-liche
See also: liche
Middle English
Alternative forms
- -lich, -lyche, -lych, -li, -ly, -lie, -lye, -like, -lik, -licke, -lyke, -lyk, -lycke, -leche, -le, -lei, -loche, -lice, -lic, -lica, -liȝ, -lyce, -lyc, -lyca, -lyȝ, -lece, -luche, -luch
Etymology
From Old English -līc, -līċ, from Proto-Germanic *-līkaz (“having the body or form of”), from *līką (“body”)
Suffix
-liche (comparative -lichere, superlative -lyest)
- Used to form adjectives from nouns, the adjectives having the sense of "like or characteristic of what is denoted by the noun".
- Appended to adjectives in order to render meaning of the adjective either more intense or more approximate.
- E.g. ded (“no longer alive”), dedliche (“causing, resembling or subject to death”); short (“not long”), shortliche (“momentary; very brief”)
- Used to form adverbs from adjectives, and nouns; the adverbs having the sense of "in the manner of what is denoted by the adjective/noun".
- Optionally appended to adverbs without suffixes with no change to the meaning.
Derived terms
► <a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs14 CategoryTreeLabelCategory' href='/wiki/Category:Middle_English_words_suffixed_with_-liche' title='Category:Middle English words suffixed with -liche'>Middle English words suffixed with -liche</a>
Derived terms
- aerliche
- aghlich
- arghliche
- armliche
- atterliche
- bigly
- bodyliche
- boldeliche
- brotheliche
- craftliche
- craftiliche
- dedliche
- depliche
- diȝeliche
- dueliche
- ediliche
- evenliche
- faderliche
- fairliche
- felauliche
- fokenliche
- freliche
- freshliche
- gidiliche
- gladliche
- gostliche
- grefliche
- greithliche
- gromliche
- groundliche
- ȝewisliche
- hagherliche
- hedliche
- heighliche
- herteliche
- idafenliche
- idelliche
- innerliche
- justisliche
- kindeliche
- leofliche
- maidenliche
- organliche
- reuliche
- semeliche
- shortliche
- timeliche
- throliche
- werkmanliche
- wisliche
- wommanliche
- yerliche
Descendants
- English: -ly
- Scots: -lie
Usage notes
- Which variant of this suffix is most common varies depending on the word; there is little consistency, though -lich(e) and -ly in general are notably frequent.
References
- “-lī, suf.(1)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 7 April 2018.
- “-lī, suf.(2)” in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 7 April 2018.