past anterior³	past historic of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il, qu’elle	que nous	que vous	qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple tenses)	present	-e /ə/²	-es /ə/	-e /ə/	-ions /jɔ̃/	-iez /je/	-ent /ə/
(simple tenses)	imperfect³	-asse /as/	-asses /as/	-ât /a/	-assions /a.sjɔ̃/	-assiez /a.sje/	-assent /as/
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
(compound tenses)	pluperfect³	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	~~nous~~	~~vous~~	–
simple		—	-e /ə/	—	-ons /ɔ̃/	-ez /e/	—
compound		—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—
¹ The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en.
² -é when inverted.
³ In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way: past historic → present perfect past anterior → pluperfect imperfect subjunctive → present subjunctive pluperfect subjunctive → past subjunctive (Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Latin -ārius

Old French -ier

Middle French -er

French -er

Inherited from Middle French -er, from Old French -ier, from Latin -ārius.

Suffix

-er m (plural -ers)

forms nouns indicating the person who exercises a particular activity
Synonym: (female equivalent) -ère

boulanger ― baker

Derived terms

French terms suffixed with -er

Gagauz

Alternative forms

-ii, -iy (Cioc-Maidan, Avdarma, Vulcănești, Etulia, Cișmichioi)

Etymology

Inherited from Old Anatolian Turkish [script needed] (-yorır, -yörir), [script needed] (-yor, -yör), ultimately from Proto-Turkic *yorï-. Irregular evolution is explained as ıyor > *ıor > *ıar > êr, with contamination from the suffix -ar^[1]. Compare Turkish -yor, Azerbaijani -yür, Turkmen -yar, and the doublet örümää.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /eˑɾ/

Suffix

-er (back vowel variant -êr)

marks the present imperfective tense
‎olmaa (“to happen”) + ‎-er → ‎olêr (“is happening”)

‎yaşamaa (“to live”) + ‎-er → ‎yaşêêr (“is living”)

‎görmää (“to see”) + ‎-er → ‎görer (“s/he sees”)

‎istemää (“to want”) + ‎-er → ‎isteer (“s/he wants”)

References

^ Dinçaslan, M.F. (2023). Gagavuz Türkçesi Ana Ağız Alanları ile Alt Ağız Gruplarının Şimdiki Zaman Ekinin Varyantlarına Göre Tasnifi. Uluslararası Türk Lehçe Araştırmaları Dergisi / International Journal of Turkic Dialects (TÜRKLAD). 7. Cilt, 2. Sayı, 369-38

German

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ɐ]

Etymology 1

From Middle High German -ære, -er, from Old High German -āri, from Proto-West Germanic *-ārī, from Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz, further etymology unknown but possibly from Latin -ārius.^[1]

Suffix

-er m (strong, genitive -ers, plural -er)

Forms agent nouns etc. from verbs, suffixed to the verb stem.
‎arbeiten (“to work”) + ‎-er → ‎Arbeiter (“worker”)

‎bohren (“to drill”) + ‎-er → ‎Bohrer (“drill”)
Forms instance nouns from verbs.
‎husten (“to cough”) + ‎-er → ‎Huster (“single cough, instance of coughing”)

‎hüpfen (“to hop”) + ‎-er → ‎Hüpfer (“hop, instance of hopping”)
Indicates something defined by a number; in the plural often all numbers with the same first digits
‎16 + ‎-er → ‎16er (“the 16, the 16er, e.g. a bus, a football player, etc.”)

‎200 + ‎-er → ‎200er (“a 200, the 200s, e.g. a 200-euro note, or the list items 200 to 299, etc.”)

‎1990 + ‎-er → ‎1990er (“1990s, the years 1990 to 1999”)

Declension

Declension of -er [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	-er	die	-er
genitive	eines	des	-ers	der	-er
dative	einem	dem	-er	den	-ern
accusative	einen	den	-er	die	-er

Derived terms

German terms suffixed with -er (agent noun)

Related terms

-ler, -ner

Etymology 2

From Middle High German -er, a plural ending for some neuter nouns.

Suffix

-er

Used to form the plurals of some nouns.

Usage notes

The plural ending -er is used in a fairly large number of neuters (including all those in -tum) and a small number of masculines.

Etymology 3

From Middle High German -ære, -er, from Old High German -āri, from Proto-Germanic *warjaz.

Suffix

-er m (strong, genitive -ers, plural -er)

Forms nouns indicating an inhabitant of a place, or a person originating from a place.

Declension

Declension of -er [masculine, strong]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	-er	die	-er
genitive	eines	des	-ers	der	-er
dative	einem	dem	-er	den	-ern
accusative	einen	den	-er	die	-er

Derived terms

German terms suffixed with -er (inhabitant)

Etymology 4

Probably originated from the prepositioned genitive plural of etymology 3 above, e.g.: der Berliner Pfannkuchen = "the Berliners’ pancake", and then "the Berlin(er) pancake", reanalysed as an adjective instead of a noun and seen as being in the nominative singular (due to the ambiguity of the definite article der, which is both masculine nominative and plural genitive).^[2]^[3]

Suffix

-er

Forms invariable adjectives from place names, with a genitival meaning, indicating origin from or association with that place.

Usage notes

In contemporary German, words formed with this suffix -er are written with a capital letter (§ 61 of the official reform spelling rules as of 2018), e.g. ein Berliner Pfannkuchen. In the past, they were sometimes written with a lowercase letter like most other adjectives, e.g. ein berliner Pfannkuchen.^[4]
In case of placenames which are written with a space, the derived word can be written with a space or with a hyphen (§ 49 of the official reform spelling rules as of 2011), e.g. Bad Schandau → Bad Schandauer or Bad-Schandauer.
Since adjectives in -er are undeclined, they cannot normally support genitives by themselves. However, in the feminine and plural the ending -er happens to be same as that of a declined (strong) adjective and according pseudo-genitives may be encountered, such as Meldungen Berliner Zeitungen (“reports of Berlin newspapers”) instead of more proper Meldungen von Berliner Zeitungen. Such usage has been discouraged, but is no longer considered an error.

Derived terms

Etymology 5

From Middle High German -er.

Suffix

-er

Forms the comparative form of adjectives.
‎lang + ‎-er → ‎länger

‎schön + ‎-er → ‎schöner

‎exakt + ‎-er → ‎exakter

References

^ A. van Loey, "Schönfeld's Historische Grammatica van het Nederlands", Zutphen, 8. druk, 1970, →ISBN; § 175
^ Johann Christoph Adelung, Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, vol. 1 (Leipzig, 1793), pages 1848-1852, sub verbo 4. -Er
^ Hermann Möller, Ahd. frôno (nhd. fron-) als elliptischer Plural, in the Zeitschrift für deutsche Wortforschung, volume 4 (editor Friedrich Kluge; Straßburg, 1903), page 95
^ The current official spelling rules prescribe the capital letter without further explanation and without indicating the part of speech of the words formed with the suffix (compare -isch/-sch, derivatives of which are labelled adjectives in § 62).

Hungarian

Etymology

Possibly from English -er, by analogy of word pairs like blog and blogger (whose doubled final consonant is consistently pronounced long in Hungarian, as opposed to English) and/or perhaps earlier borrowed word pairs like stop and stoppol. Other existing slang terms ending in -er, like vaker, haver, sóder, might have played some role. (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ɛr]

Suffix

-er

(slang, slightly derogatory) Added to a shortened form of a noun, lengthening the first consonant following its first vowel, to derive a noun.
kalauz (“ticket inspector”) → kaller

nyugdíjas (“pensioner”) → nyugger

mami (“mommy; elderly woman”) → mammer

jobboldali (“rightist”) → jobber