-es

See also: Appendix:Variations of "es"

English

Pronunciation

(after sibilant) IPA^(key): /əz/, /ɪz/
(after vowel sound) IPA^(key): /z/
(US, sometimes) IPA^(key): /iːz/

Etymology 1

From Middle English -es, from Old English -as. More at -s.

Suffix

-es

Used to form the regular plural of nouns that end in a sibilant (/s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /t͡s/, /d͡z/, /t͡ʃ/ or /d͡ʒ/), such as:
1. (t)ch, when pronounced as /tʃ/: glitch→glitches (but psych→psychs)
2. (j)j: hajj→hajjes (j is only final in loan words raj, hajj)
3. (s)s: bus→buses, Jones → Joneses; waltz → waltzes; yes → yeses.
4. x: box →boxes; crux → cruces
5. (z)z: buzz → buzzes
6. sh: ash→ashes
Used to form the regular plural of nouns that end in a consonant (or qu) + y:
lady→ladies, soliloquy→soliloquies (but key→keys)
Used for form the plural of some nouns that end in a consonant + o:
tomato→tomatoes (but soprano→sopranos)

Usage notes

Singular noun forms that whose spelling ends in a silent e form the regular plural with the ending -s. Alternatively, they could be analysed as dropping the silent e and adding the ending -es, particularly where the consonant is sibilant and there is an identical verb (which would drop the e before the ending -ing): "a dance"→"some dances" parallels "it dances"→"it is dancing" better under such analysis. This applies to nouns that end in ce and (d)ge.

Uniquely in American English, the nonstandard pronunciations of processes (/ˈpɹɒsɛˌsiːz/) and biases (/ˈbaɪəsiːz/), where -es is pronounced like ease, is due to influence from plurals like parentheses and hypotheses, and perhaps even bases.

However, processes is also, unusually, pronounced /ˈpɹəʊ̯sɛsiːz/ in England and /ˈpɹoʊsɛsiːz/ in Canada.

Etymology 2

From Middle English -es, -is, from Old English -es, -as, Northern variants of -est, -ast (second person singular indicative ending). Replaced Middle English -eth, from Old English -eþ, -aþ. The falling together of the second and third person singular verb forms in Old English is believed to be due to Scandinavian influence, where the employment of the same verbal endings for both 2nd and 3rd singular indicative follows a similar pattern to that seen in Old Norse (e.g. þú masar, hann masar; þú þekkir, hann þekkir; etc.).

Suffix

-es

Used to form the third person singular present indicative of regular verbs:
1. that end in (t)ch pronounced as /tʃ/: impeach→impeaches (but psych→psychs)
2. that end in (s)s: miss → misses, yes → yesses; bus → buses; buss → busses
3. that end in x: tax → taxes; rendezvous → rendezvouses.
4. that end in (z)z: fizz→fizzes;
5. that end in consonant + o in some cases: go→goes (but radio→radios)
6. that end in sh: wish→wishes
7. that end in consonant (or qu) + y: cry→cries (but buy→buys)

Etymology 3

See -s, -'s.

Suffix

-es

(obsolete, no longer productive) Possessive marker; see -s, -'s.
- 1573, An exposition of the kinges prerogative, collected out of the great Abridgement of Justice Fitzherbert and other olde writers of the lawes of England, page 38:
  ... whereupon king Henry his sonne, as it may appeare by the later clause of this chapter, recouered diuers eschet[s] of lande within this Realme holden by Normans, whiche after they began to adhere to the French king, the kinges enimy […]

Anagrams

-se, SE, Se., se, se.

Cornish

Etymology 1

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Suffix

-es m

Forms masculine abstract nouns
‎sygh (“dry”) + ‎-es → ‎syghes (“dryness”)

‎yagh (“healthy”) + ‎-es → ‎yeghes (“health”)
Plural ending
‎myrgh (“girl”) + ‎-es → ‎myrghes (“girls”)

‎mil (“animal”) + ‎-es → ‎miles (“animals”)

‎nader (“adder”) + ‎-es → ‎nadres (“adders”)
Forms verbal nouns
‎gwel (“sight”) + ‎-es → ‎gweles (“to see”)

Etymology 2

From Proto-Brythonic *-essā. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Suffix

-es f (plural -esow)

Forms feminine nouns
‎duw (“god”) + ‎-es → ‎duwes (“goddess”)

‎abas (“abbot”) + ‎-es → ‎abases (“abbess”)

‎gwarier (“actor”) + ‎-es → ‎gwariores (“actress”)

Derived terms

References

2020, An Gerlyver Meur, ed. Dr Ken George (3rd edition, p.192)

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch -esse, borrowed from Northern Old French -esse, from Late Latin -issa (as in abbātissa (“abbess”)).^[1]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɛs/

Suffix

-es

creates the female form of persons or occupations, as English -ess
zanger (“singer, songster”) → zangeres (“female singer; songstress, singeress”)

Derived terms

Related terms

-in

References

^ A. van Loey, "Schönfeld's Historische Grammatica van het Nederlands", Zutphen, 8. druk, 1970, →ISBN; § 180

Esperanto

Pronunciation

Audio: (file)

Suffix

-es

belonging to. (Ending for genitive correlatives.)

Derived terms

ĉies (“belonging to everyone, everyone's”)
ies (“belonging to someone, someone's”)
kies (“belonging to whom, whose”)
nenies (“belonging to nobody, nobody's”)
(nonce) alies (“belonging to someone else, someone else's”)
ties (“belonging to that one, that one's”)

French

Etymology

From Latin -ās.

Suffix

-es

forms the second-person singular present indicative form of a verb
forms the second-person singular present subjunctive form of a verb

German

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /əs/

Suffix

-es

Alternative form of -s (genitive ending)

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɛs/

Suffix

-es (invariable)

(music) flat, ♭
Antonym: -is (“sharp”)

‎A + ‎-es → ‎As (“A flat”)

‎B + ‎-es → ‎Bes (“B double flat”)

‎C + ‎-es → ‎Ces (“C flat”)

‎D + ‎-es → ‎Des (“D flat”)

‎E + ‎-es → ‎Es (“E flat”)

‎F + ‎-es → ‎Fes (“F flat”)

‎G + ‎-es → ‎Ges (“G flat”)

Usage notes

The -e- is omitted from the suffix when it is attached to a vowel letter (e.g. A + -es → As, not *Aes).

Derived terms

-eses (“double flat”)

Hungarian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ɛʃ]
Rhymes: -ɛʃ

Suffix

-es

(adjective-forming suffix) Added to a noun to form an adjective meaning "having something, a quality"; sometimes referred to as ornative.
‎kert (“garden”) + ‎-es → ‎kertes (“something with a garden, having a garden”)
(noun-forming suffix) Added to a noun to form an occupation or a collective noun.
‎perec (“pretzel”) + ‎-es → ‎pereces (“someone who sells pretzels”)

‎meggy (“morello, sour cherry”) + ‎-es → ‎meggyes (“cherry orchard”)
(number-forming suffix) Added to a cardinal number to form a digit or figure, cf. the relevant template.
‎egy (“one”) + ‎-es → ‎egyes (“the digit or figure 1”)

Usage notes

(all senses) Variants:
-s is added to words ending in a vowel. Final -a changes to -á-. Final -e changes to -é-.

-os is added to some back-vowel words ending in a consonant

-as is added to other back-vowel words ending in a consonant

-es is added to unrounded (and some rounded) front-vowel words ending in a consonant

-ös is added to most rounded front-vowel words ending in a consonant

Derived terms

Hungarian adjectives suffixed with -es

Latin

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [eːs]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [es]

Etymology 1

From Proto-Italic *-ēi(s), from Proto-Indo-European *-ḗy, a hysterokinetic *-ey-stem suffix only otherwise found in words like Hittite [script needed] (utnē).

Suffix

-ēs f (genitive -is); third declension

used to form a third-declension feminine abstract noun designating the result of an action from a verb root or conceived root form
caedō (“I kill or cut”) → caedēs (“slaughter”)

sedeō (“I sit”) → sēdēs (“seat”)

Declension

Third-declension noun (i-stem).

	singular	plural
nominative	-ēs	-ēs
genitive	-is	-ium
dative	-ī	-ibus
accusative	-em	-ēs -īs
ablative	-e	-ibus
vocative	-ēs	-ēs

Further forms are nom.sg. -is (e.g. caedis, sedis) and gen.pl. -um (e.g. caedum, sedum).

Synonyms

-or, -us

Derived terms

Latin terms suffixed with -es (abstract noun)

Etymology 2

From *-h₁i-t-, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey-, the root of eō, īre (“to go”). Because the nominative singular would regularly have developed to *-is, the attested ending *-es has to be explained as an analogical replacement based on the alternation between -ĕ- in the closed final syllable of the nominative singular and -ĭ- in the open medial syllable of oblique forms that developed regularly in other nouns as a result of the sound change of vowel reduction.^[1]

Suffix

-es m (genitive -itis); third declension

used to form third-declension nouns, most of which have senses along the lines of 'one who goes (by)'
equus (“horse”) → eques (“cavalryman; equestrian; knight”)

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	-es	-itēs
genitive	-itis	-itum
dative	-itī	-itibus
accusative	-item	-itēs
ablative	-ite	-itibus
vocative	-es	-itēs

Derived terms

Latin terms suffixed with -es (t-stem)

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Suffix

-ēs

second-person singular present active subjunctive of -ō (first conjugation)

Etymology 4

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Suffix

-es

nominative/accusative/vocative masculine/feminine plural of -s

References

^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “comes”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 129

Middle English

Etymology 1

Suffix

-es

Alternative form of -yssh

Etymology 2

Suffix

-es

Alternative form of -esse (-ess)

Mohawk

Suffix

-es

long
with tsi ni-: during

Old English

Alternative forms

-æs — early

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *-as, *-is, from Proto-Indo-European *-es, *-oes (plural ending).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /es/

Suffix

-es

genitive case/possessive marker for a-stem nouns, indicating that an object belongs to the noun
‎hund (“dog”) + ‎-es → ‎hundes (“dog's”)

‎sċip (“ship”) + ‎-es → ‎sċipes (“ship's”)
used in formation of adverbs, originally from the genitive of masculine and neuter nouns, but later added also to feminine nouns by analogy
dæġes (adverb) ― by day

nihtes (adverb) ― by night

Derived terms

Old English terms suffixed with -es

Descendants

Middle English: -es, -s
- English: -'s, -s (adverbial suffix), -st (adverbial suffix), -ce (as in once, since)

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *-as, *-is, from Proto-Indo-European *-es, *-oes (plural ending).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɛs/

Suffix

-es

possessive marker, indicating that an object belongs to the noun
used in formation of adverbs
dages (adverb) ― days

nahtes (adverb) ― nights

Descendants

Middle Low German: -es, -s
- Low German: -s (adverbial suffix)

Portuguese

Etymology 1

From Latin -ēs (2nd conj.), -is (3rd conj.), -īs (4th conj.).

Suffix

-es

forms the 2^nd-person singular present indicative of 2^nd and 3^rd conjugation verbs
forms the 2^nd-person singular present subjunctive of 1^st conjugation verbs
forms the 2^nd-person singular negative imperative of 1^st conjugation verbs

Etymology 2

From Latin -ēs (accusative plural of masculine and feminine 3rd-declension nouns)

Suffix

-es

forms the plural of nouns and adjectives ending in -r, -z, stressed -s and of some ending in -n

Etymology 3

From Old Galician-Portuguese -ez, further origins unknown. The preferred options are that it was either an internal innovation (from a reanalysis of the genitive in names ending with -ricus, i.e. -rici, as naming suffix) or a borrowing from pre-Roman languages (given the various forms the suffix took in the Middle Ages). Compare Spanish -ez.

Suffix

-es

(no longer productive) -son (a suffix added to a given name to form a patronymic surname)
‎Fernando + ‎-es → ‎Fernandes (“son of Fernando”)

‎Henrique + ‎-es → ‎Henriques (“son of Henrique”)

‎Martim + ‎-es → ‎Martins (“son of Martim”)

‎Rodrigo + ‎-es → ‎Rodrigues (“son of Rodrigo”)

References

PIEL, J. M. Sobre os apelidos portugueses do tipo patronímico em-ici/-es. Boletim de Filologia (1963): 59-63.

BOULLÓN AGRELO, Ana Isabel. Cronoloxía e variación das fórmulas patronímicas na Galica altomedieval. Verba 22 (1995): 449-475.

BOBONE, Carlos. Os Apelidos Portugueses-Um Panorama Histórico. Leya, 2017.

LAPESA, Rafael. Historia de la lengua española. (1968).

Romani

Etymology

Inherited from Sanskrit -अस्य (-asya).

Suffix

-es

desinence used to form the singular accusative case of oikoclitic (pre-European) masculine animate nouns

Derived terms

-es-

References

Yūsuke Sumi (2018) “-es”, in ニューエクスプレスプラス　ロマ（ジプシー）語 [New Express Plus Romani (Gypsy)] (in Japanese), Tokyo: Hakusuisha, published 2021, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 48
Yaron Matras (2002) “Historical and linguistic origins”, in Romani: A Linguistic Introduction‎^[1], Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 39

Spanish

Etymology 1

From Latin -ēs, the accusative plural ending of most third declension nouns.

Suffix

-es

suffix indicating the plural of nouns and adjectives ending in certain consonants (most often -l, -r, -n, -d, -z, -j, -s, -x, -ch, with some exceptions).

Etymology 2

From Latin -ēs, Latin -is, and Latin -īs, the second-person singular present active indicative endings of second, third, and fourth conjugation verbs, respectively.

Suffix

-es

suffix indicating the second-person singular present indicative of -er and -ir verbs.

Etymology 3

From Latin -ēs, the second-person singular present active subjunctive ending of first conjugation verbs.

Suffix

-es

suffix indicating the second-person singular present subjunctive of -ar verbs

Swedish

Etymology 1

Variant of -s (etymology 2) with a reduction of the preceding -a.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˌɛs/

Suffix

-es

Marks the present tense passive of verbs of the second and fourth conjugations (weak and strong -er verbs respectively) that have stems ending in s.

Usage notes

Verms whose stems do not end in -s normally take the -s suffix for the passive voice. Until the middle decades of the 20th century (approximately), the norm in writing was to use -es with all -er verbs, but this use is considered archaic today.

Etymology 2

Ultimately from Latin -ensis.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈeːs/

Suffix

-es

-ese; forms a nationality from the name of a country.
‎Kina + ‎-es → ‎kines

‎Siam + ‎-es → ‎siames

Derived terms

Swedish terms suffixed with -es

Anagrams

se

Welsh

Pronunciation

(North Wales, standard, colloquial) IPA^(key): /ɛs/
- (North Wales, colloquial) IPA^(key): /as/
(South Wales) IPA^(key): /ɛs/

Etymology 1

From the Proto-Brythonic -issā, ultimately borrowed from (or perhaps cognate to) Latin -issa, whence also English -ess. Cognate with Cornish -es.

Suffix

-es f (plural -esau)

female suffix
Synonym: -wraig

‎athro (“male teacher”) + ‎-es → ‎athrawes (“female teacher”)

‎gweinydd (“waiter”) + ‎-es → ‎gweinyddes (“waitress”)

‎Norwy (“Norway”) + ‎-es → ‎Norwyes (“Norwegian woman”)

‎cadno (“fox”) + ‎-es → ‎cadnawes (“vixen”)

Etymology 2

Suffix

-es f

collective noun
‎brân (“crow”) + ‎-es → ‎branes (“flight of crows”)

‎llong (“ship”) + ‎-es → ‎llynges (“navy, fleet”)

Derived terms

References

R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “-es”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

Etymology 3

Alternative forms

-ais

Pronunciation

(North Wales) IPA^(key): /ɛs/, /ɛʃ/, /ɪʃ/
(South Wales) IPA^(key): /ɛs/

Suffix

-es

(colloquial) verb suffix for the first-person singular preterite

Derived terms

West Frisian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /əs/

Suffix

-es

Used to form possessive pronouns from possessive determiners
‎myn + ‎-es → ‎mines

‎jo + ‎-es → ‎jowes

Yola

Suffix

-es

Alternative form of -ès

[1] A. van Loey, "Schönfeld's Historische Grammatica van het Nederlands", Zutphen, 8. druk, 1970, →ISBN; § 180

[2] De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “comes”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 129

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