-esce
English
editEtymology
editFrom Latin -ēscere (inchoative suffix), form of -ēscō (“I become”). Compare -ish (Etymology 2).
Pronunciation
editSuffix
edit-esce
- Used to form verbs from nouns, following the pattern of verbs derived from Latin verbs ending in -esco
Usage notes
edit- This is a termination of verbs of Latin origin, having usually an inchoative force, as in convalesce (“begin to be well”) or effervesce (“begin to boil up”), though less obvious in some verbs, as coalesce.
- The present participle of such verbs appears in English as adjectives with the termination -escent, as in effervescent, but such adjectives often exist without a corresponding verb with -esce.
- The noun is terminated with -escence, as in convalescence or effervescence.
Derived terms
editRelated terms
editother terms ending in -esce
suffixes
- -escence (and its derivatives)
- -escent (and its derivatives)
References
edit- William Dwight Whitney and Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1914), “-esce”, in The Century Dictionary: An Encyclopedic Lexicon of the English Language, revised edition, volume II, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC, page 2002, column 2.