-ine
EnglishEdit
Etymology 1Edit
From Middle English -ine, borrowed from Old French -ine, from Latin -īnus, from Proto-Indo-European *-iHnos. More at -en.
PronunciationEdit
SuffixEdit
-ine
- (chiefly non-productive) Of or pertaining to.
- Used to form demonyms.
- (chemistry) Used to form names of chemical substances, especially basic (alkaline) substances, alkaloidal substances, or halogen elements.
- (non-productive) Used to form feminine nouns.
- hero + -ine → heroine
- speaker + -ine → speakerine
- (non-productive) Used to form female given names or names of titles.
- Clement + -ine → Clementine
- landgrave + -ine → landgravine
- Commercial materials
Usage notesEdit
While multiple pronunciations are given above for this suffix, they are not freely interchangeable; instead, each word taking the suffix often only takes one or two of the suffix's possible pronunciations. For example, feminine is almost always pronounced with /-ɪn/, while marine is almost always pronounced with /-iːn/. However, more technical terms (such as iodine, which can take any of the suffix's three possible pronunciations) may not have an established pronunciation, though in feminine names (Maxine) and chemical use (theobromine), the pronunciation /-iːn/ is the most frequent, while in other technical formations (bovine) /-aɪn/ is common.
Derived termsEdit
Related termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
Etymology 2Edit
Variant of -en.
SuffixEdit
-ine
- Can be used to denote the plural form of a small number of English words:
ReferencesEdit
- “-ine” in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, →ISBN.
- “-ine” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
AnagramsEdit
FinnishEdit
EtymologyEdit
From the same source as -ne (noun-forming suffix) (seen in murene, etc.), with contamination from -in (instrumental suffix) in both form and meaning.
PronunciationEdit
SuffixEdit
-ine
- Forms diminutive forms of nouns, particularly for objects or tools.
Derived termsEdit
AnagramsEdit
FrenchEdit
EtymologyEdit
SuffixEdit
-ine
IrishEdit
SuffixEdit
-ine f
ItalianEdit
SuffixEdit
-ine f pl
LatinEdit
SuffixEdit
-īne