Wednesday, September 5, 2018

Suffixes of Quality

The English language is full of prefixes (add-ons at the beginning of words) and suffixes (add-ons at the end of words). Even the word 'beginning' shown here has the suffix 'ing'.

Here is a rather long list of the many types of suffixes you will see:


Suffixes attached to words to refer to a quality of being or a state or condition include the following:
-acity: perspicacity, capacity
-an: partisan, urban
-ance: attendance, balance
-ate: apostate, reprobate
-cracy: democracy, theocracy
-cy: residency, privacy
-dom: kingdom, wisdom
-ence: sentience, abscence
-ern: western, cavern
-ery: bravery, effrontery
-escence: effervescence, adolescence
-ese: legalese, Chinese
-esque: burlesque, grotesque
-ete: aesthete, athlete
-ette: kitchenette, cigarette
-ful: handful, earful
-gamy: monogamy, polygamy
-gon: pentagon, polygon
-hood: brotherhood, neighborhood
-ia: absentia, dementia
-ial: editorial, colonial
-ian: pediatrician, patrician
-ine: canine, feline
-ity: gravity, hilarity
-ization: organization, fertilization
-less: fearless, homeless
-let: inlet, booklet
-ling: underling, stripling
-ness: kindness, darkness
-ocity: velocity, ferocity
-oid: spheroid, humanoid
-phile: audiophile, bibliophile
-ship: fellowship, governership
-sion: discussion, dimension
-th: length, strength
-tion: station, attrition
-tude: attitude, fortitude
-ty: frailty, liberty
-ure: failure, closure

Words pertaining to medical or psychological conditions, or analogous states, often have one of the following suffixes:
-algia: neuralgia, nostalgia
-emia: anemia, hypogyclemia
-iasis: psoriasis, elephantiasis
-itis: appendicitis, tonsillitis
-oma: carcinoma, hematoma
-opia: myopia, hyperopia
-osis: neurosis, psychosis
-path: homeopath, sociopath
-plegia: paraplegia, quadriplegia
-pnea: apnea, orthopnea
-trophy: atrophy, dystrophy

Words denote a place where something specific occurs, or an entity with a certain responsibility, are augmented by the following suffixes:
-ary: aviary, military
-ium: auditorium, stadium
-ory: laboratory, observatory

Many words for types of ingredients or materials end with the following suffixes:
-ing: clothing, writing
-ings: seasonings, leavings

An action or a process or procedure, or a belief, is expressed in words with these suffixes:
-ade: blockade, promenade
-age: storage, patronage
-ism: racism, sexism
-ment: measurement, movement
-oscopy: arthroscopy, colonoscopy
-ure: pedicure, closure

Many words describing a person with a particular skill or vocation or who engages in a specific activity, or a person who or a thing that has a certain quality or purpose, end with this suffix:
-ac: maniac, hemophiliac
-ant: servant, applicant
-ar: burglar, liar
-ard: laggard, wizard
-arian: disciplinarian
-art: braggart, boggart
-ative: preservative, derivative
-crat: bureaucrat, aristocrat
-eer: engineer, volunteer
-ent: president, absorbent
-er:hanger, teacher
-ess: waitress, heiress
-ian: guardian, Italian
-ic: workaholic, alcoholic
-ist: therapist, dentist
-ite: parasite, dynamite
-or: doctor, translator

Note that -ess, which generally signifies a female practitioner (other examples are adventuress and poetess), is widely considered dated because it denotes an unnecessary distinction between genders. A female author, for example, is simply described as an author, not an authoress, and if her gender is pertinent, it may be referred to otherwise in written content.


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That should give you enough to think about as far as suffixes go but is case you are one of those people who really wants to get to understand what suffixes are all about, where they come from and why, you might enjoy the following: https://www.thoughtco.com/suffix-grammar-1692159

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Monday, September 3, 2018

Envelop vs Envelope


Envelop vs. Envelope
The words envelop and envelope originated from the French word envoluper, which may be the reason some people get confused aside from their similar appearance. Despite these similarities, they have different pronunciations, meanings, and uses. This post will help you identify these differences and enable you to use these terms correctly in your writing.

The word envelop is used as a verb which means “to wrap up, cover, or surround completely” or “to put a covering completely around.” Its forms include envelops (present), enveloped (past / participle), and enveloping (progressive).

Brutal and ‘bone-chilling’ cold envelops US east coast two days after storm
The Guardian

Hazy and foggy weather envelop most parts of UAE
Gulf News

Julian Edelman also saw Rob Gronkowski’s enveloping sideline hug of Danny Amendola
Boston Globe

On the other hand, the term envelope functions as a noun that most commonly refers to “a flat paper container with a sealable flap, used to enclose a letter or document.”

Charities continue to use stamps on reply envelopes to encourage donations
Linn’s Stamp News

Jimmy Kimmel’s new Oscar promo is all about last year’s envelope drama, and LOL
Hello Giggles

3 hospitalized after state trooper opens envelope containing suspicious substance
Penn Live

Additionally, there is the idiom “push the envelope,” which means “to go beyond the usual or normal limits by doing something new, dangerous, etc.”

CFPB Chief Mulvaney Says Days of ‘Pushing the Envelope’ Are Over
Bloomberg

How Producer Blake Mills Coaxes Musicians Into Pushing the Envelope
New York Times

Jewish General Hospital pushes envelope in robotic surgery
Montreal Gazette

Now that we’ve distinguished the differences between envelop and envelope in terms of use and meaning, you should be able to use them properly in your sentences. Remember that envelop is a verb that pertains to wrapping or surrounding while envelope is the container for letters.