-ii
English edit
Etymology edit
From rebracketing of plural forms like radii (plural of radius), borrowed from Latin. Latin forms the nominative plural of second-declension nouns by replacing -us with -ī, which results in plural forms that end in -iī for nouns with singulars ending in -ius. Some English speakers occasionally extend -ii to form nonstandard plural forms of English nouns that end simply with the letters -us or with other letter sequences with a similar pronunciation (such as -is /ɪs/).
Pronunciation edit
Suffix edit
-ii
- Misspelling of -i.
- Used to form nonstandard, uncommon, often humorous alternative plural forms of nouns that end in -us, -is or a similar sound.
Usage notes edit
- All such forms are nonstandard, and therefore may be proscribed.
- For certain forms, such as cactii, a standard spelling with -i (cacti) exists; in this case, the -ii spelling may be simply a misspelling of the -i form.
- Other innovative plurals in -ii, such as stewardii, bear no resemblance to any standard plural form of the word; these may be used as intentionally nonstandard forms, often for the sake of humor. Compare the (often humorous) intentional use of nonstandard plural forms in -en.
Italian edit
Etymology edit
From Latin -īvī (via -īī).[1] Example: Italian finii, from Latin finivi.
Suffix edit
-ii (non-lemma form of verb-forming suffix)
- used with a stem to form the first-person singular past historic of regular -ire verbs
References edit
Latin edit
Suffix edit
-iī
edit
Suffix edit
-ii
- nominalizer, creating agentive nouns from verbs and adjectives: "that which [verbs]", or "that which [is of adjective quality]"; compare English -er
Usage notes edit
Example: from the verb hataał (“he sings”) + -ii, we can make a noun for hataałii (“singer”)
Derived terms edit
See also edit
Phalura edit
Etymology edit
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation edit
Suffix edit
-ii
- Genitive suffix