-or

See also: Appendix:Variations of "or"

English

Suffix

-or

Creates an agent noun, often from a verb, indicating a person or object (often machines or parts of them) that do the verb or part of speech with which they are formed.
Synonyms: -er, (casual) -ster

Hyponyms: -a, -ess, -ette, -trix

Coordinate term: (converse form; one who receives from the actor) -ee

‎settle + ‎-or → ‎settlor

‎survive + ‎-or → ‎survivor
(electrical science) Appended to the names of members of classes of components, especially those that have an extensive property name of the same root suffixed with -ance
Resistors possess resistance and inductors possess inductance.

Usage notes

In Latin-derived words, English generally appends this suffix where Latin would do it—to the root of a perfect passive participle (i.e. past participle). For other words, English tends to use the suffix -er. Occasionally both are used (protester vs. protestor).

Derived terms

English terms suffixed with -or

Related terms

-er (alternative spelling)
-trix (feminine form)

Etymology 2

From Latin -or.

Suffix

-or

Used to form nouns of quality, state, or condition.
‎err + ‎-or → ‎error

Anagrams

r/o, Ro, R&O, RO

Albanian

Suffix

-or m (feminine singular -ore, masculine plural -orë, feminine plural -ore)

forms relational adjectives and demonyms
‎Mirditë + ‎-or → ‎mirditor (“inhabitant of Mirdita”)
forms agent nouns
‎dasmë (“wedding”) + ‎-or → ‎dasmor (“wedding guest”)
forms many names for months

Usage notes

Formation with the article in the standard language is often based on Gheg roots, e.g.:
‎zâ + ‎-or → ‎zanor, rather than from zë

‎shkretinë + ‎-or → ‎shkretinor, rather than from shkretëtirë

Derived terms

Albanian terms suffixed with -or (month)

Aragonese

Etymology

Inherited from Latin -ōrem.

Suffix

-or f

used to create abstract nouns from adjectives; -ness
‎blanc (“white”) + ‎-or → ‎blancor (“whiteness”)

‎clar (“bright”) + ‎-or → ‎claror (“brightness”)

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin -ōrem.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈo]
IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈoɾ]

Suffix

-or f (noun-forming suffix, plural -ors)

used to create abstract nouns from adjectives; -ness
‎blanc (“white”) + ‎-or → ‎blancor (“whiteness”)

‎buit (“empty”) + ‎-or → ‎buidor (“emptiness”)

Franco-Provençal

Etymology

Inherited from Latin -ōrem m.

Suffix

-or f (plural -ors) (ORB, broad)

Attaches to an adjective denoting a physical property to form the associated abstract noun.

Derived terms

Franco-Provençal terms suffixed with -or

Ido

Etymology

Modeled after -ar and -os.

Suffix

-or

Used to denote the future infinitive of a verb.
Tu mustas kompror lakto kande tu es che la butiko.
You must buy milk when you are at the shop.

Related terms

-ar (present infinitive tense)
-ir (past infinitive tense)

Latin

Pronunciation

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

Etymology 1

From Proto-Italic *-ōs, from Proto-Indo-European *-ōs, for original *-oss, compound suffix from *(é)-os (athematic) (neuter s-stem) +‎ *-s (masculine nominative).

The ō from the nominative case was made common to all cases originally with non-ablauting o (the three exceptions were arbor, mulier and Cerēs). Afterwards nom.sg. -ōr > -or, by Latin sound laws. Thus paradoxically, as in other r-stems (soror, -tor), in the resulting paradigm the one form with a short stem vowel is the only form whose stem was etymologically long.^[1]

Suffix

-or m (genitive -ōris); third declension

used to form a third-declension masculine abstract noun from a verb root or conceived root form
Synonyms: -ēs, -us

‎amō (“I love”) + ‎-or → ‎amor (“love”)

‎timeō (“I fear”, “I am afraid”) + ‎-or → ‎timor (“fear”)

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	-or	-ōrēs
genitive	-ōris	-ōrum
dative	-ōrī	-ōribus
accusative	-ōrem	-ōrēs
ablative	-ōre	-ōribus
vocative	-or	-ōrēs

Derived terms

Descendants

Italo-Romance: m
- Italian: -ore
Gallo-Romance: f
- Catalan: -or
- Franco-Provençal: -or
- French: -eur
- Occitan: -or
Ibero-Romance: m
- Spanish: -or

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Suffix

-or

first-person singular present passive indicative of -ō (first conjugation)

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Suffix

-or

first-person singular present passive indicative of -ō (third conjugation)

References

^ Sihler, Andrew L. (1995) New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN

Norwegian

Suffix

-or

A plural marker, used on feminine gender nouns ending with an unstressed -e [-a].

Usage notes

The -or suffix is a bracket form in Nynorsk whereas -er is the main form. In Bokmål, -er is the only form allowed suffix.

Old English

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /or/

Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *-ar-. Akin to Old High German -ar.

Alternative forms

-er

Suffix

-or

suffix forming adjectives from verbs denoting tendency or causation
‎*slīpan (“to slip, glide”) + ‎-or → ‎slipor (“slippery”)

‎wacian (“to be awake, be watchful”) + ‎-or → ‎wacor (“vigilant, watchful”)

Descendants

English: -er

Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *-raz. Akin to Old Saxon -or, Old High German -ur.

Suffix

-or

Suffix variant found on masculine a-stem nouns
‎ċeole (“throat”) + ‎-or → ‎ċeolor (“collar, throat”)

‎eald (“old”) + ‎-or → ‎ealdor (“chieftain, ruler”)

‎siġe (“victory”) + ‎-or → ‎sigor (“victory”)

‎telga (“branch, bough”) + ‎-or → ‎telgor (“branch, twig”)

‎dæġ (“day”) + ‎-or → ‎dōgor (“day”)

‎sele (“hall”) + ‎-or → ‎salor (“hall, palace”)

Declension

Strong a-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	-or	-ras
accusative	-or	-ras
genitive	-res	-ra
dative	-re	-rum

Etymology 3

Suffix

-or

Forms the comparative degree of adverbs
‎hearde (“severely”) + ‎-or → ‎heardor (“more severely”)

‎trumlīċe (“firmly”) + ‎-or → ‎trumlīcor (“more firmly”)

Old French

Etymology 1

From Latin -(a)tor.

Alternative forms

-eor, -eour, -eur
-our (late Anglo-Norman)
-ur (early Anglo-Norman)

Suffix

-or (nominative singular -ere, occasionally -ors)

-er, suffix used to form agent nouns

Descendants

→ Middle English: -our (in part)
- English: -or (-er)
- Scots: -or (-er)

Etymology 2

From Latin -or.

Alternative forms

-eur
-our (late Anglo-Norman)
-ur (early Anglo-Norman)

Suffix

-or (nominative singular -or)

-ness, indicates a quality, a characteristic
‎blanche + ‎-or → ‎blanchor (“whiteness”)

Derived terms

Old French terms suffixed with -or

blanchor

dolçor

grandur

Descendants

Middle French: -eur (both etymologies)
- French: -eur (both etymologies)
Norman: -eux
→ Middle English: -our (in part)
- English: -or (-er)
- Scots: -or (-er)

Polish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Slavic *-orъ

Polish -or

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *-orъ.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɔr/
Rhymes: -ɔr
Syllabification: [please specify syllabification manually]

Suffix

-or m inan

forms augmentatives
‎język + ‎-or → ‎jęzor

Declension

Declension of -or

	singular	plural
nominative	-or	-ory
genitive	-a	-orów
dative	-orowi	-orom
accusative	-or	-ory
instrumental	-orem	-orami
locative	-orze	-orach
vocative	-orze	-ory

Derived terms

Serbo-Croatian

Suffix

-or (Cyrillic spelling -ор)

Suffix appended to words to create a masculine noun, usually denoting a profession or a performer, used chiefly for words of Latin origin.

Slovak

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ɔr]
Hyphenation: -or

Suffix

-or

(hypothetical) genitive plural of -ra

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Latin -or.

Suffix

-or m (noun-forming suffix, plural -ores)

forms abstract nouns from adjectives
‎dulce + ‎-or → ‎dulzor

Suffix

-or m (noun-forming suffix, plural -ores, feminine -or, feminine plural -ores)

Used to create agent nouns from verbs
‎revisar + ‎-or → ‎revisor

Related terms

-dor

Swedish

Etymology

Usually corresponds to Icelandic -ur (if plural) and dialectal Norwegian Nynorsk -ur or -o.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ʊr/, [ʊᵝr]

Suffix

-or

A plural marker. This marker is the regular plural for common gender nouns ending with an unstressed -a. Such an -a disappears when -or is added. The marker is used, however, with a few other nouns as well.
‎docka (“doll”) + ‎-or → ‎dockor (“dolls”)

‎våg (“wave”) + ‎-or → ‎vågor (“waves”)
A plural marker used ironically for masculine or neuter nouns, to draw attention to something being feminine or diminutive.
‎tjej (“girl”) + ‎-or → ‎tjejer (“girls”)

‎tjej (“girl”) + ‎-or → ‎tjejor (“girlies”)

Anagrams

ro

Welsh

Etymology

Cf. Latin -ārius.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɔr/

Suffix

-or m (plural -orion)

person or man associated with root
Synonyms: -wr, -ydd

‎telyn (“harp”) + ‎-or → ‎telynor (“(male) harpist”)

‎llên (“literature”) + ‎-or → ‎llenor (“literary man, man o letters”)

‎carchar (“prison”) + ‎-or → ‎carcharor (“prisoner”)

Derived terms

Welsh terms suffixed with -or

blaenor

cerddor

ysgubor

References

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

[1] Sihler, Andrew L. (1995) New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN

[1]

-or

English

Alternative forms

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Suffix

Usage notes

Derived terms

Related terms

See also

Etymology 2

Suffix

Anagrams

Albanian

Suffix

Usage notes

Derived terms

See also

Aragonese

Etymology

Suffix

Further reading

Catalan

Etymology

Pronunciation

Suffix

Further reading

Franco-Provençal

Etymology

Suffix

Derived terms

Ido

Etymology

Suffix

Related terms

Latin

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Suffix

Declension

Derived terms

Descendants

See also

Etymology 2

Suffix

Etymology 3

Suffix

References

Norwegian

Suffix

Usage notes

Old English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

Suffix

Descendants

Etymology 2

Suffix

Declension

Etymology 3

Suffix

Old French

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

Suffix

Descendants

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

Suffix

Derived terms

Descendants

Polish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Suffix

Declension

Derived terms

Further reading

Serbo-Croatian