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Creates an agent noun, often from a verb, indicating a person or object (often machines or parts of them) that do the verb or part of speech with which they are formed.
(electrical science)Appended to the names of members of classes of components, especially those that have an extensive property name of the same root suffixed with -ance
Resistors possess resistance and inductors possess inductance.
Usage notes
In Latin-derived words, English generally appends this suffix where Latin would do it—to the root of a perfect passive participle (i.e. past participle). For other words, English tends to use the suffix -er. Occasionally both are used (protester vs. protestor).
The ō from the nominative case was made common to all cases originally with non-ablauting o (the three exceptions were arbor, mulier and Cerēs). Afterwards nom.sg. -ōr > -or, by Latin sound laws. Thus paradoxically, as in other r-stems (soror, -tor), in the resulting paradigm the one form with a short stem vowel is the only form whose stem was etymologically long.
A plural marker. This marker is the regular plural for common gender nouns ending with an unstressed -a. Such an -a disappears when -or is added. The marker is used, however, with a few other nouns as well.
R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “-or”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies