-el
English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /əl/, /l̩/
Etymology 1
From Middle English -el, from Old English -el, from Proto-Germanic *-ilaz.
Alternative forms
- -le, -al
Suffix
-el
- Suffix forming nouns, originally denoting an instrument, from verbs, usually spelt -le except after n and e.
- runnel, shovel, dotel
- Diminutive suffix in words of Germanic origin.
- hatchel, hovel, gomeral
Etymology 2
From Middle English -el, a merger of two suffixes:
- Old English -el (diminutive suffix)
- Old French -el (diminutive suffix), from Latin -ellus
Suffix
-el
- Suffix, originally diminutive, in words of mostly Romance origin.
- cupel, chapel, tunnel
Derived terms
Anagrams
- -le, LE, Le, LαE, le
Abenaki
Suffix
-el
- Used on verbs, together with the prefix k-, to indicate that the first person singular (I) is the actor and the second person singular (you) is the object of the verb.
- n'kezalmô
- I love
- k'kezalmel
- I love you (singular)
- n'kezalmô
Usage notes
The suffix is spelled -ol by some writers.
See also
- -elba
Breton
Etymology
Cf. French -el (e.g. sexuel, individuel, industriel)
Suffix
-el
- To make an adjective of a noun; -al
- broad (“nation”) + -el → broadel (“national”)
Derived terms
Czech
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈɛl]
Suffix
-el
- forms nouns
- koupat + -el → koupel
Derived terms
Further reading
- -el in Slovník afixů užívaných v češtině, 2017
Danish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /el/, [ˈɛlˀ]
Suffix
-el
- -al
Derived terms
Dutch
Etymology
From Old Dutch *-el, from Proto-West Germanic *-il, from Proto-Germanic *-ilaz. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /əl/
Suffix
-el
- -el
- -elle
Derived terms
Esperanto
Pronunciation
Audio (file)
Suffix
-el
- in [...] way
- -el is the ending for correlatives of manner or degree
Derived terms
- kiel (“in what way, in what manner, how”)
- tiel (“in that way, in that manner, thus”)
- ĉiel (“in every way, in every manner”)
- iel (“in some way, in some manner, somehow”)
- neniel (“in no way, nohow”)
- (nonce) aliel (“in another way, somehow else”)
French
Etymology
Inherited from Old French -el, from Latin -ālis. Doublet of -al.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɛl/
Audio (file)
Suffix
-el (feminine -elle, masculine plural -els, feminine plural -elles)
- forms adjectives from nouns: -al
Derived terms
Descendants
- → German: -ell
- → Turkish: -el (learned)
See also
- -al
German
Etymology
From Middle High German -el, from Old High German -il, direct descendant of Proto-West Germanic *-il, from Proto-Germanic *-ilaz, or from dialectal variants of -lein, which as well ultimately go back to *-ilaz or to *-ilingaz.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /əl/
Audio (file)
Suffix
-el
- suffix in diminutives
- Kind (“child”) + -el → Kindel (“little child, darling”)
- Haus (“house”) + -el → Häusel (“little house”)
- suffix in nouns indicating appurtenance
- Arm (“arm”) + -el → Ärmel (“sleeve”)
- Eiche (“oak”) + -el → Eichel (“acorn”)
- suffix in agent and instrumental nouns
- Büttel, Meißel
Derived terms
Further reading
- “-el” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
Hungarian
Etymology
-e- + -l
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ɛl]
- Rhymes: -ɛl
Suffix
-el
- (personal suffix) Used to form the second-person singular present tense of verbs ending in s, sz, z, dz (indicative mood, indefinite conjugation).
- keres (“to seek”) → keresel (“you seek, you are seeking”)
- (verb-forming suffix) Appended to a noun to form a verb.
- ebéd (“lunch”) → ebédel (“to eat lunch”)
- (noun-forming suffix) Appended to a verb to form a noun (no longer productive in this role).
- lep (“to cover”) → lepel (“wrap”)
Usage notes
Person | Back vowel | Front vowel | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
unrounded | rounded | |||
én | 1st person singular | -ok | -ek | -ök |
-ik verbs (optional) | -om | -em | -öm | |
te | 2nd person singular | -sz | ||
after two consonants or a long vowel + t | -asz | -esz | ||
after s, sz, z, dz | -ol | -el | -öl | |
ő maga ön | 3rd person singular | – | ||
-ik verbs | -ik | |||
mi | 1st person plural | -unk | -ünk | |
ti | 2nd person plural | -tok | -tek | -tök |
after two consonants or a long vowel + t | -otok | -etek | -ötök | |
ők maguk önök | 3rd person plural | -nak | -nek | |
after two consonants or a long vowel + t | -anak | -enek | ||
See also: present-tense definite-object suffixes and second-person-object suffixes for informal addressing. |
- (personal suffix) Variants:
- -sz added to verbs not in the categories listed below
- vár (“to wait”) → vársz (“you wait, you are waiting”)
- -asz added to back-vowel verbs ending in two consonants or -ít
- hall (“to hear”) → hallasz (“you hear, you are hearing”)
- tanít (“to teach”) → tanítasz (“you teach, you are teaching”)
- -esz added to front-vowel verbs ending in two consonants or -ít
- dönt (“to decide”) → döntesz (“you decide, you are deciding”)
- segít (“to help”) → segítesz (“you help, you are helping”)
- -ol added to back-vowel verbs ending in s, sz, z, dz
- olvas (“to read”) → olvasol (“you read, you are reading”)
- -el added to unrounded front-vowel verbs ending in s, sz, z, dz
- vesz (“to buy”) → veszel (“you buy, you are buying”)
- -öl added to rounded front-vowel verbs ending in s, sz, z, dz
- főz (“to cook”) → főzöl (“you cook, you are cooking”)
- -sz added to verbs not in the categories listed below
- (verb-forming suffix) Harmonic variants:
- -l is added to words ending in a vowel. Final -a changes to -á-. Final -e changes to -é-. Final long vowels may shorten, e.g. ű → ü.
- -ol is added to some back-vowel words ending in a consonant
- -al is added to other back-vowel words ending in a consonant
- -el is added to unrounded (and some rounded) front-vowel words ending in a consonant
- -öl is added to most rounded front-vowel words ending in a consonant
- -ál is added to some back-vowel words ending in a consonant
Note: Certain words take another, synonymous suffix, -z/-oz/-az/-ez/-öz/-áz or -zik/-ozik/-azik/-ezik/-özik.
- (noun-forming suffix) Harmonic variants:
- -al is added to back-vowel words
- -el is added to front-vowel words
Derived terms
See also
- Category:Hungarian verb forms
- Appendix:Hungarian suffixes
Low German
Etymology 1
From Middle Low German -el, from Old Saxon -il, from Proto-Germanic *-ilaz.
Suffix
-el m
- Suffix forming nouns originally denoting an agent from verbs.
- Lepel, Snavel, Stickel
Etymology 2
From Middle Low German -ling. Result of resegmentation of nouns with -el and -ing suffixes. See the English suffix -ling. Akin to English, Dutch and German -ling.
Suffix
-el m
- A suffix that describes a male person (or other creature) in terms of a place of origin or a quality, as defined by the root to which it is added. Now often replaced by a compound with Jung for a male person, and Deern for a female person such as Lehrjung, Lehrdeern (male/female pupil).
Derived terms
- Bückel
- Stickel
Middle English
Etymology 1
From Old English -el, -ol, from Proto-West Germanic *-ul, from Proto-Germanic *-ulaz.
Alternative forms
- -le
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /-əl/
Suffix
-el
- Forms adjectives meaning "tending to" or "able to" from verbs.
Derived terms
Descendants
- English: -le
- Scots: -le
References
- “-el, suf.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Etymology 2
From Old English -el, -ol, from Proto-West Germanic *-il, from Proto-Germanic *-ilaz.
Alternative forms
- -ell, -il, -ill, -le, -ul, -yl, -yll, -ylle
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /-əl/
Suffix
-el
- Forms diminutives from verbs or other nouns.
- Forms agent nouns from verbs or other nouns.
Derived terms
Descendants
- English: -le, -el
- Scots: -le, -el
References
- “-el, suf.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Etymology 3
From Old French -el, -ele, from Latin -ālis and -ellus, -ella.
Alternative forms
- -ele, -ell, -elle, -eylle, -le, -yll, -ylle
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /-ˈɛːl(ə)/, /-ɛl(ə)/
Suffix
-el
- Forms diminutives from verbs or other nouns.
Derived terms
Descendants
- English: -el, -le
Suffix
-el
- Alternative form of -al
Suffix
-el
- Alternative form of -elen
Norman
Etymology
From Old French -el, from Latin -ālis.
Suffix
-el
- makes an adjectival form of a noun; -al
Derived terms
Old English
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /el/
Etymology 1
From Proto-Germanic *-a-l-.
Suffix
-el
- Alternative form of -ol
Etymology 2
From Proto-Germanic *-ilaz.
Alternative forms
- -il
Suffix
-el
- (causes i-mutation) agent and instrumental suffix creating nouns from verbs
- crēopan (“to creep”) + -el → crypel (“cripple”)
- bēodan (“to command”) + -el → bydel (“herald, messenger”)
- spittan (“to dig”) + -el → spitel (“shovel”)
- hladan (“to lade”) + -el → hlædel (“ladle”)
- þrēapian (“to reprove, reprehend”) + -el → þrīpel (“instrument of punishment, cross”)
Declension
Case | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
nominative | -el | -elas, -las |
accusative | -el | -elas, -las |
genitive | -eles, -les | -ela, -la |
dative | -ele, -le | -elum, -lum |
Descendants
- Middle English: -el
- English: -le, -el
- Scots: -le, -el
Old French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɛl/
Etymology 1
From Latin -ālis.
Suffix
-el
- used to form an adjective
Descendants
- French: -el
Etymology 2
From Latin -ellus.
Suffix
-el
- used to form a diminutive
Descendants
- French: -eau
- → Middle English: -el, -ele, -ell, -elle, -eylle, -le, -yll, -ylle
- English: -el, -le
Polish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɛl/
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -ɛl
- Syllabification: el
Suffix
-el m
- Forms masculine agent nouns.
- śmierdzieć + -el → śmierdziel
Declension
Masculine personal:
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | -el | -ele / -elowie |
genitive | -ela | -eli / -elów |
dative | -elowi | -elom |
accusative | -ela | -eli / -elów |
instrumental | -elem | -elami |
locative | -elu | -elach |
vocative | -elu | -ele / -elowie |
Masculine animate:
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | -el | -ele |
genitive | -ela | -eli |
dative | -elowi | -elom |
accusative | -ela | -ele |
instrumental | -elem | -elami |
locative | -elu | -elach |
vocative | -elu | -ele |
Masculine inanimate:
singular | plural | |
---|---|---|
nominative | -el | -ele |
genitive | -elu | -eli |
dative | -elowi | -elom |
accusative | -el | -ele |
instrumental | -elem | -elami |
locative | -elu | -elach |
vocative | -elu | -ele |
Derived terms
Further reading
- -el in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- -el in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Romani
Suffix
-el
- Forms the third-person singular present indicative of consonantal oikoclitic verbs
Romanian
Etymology
From Latin -ellus.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /el/
Suffix
-el m (plural -ei, feminine -ea, feminine plural -ele)
- used to form a masculine diminutive of a word (e.g. băiat (“boy”) + -el → băiețel (“little boy”)
Declension
singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite articulation | definite articulation | indefinite articulation | definite articulation | |
nominative/accusative | (un) -el | -elul | (niște) -ei | -eii |
genitive/dative | (unui) -el | -elului | (unor) -ei | -eilor |
vocative | -elule | -eilor |
Synonyms
- -uș, -aș, -uț, -șor
Derived terms
Related terms
- -ea
Turkish
Alternative forms
- -al (after vowels a, ı, o, u)
Etymology
Learned borrowing from French -el [1].
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɛl/
Suffix
-el
- Forms adjectives from nouns and verbs
- özel (“private, special”) from öz (“self”)
Derived terms
References
- Lewis, Geoffrey (1999) The Turkish Language Reform: A Catastrophic Success, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, page 102
Volapük
Suffix
-el
- Used to indicate a maker of a certain thing.