-ic
English
Alternative forms
- -ick (obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle English -ik, from Old French -ique, from Latin -icus, from Proto-Indo-European *-kos, *-ḱos, formed with the i-stem suffix *-i- and the adjectival suffix *-kos, *-ḱos. Compare Ancient Greek -ικός (-ikós), Sanskrit -इक (-ika) and Old Church Slavonic -ъкъ (-ŭkŭ). Doublet of -ac and -y.
PIE *-kos on noun stems carried the meaning 'characteristic of, like, typical, pertaining to', and on adjectival stems it acted emphatically.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɪk/
Suffix
-ic
- Used to form adjectives from nouns with the meaning “of or pertaining to”.
- Cyrillic
- acidic
- (chemistry) Used to denote certain chemical compounds in which a specified chemical element has a higher oxidation number than in the equivalent compound whose name ends in the suffix -ous. For example sulphuric acid (H₂SO₄) has more oxygen atoms per molecule than sulphurous acid (H₂SO₃).
Usage notes
The suffix -ic is often added to words of Greek or Latin origin, but may also be used with other words, and in some cases is even added (redundantly) to adjectives, as in veganic (from vegan).
Derived terms
Related terms
- -adic
- -ical
- -ics
Translations
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See also
- -al
- -an
- -ar
- -ate
- -esque
- -ese
- -id
- -ian
- -ish
- -like
- -oid
- -ory
- -ous
- -ship
- -tion
- -y
Anagrams
- -ci-, C&I, CI, cI, ci
Catalan
Etymology 1
From Latin -icus.
Suffix
-ic m (feminine -ica)
- -ic (of or pertaining to)
Suffix
-ic m
- (chemistry) -ic
Etymology 2
From Latin -iccus.
Suffix
-ic m
- Used to form diminutive nouns.
Derived terms
Middle English
Suffix
-ic
- Alternative form of -ik
Romanian
Etymology
From Latin -icus.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ik/
Suffix
-ic m or n (feminine singular -ică, masculine plural -ici, feminine and neuter plural -ice)
- Forms adjectives with the meaning "of or pertaining to".
Declension
singular | plural | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | neuter | feminine | masculine | neuter | feminine | ||
nominative/ accusative | indefinite | -ic | -ică | -ici | -ice | ||
definite | -icul | -ica | -icii | -icele | |||
genitive/ dative | indefinite | -ic | -ice | -ici | -ice | ||
definite | -icului | -icei | -icilor | -icelor |
Derived terms
Related terms
- -ec
- -atic/-atec