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-ine. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
-ine, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
-ine in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
-ine you have here. The definition of the word
-ine will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
-ine, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Pronunciation
- (depending on the word taking the suffix) IPA(key): /-aɪn/, /-iːn/, /-ɪn~-ən/
Etymology 1
From Middle English -in, -ine, from Old French -in, -ine, from Latin -īnus, from Proto-Indo-European *-iHnos. More at -en.
Suffix
-ine
- (chiefly non-productive) Of or pertaining to.
- asinine, marine, bovine, cervine
- Used to form demonyms.
- Levantine, Byzantine, Argentine, Florentine
- (chemistry) Used to form names of chemical substances, especially basic (alkaline) substances, alkaloidal substances, or halogen elements.
- amine, aniline, caffeine, iodine
- Commercial materials.
- glass + -ine → glassine
Usage notes
While multiple pronunciations are given above for this suffix, they are not freely interchangeable; instead, each word taking the suffix often only takes one or two of the suffix's possible pronunciations. For example, feminine is almost always pronounced with /-ɪn/, while marine is almost always pronounced with /-iːn/. However, more technical terms (such as iodine, which can take any of the suffix's three possible pronunciations) may not have an established pronunciation, though in feminine names (Maxine) and chemical use (theobromine), the pronunciation /-iːn/ is the most frequent, while in other technical formations (bovine) /-aɪn/ is common.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
Etymology 2
From French -ine, feminine of -in; Latin -īna, feminine of -īnus.
Suffix
-ine
- (non-productive) Used to form feminine nouns.
- hero + -ine → heroine
- speaker + -ine → speakerine
- (non-productive) Used to form female given names or names of titles.
- Clement + -ine → Clementine
- landgrave + -ine → landgravine
Synonyms
Antonyms
Derived terms
Etymology 3
Variant of -en.
Suffix
-ine
- Found in the plural forms of a small number of English words. Not productive.
- cow + -ine → kine
- sow + -ine → swine
References
- “-ine”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2000, →ISBN.
- “-ine”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
Anagrams
Finnish
Etymology
From the same source as -ne (noun-forming suffix) (seen in murene, etc.), with contamination from -in (instrumental suffix) in both form and meaning.
Pronunciation
Suffix
-ine
- Forms diminutive forms of nouns, particularly for objects or tools.
Derived terms
Anagrams
French
Etymology
From -in + -e.
Pronunciation
Suffix
-ine f (plural -ines)
- -ine; forms chemical substances
- café (“coffee”) + -ine → caféine (“caffeine”)
- forms diminutives
- escalope (“escalope (cut of meat)”) + -ine → escalopine (“small escalope”)
- feutre (“felt (material)”) + -ine → feutrine (“lightweight felt”)
- female equivalent of -in; forms female agent nouns
- pèler(in) (“pilgrim”) + -ine → pèlerine (“female pilgrim”)
- assass(in) (“assassin”) + -ine → assassine (“female assassin”)
Derived terms
German
Suffix
-ine
- (nonstandard) Used to form feminine nouns.
- Azubi + -ine → Azubine
- Dackel (“dachshund”) + -ine → Dackeline
Irish
Suffix
-ine f
- genitive of -in
Italian
Suffix
-ine f pl
- plural of -ina
Anagrams
Latin
Suffix
-īne
- vocative masculine singular of -īnus
Livvi
Etymology
From Proto-Finnic *-inën. Cognates include Ingrian -in and Finnish -nen.
Pronunciation
Suffix
-ine
- Used to form diminutive nouns; -ie
Declension
This suffix needs an inflection-table template.
Derived terms