-s

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /s/ (following a voiceless consonant /p, t, k, f, θ/)
• IPA^(key): /z/ (postvocalic or following a voiced consonant /m, n, ŋ, b, d, ɡ, v, ð, l, ɹ/)
• IPA^(key): /ɪz/ (following a sibilant consonant /s, z, ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ/—usually written -es)
  • IPA^(key): /əz/ (weak vowel merger)
• Homophones: -'s, 's

Etymology 1

From Middle English -s, -es, from Old English -as, nominative-accusative plural ending of masculine a-stem (i.e. strong) declension nouns, from Proto-West Germanic *-ōs, from Proto-Germanic *-ōs, *‑ōz, from Proto-Indo-European *-es, *-oes (plural endings). The spread of this ending in later Middle English was once argued to have been the result of Anglo-Norman influence; however, -as was already the most common Old English plural marker (used in approximately 40% of Old English nouns), and was initially more common in the North of England where French influence was weakest, only later gradually spreading south. Cognate with Scots -s (plural ending), Saterland Frisian -s (plural ending), West Frisian -s (plural ending), Dutch -s (plural ending), Low German -s (plural ending), Danish -er (plural ending), Swedish -r, -ar, -or (plural ending), Icelandic -ar (plural ending), Gothic -𐍉𐍃 (-ōs, nominative plural ending of a-stem masculine nouns). Not directly related to German -er (plural ending) which has a different origin.

Suffix

-s

2. Used to form regular plurals of nouns.

   one computer → five computers

4. Used to form many pluralia tantum (nouns that are almost or entirely without singular forms).

   shorts

   sunglasses

6. When appended to a number ending in at least one 0, expresses a range of numbers which share the digits before some or (usually) all of the 0s; frequently used for decades, centuries and temperatures.

   We often look back on the 1960s [the years from 1960 to 1969] with rose-tinted glasses.

   The Industrial Revolution went into full-swing during the 1800s [the years from 1800 to 1899 – but see usage notes].

   The temperature today will be in the low 30s.

   He placed in the 200s in the end.

Usage notes

• (regular plurals): In semi-formal or formal contexts, where the plurality of a noun depends on some unknown aspect of the sentence, the s may be parenthesised: "The winner(s) will be invited to a prize ceremony."
• (number): Decades formed with -s are usually pronounced as if they were written as two separate numbers. For example, 1970s is read as nineteen-seventies, as if it were written as 19 70s, not as *nineteen-hundred seventies or *one thousand nine hundred and seventies.
• (number): When the number before the -s ends in more than one zero, there is ambiguity about the range of numbers that is meant. For example, 1800s could mean "the years from 1800 to 1899; the entire 19th century" or "the years from 1800 to 1809; the first decade of the 19th century". The intended meaning can usually be derived from context.

Derived terms

Descendants

Translations

The translations below are a guide only. See individual words for precise translations.

See also

Etymology 2

From Middle English -(e)s (third-person singular ending), from Northumbrian Old English -es, -as (third-person singular endings). Gradually replaced the older -eth, from Old English -(e)þ, -aþ, during the Middle English and Early Modern English periods.

It is predominantly believed that -(e)s is identical to the Old English second-person singular ending -es, -est (cf. archaic Modern English -est, as in thou singest). The use for the third-person singular would have been caused by speakers of Old Norse who switched to speaking English and confounded the endings due to analogy with their native tongue. In Old Norse, the second and third person singular indicative forms were identical (e.g. þú masar, hann masar; þú þekkir, hann þekkir; etc.).

An alternative theory sees the shift from /θ/ in -eth to /s/ (later /z/) in -(e)s as a mere phonetic simplification due to the frequency of the ending, but the objection to this is that no such development can be observed anywhere else in English. Nevertheless the relative similarity in sound between both forms may have facilitated the spread of -es.

Suffix

-s

1. Used to form the third-person singular indicative present tense of verbs.

   to eat → he eats

Usage notes

• In Standard English, the -s suffix is only used to mark the third person singular present of verbs; however, in some varieties of English, particularly northern English, Scottish, US Southern and AAVE, the -s can be extended to other persons/numbers as well, as in: I eats me spinach; I hates the Yankees; they likes it here; etc.
• As in modern nonstandard varieties, the -s suffix can be used to mark the third-person plural in Early Modern English. However, it is less common than the modern standard zero ending, and is frequently only found in restricted contexts; for instance, Shakespeare only uses it where a plural subject has "singular" semantics.

See also

References

Etymology 3

From Middle English -es, from Old English -es, the masculine and neuter genitive singular ending of strong nouns. More at -'s.

Suffix

-s

2. Used in the formation of certain English adverbs.

   ‎forward + ‎-s → ‎forwards

   ‎downward + ‎-s → ‎downwards

   ‎alway + ‎-s → ‎always

   ‎sometime + ‎-s → ‎sometimes

   ‎betime + ‎-s → ‎betimes

   ‎while + ‎-s → ‎whiles

   ‎betide + ‎-s → ‎betides

   ‎toward + ‎-s → ‎towards

   ‎beside + ‎-s → ‎besides

   ‎evening + ‎-s → ‎evenings

   ‎unaware + ‎-s → ‎unawares

Derived terms

• -st

Etymology 4

A variant spelling of -'s, partly an archaism, partly by dropping the apostrophe.

Alternative forms

• -'s (on pronouns; now nonstandard)
• -es (obsolete)

Suffix

-s

1. (on pronouns) Possessive marker, indicating that an object belongs to the word bearing the marker.

   hers; its; ones (now one’s); theirs

   (neopronouns): eirs; hirs; pers; thons; xyrs; zirs

2. (on nouns, now nonstandard) Alternative form of -'s

   devils doorbell; dogs-bane; St. Marys; (obsolete) kings

Usage notes

• In most cases where -s is found nowadays as a possessive case marker, it is a simple misspelling of -'s. However, possessive determiners derived from personal pronouns use -s (e.g. its, not it's). The same is true of pronouns derived from possessive determiners (e.g. theirs, not their's). The possessive form of who takes -se (whose, not who's).
• Bare -s is used in some business names that derive from possessive family names, e.g. Barclays and Harrods, but compare Sainsbury’s; compare Wikipedia's article on possessives in business names. In speech, /z/ (or /s/) is sometimes added to business names which have neither -s nor -'s in writing, resulting in s-forms, which see.
• Sometimes used in place names; e.g., Harpers Ferry (formerly spelled “Harper’s Ferry”), Queens County (note that the former name of County Laois was officially “Queen’s County”, however, the apostrophe-less spelling is well-attested).

Etymology 5

Modern sense in slang . According to OED, a colloquial clipping of the hypocoristic diminutive suffix -sy. As AHD writes, -sy itself usually being informal, ironic and/or jocular, and possibly a combination of -s (“plural marker”) and conflation of -y as adjectival with its sense as a diminutive suffix (e.g. puppy, kitty), the latter notion probably from Scots.

Suffix

-s

2. (informal, colloquial, sometimes humorous) Hypocoristic suffix

   Babs; moms; pops; homes; toots

Derived terms

Unsorted:

Related terms

• -sies

Afrikaans

Etymology 1

Inherited from Dutch -st.

Suffix

-s (plural -ste)

1. appended to the stem of a verb, this suffix yields a verbal noun

   ‎dien + ‎-s → ‎diens

Etymology 2

Inherited from Dutch -s (a suffix for forming plurals).

Suffix

-s

1. Used to form regular plurals of nouns that end in certain suffixes or syllables, such as -el, -er, -en, -em, -eur, -aar, -aard, diminutive -ie, etc.

   ‎redakteur + ‎-s → ‎redakteurs

2. Used to form irregular plurals of many other nouns, chiefly of foreign origin.

   ‎ateljee + ‎-s → ‎ateljees

Etymology 3

Inherited from Dutch -s, from the genitive case of Dutch masculine and neuter nouns and adjectives, Middle Dutch -s, -es, from Old Dutch -es, -is, from Proto-Germanic *-as, *-is.

Suffix

-s

1. Used to form the partitive form of the adjective

   nuut → iets nuuts

   groot → niks groots nie

Etymology 4

Inherited from Dutch -s, from earlier -sch, from Middle Dutch -sch, from Old Dutch -isc, from Proto-West Germanic *-isk, from Proto-Germanic *-iskaz, from Proto-Indo-European *-iskos.

Suffix

-s

2. Used to form adjectives of characteristic from nouns.

   ‎winter (“winter”) + ‎-s → ‎winters (“wintery”)

   ‎spel (“game”) + ‎-s → ‎speels (“playful”)

3. Used to form adjectives or language names from place names.

   ‎Engeland (“England”) + ‎-s → ‎Engels (“English”)

   ‎Finland (“Finland”) + ‎-s → ‎Fins (“Finnish”)

Albanian

Etymology

Possibly akin to Old Armenian -իչ (-ičʿ), both reconstructible to a tentative Proto-Indo-European *-ikʷyo-s, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷey- (“to gather”), whence also Ancient Greek ποιέω (poiéō, “to do”), Sanskrit चिनोति (cinóti, “to arrange, pile up”).

Suffix

-s

2. Forms agent nouns.

   Synonym: -ar

Usage notes

• Becomes -ës after consonants.
• When attached to o- or ua-stem verbs the stem and the suffix merge into -ues in the modern standard, following Gheg practice, while traditionally made -onjës following Tosk practice.
• Similarly, when attached to e- or ye-stem verbs they give rise to -yes in Gheg and the modern standard, while -enjës in Tosk and the old standard.

Derived terms

References

Further reading

• Newmark, L., Hubbard, P., Prifti, P. (1982) Standard Albanian: a reference grammar for students, Stanford University Press, →ISBN, § 3.4.1 A, page 164

Chinese

Etymology

From English -s (“plural suffix”).

Suffix

-s

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, neologism, humorous or sarcastic, rare, written only) Used to emphasise that there are multiple instances of the noun

   有車s有樓s／有车s有楼s [Cantonese]  ―  jau⁵ ce¹ jau⁵ lau^4-2   ―  to own multiple cars and flats

Usage notes

May be repeated to further emphasise the number of instances of the noun.

有樓sss／有楼sss [Cantonese]  ―  jau⁵ lau^4-2   ―  to own many flatsss

References

• Victor Chan Haw Fung (1999) “Hong Kong English and the Internet”, in Unpublished MA dissertation (in Chinese), page 40: “Some of these words have plural forms like leng luis in (example 13).”

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

Particle

-s

1. Alternative form of -si

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse -s, originally the genitive singular ending of a-stem nouns. Cognate with Swedish -s.

Particle

-s

1. Used to form genitive/possessive phrases, attached to the last word in a noun phrase.

   Danmarks dronning ― the Queen of Denmark

   Københavns snefald ― snowfall in Copenhagen

Dutch

Etymology 1

Unknown. Not present in Old Dutch, which used -a from Proto-Germanic *-ōz as the plural ending. Possibly spread from Middle Low German -s, -es, from Old Saxon -os, -as, from Proto-Germanic *-ōs. Further etymology is unknown, but cognate with Old English -as (English -s).

Suffix

-s pl

1. Used to form regular plurals of nouns that end in certain suffixes or syllables, such as -el, -er, -en, -em, -eur, -aar, -aard, diminutive -je, etc.

   ‎bodem + ‎-s → ‎bodems

2. Used to form irregular plurals of many other nouns, chiefly of foreign origin.

   ‎telefoon + ‎-s → ‎telefoons

Usage notes

• Nouns ending in unstressed -e generally have a plural in -s and one in -n (ziekte > ziektes, ziekten). Individual words, however, allow just one of the two ways.
• Most words of Latin origin ending in -um are pluralized with the suffix -s (museum > museums) or by replacing -um with -a (> musea). The latter tends to be preferred in formal style.

Etymology 2

From the genitive case of masculine and neuter nouns and adjectives, Middle Dutch -s, -es, from Old Dutch -es, -is, from Proto-Germanic *-as, *-is.

Suffix

-s

1. (archaic, except in fixed expressions) Used to form the genitive case of (strong) masculine and neuter nouns.

   tijd → de tand des tijds

2. Used to form the genitive case of proper nouns and some pronouns.

   Pieter → Pieters jas

   iemand → iemands jas

3. Used to form the partitive form of the adjective

   lief → iets liefs

4. Used to form adverbs

   stad → steeds

Derived terms

The adverbial/adjectival -s combines with other suffixes like :

• -lijk → -lijks
• -je → -jes
• -ling → -lings
• -waarts

Etymology 3

From earlier -sch, from Middle Dutch -sch, from Old Dutch -isc, from Proto-West Germanic *-isk, from Proto-Germanic *-iskaz (from which also -isch via German), from Proto-Indo-European *-iskos.

Suffix

-s

2. Used to form adjectives of characteristic from nouns.

   ‎winter (“winter”) + ‎-s → ‎winters (“wintery”)

   ‎spel (“game”) + ‎-s → ‎speels (“playful”)

3. Used to form adjectives or language names from names of nations or countries.

   ‎Engeland (“England”) + ‎-s → ‎Engels (“English”)

   ‎Finland (“Finland”) + ‎-s → ‎Fins (“Finnish”)

Estonian

Etymology 1

From Proto-Finnic *-isa. Related to Finnish -isa, Ingrian -isa, Votic -sa.

Suffix

-s (genitive -sa, partitive -sat, comparative -sam, superlative kõige -sam)

1. creates adjectives from nouns

   ‎au (“honour”) + ‎-s → ‎aus (“honest”)

   ‎ilu (“beauty”) + ‎-s → ‎ilus (“beautiful”)

   ‎lõbu (“pleasure”) + ‎-s → ‎lõbus (“fun”)

Inflection

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Proto-Finnic *-nci.

Suffix

-s (genitive -nda, partitive -ndat)

1. forms ordinal numbers from cardinal numbers

   ‎kolm (“three”) + ‎-s → ‎kolmas (“third”)

   ‎kuus (“six”) + ‎-s → ‎kuues (“sixth”)

Inflection

Finnish

Etymology 1

Contracted from the second-person singular pronoun sa, sä (sinä in modern standard language), but no longer tied to being used in second-person.

Particle

-s (enclitic particle, somewhat informal or familiar)

1. When appended to a second-person singular or plural imperative, gives the command or request slightly rude or impatient tone—often with different verbs and different independent particles adjacent, the tone is different.

   Kuules nyt! (addressing one person. quite an established expression of frustration, speaker very impatient) ― Now do listen!

   Kuulkaas nyt! (addressing many people, same tone as above) ― Now do listen!

   Tees nämä tehtävät. (addressing one person, tone less impatient) ― Go do these tasks.

2. When appended to the particle -pa/-pä that is appended to a second-person imperative, gives the command or request a slightly more persuasive or inspiring tone.

   Laitapas lautaset pöytään. ― Hey, go put the plates on the table.

3. Mainly in informal contexts: a particle appended to an interrogative suffix -ko/-kö of the verb conjugated in order to bring the conversation partner or a person outside the conversation, talked about, emotionally closer to the speaker, or to create familiarity into the conversation; also to express that closeness or familiarity—sometimes very difficult to translate well into English, in some cases corresponds to tag questions.

   Jaksatkos sinä? ― May you make it maybe?

   Eikös Saara opiskele oikeustieteitä? ― Saara studies law, nuh?

4. (colloquial) appended to the shortened impersonal indicative present form (-n omitted) to soften the command or request or to make it more persuasive.

   Tehdääs tämä huomenna. ― Let's go do this tomorrow.

5. Softens interrogative words, particularly mikä, kuka and their inflected and derived forms, such as when the speaker expects the person addressed to know the answer.

   Mikäs se Suomen pääkaupunki olikaan?

   What was Finland's capital again?

   Kukas heistä olikaan sinun lapsesi?

   Which of them was your child again?

Usage notes

• When attached to imperative forms, the gemination is ignored, unless another enclitic is also used before -s, like with -pas. Thus laitas /lɑi̯tɑs/, but laitapas /lɑi̯tɑpːɑs/.
• When directly attached to forms ending in -n (e.g. passive forms), the -n is often dropped (e.g. miten → mites).

Derived terms

See also

• -kin
• -kaan / -kään
• -han / -hän
• -ko / -kö
• -pa / -pä

Etymology 2

From Proto-Finnic *-s, from Proto-Finno-Permic *-kse (compare Erzya and Moksha -кс (-ks, nominalizing suffix)).

Suffix

-s

1. Forms some nouns.

   ‎jalka (“foot”) + ‎-s → ‎jalas (“runner, skid”)

   ‎liha (“meat”) + ‎-s → ‎lihas (“muscle”)

2. Forms fractional numbers from ordinal numbers.

   ‎kolmas + ‎-s → ‎kolmannes

Usage notes

• (fraction): Usually used when the numerator is one (one third, one fourth, etc.) See the usage notes under osa for more.

Declension

Back vowel harmony:

Front vowel harmony:

Derived terms

Etymology 3

From Proto-Finnic *-nci, from Proto-Uralic *-mte.

Suffix

-s

1. Forms ordinal numbers from cardinal numbers, or ordinal pronouns.

   ‎moni + ‎-s → ‎mones

Usage notes

Added to the genitive singular (weak grade) stem.

Declension

Back vowel harmony:

Front vowel harmony:

Derived terms

Etymology 4

From Proto-Finnic *-s, from Proto-Uralic *-s (compare Erzya -с (-s) in эйс (ejs, “into”)). Sometimes considered a reduction of *-kse (translative ending): *-kse > *-ks > *-s.

Suffix

-s

1. Forms lative adverbs.

   ‎ala- (“below, down, lower”) + ‎-s → ‎alas (“down”)

Derived terms

Etymology 5

From apocope of the final vowel of -ssa, -ssä.

Suffix

-s

1. (case suffix, colloquial or dialectal) Alternative form of -ssa (inessive)

French

Etymology 1

Inherited from Middle French -s, from Old French -s, from Latin -s (accusative plural).

Pronunciation

• Silent, except in liaison environments, when it may be pronounced /z‿/. This liaison is usual in adjectives, but fairly rare in nouns.
• Irregularly pronounced /s/ in tous (“all”) when used as a pronoun.

• Audio (liaison)

  (file)

Suffix

-s

1. Used to form the regular plurals of most nouns and adjectives.

   ‎homme + ‎-s → ‎hommes

   ‎bon + ‎-s → ‎bons

2. Used to form the irregular plurals of a few nouns and adjectives in -au, -eu (which regularly add -x) and in -al (which regularly make -aux).

   ‎landau + ‎-s → ‎landaus

   ‎bleu + ‎-s → ‎bleus

   ‎carnaval + ‎-s → ‎carnavals

Etymology 2

Inherited from Middle French -s, from Old French -s, from Latin -s (second-person singular). The spread of this ending to the first-person singular began in Old French when final -s was no longer pronounced in preconsonantal position. The grammarians later on standardised the usage, prescribing -s in some cases and rejecting it in others.

Pronunciation

• Silent, except in liaison environments, when it may be pronounced /z‿/. This liaison is optional after full vowels (as in tu dois). After silent -e- (as in tu aimes) it is rare and often discouraged.

Suffix

-s

1. Used to form the second-person singular of most verb conjugations.
2. Used to form the first-person singular of some verb conjugations.

See also

• -x

German

Etymology 1

From Middle High German -es, from Old High German .

Alternative forms

• -es
• -ens (proper nouns ending with a sibilant consonant; dated)
• -' (proper nouns ending with a sibilant consonant)
• -'s (common nouns; now proscribed)
• -'s (proper nouns; correct in certain cases, but often seen as a misspelling)

Suffix

-s

1. Used to form the genitive singular of most masculine nouns, neuter nouns, and proper nouns of all genders.

Usage notes

The formation of the strong genitive singular (in -s, -es, or no ending) may be of some difficulty both for learners and native speakers.

Only one form is possible in some nouns:

• Nouns in unstressed -as, -es,- is, -os, -us remain unchanged (except those in -nis, which make -nisses).
• Other nouns in -s, -ß, -x, -z take -es.
• Nouns ending in a vowel or in unstressed -el, -em, -en, -er, -or, -um take -s. (Only those in a diphthong or in -h allow -es, alternatively.)
• Nouns forming their plural in -s take the same ending also in the genitive singular. (Apparent exceptions will generally have an alternative plural in -e.)

Otherwise, both forms are usually correct, but certain tendencies can be observed:

• The es-form is strongly preferred in a number of frequently used monosyllables, to the degree that the s-form may even sound odd. No hard rule can be given to identify these nouns; they include e.g. Land, Mann, Weg, etc.
• The es-form is also preferred, for euphonic reasons, in words ending in certain clusters like -pf, -sch, -st.
• Most other monosyllables have no clear preference.
• The s-form is usually preferred in polysyllables, regardless of their being simple or compound and regardless also of stress patterns.

Note, finally, that there is a fairly strong tendency for proper nouns (used with the article) and for newer or less common loanwords to remain unchanged in the genitive singular.

Etymology 2

Probably derived from the genitive -s (etymology 1), but developed into a noun-forming suffix in German Low German and Central German dialects.

Suffix

-s m

1. used to form nouns from verb stems

   ‎klacken + ‎-s → ‎Klacks

   ‎schnappen + ‎-s → ‎Schnaps

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Middle Low German . Reinforced by the fact that French and English also use -s as a plural suffix.

Alternative forms

• -'s (now proscribed)
• -ens (family names ending with a sibilant consonant)

Suffix

-s

1. Used to form the plurals of some nouns.
2. Used to form the plurals of personal names, particularly family names.

Usage notes

• The plural ending -s is most typical of loanwords (as in Schals, Parfüms, Videos), though there is a tendency for naturalised loanwords to switch to -e or -en (compare Generäle, Lifte, Pizzen with older Generals, Lifts, Pizzas). Conversely, -s is also used in a certain number of native words (as in Fräuleins, Mädels, Uhus). Moreover, it is the most productive plural marker in contemporary German, typically used to pluralise initialisms (LKWs), neologisms (Honks), and words that do not otherwise have a common plural form (Streits).

See also

• -s-

Hungarian

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

• Audio

  (file)

Suffix

-s

1. (adjective-forming suffix) Added to a noun to form an adjective meaning "having something, a quality"; sometimes referred to as ornative.

   ‎só (“salt”) + ‎-s → ‎sós (“salty”)

2. (noun-forming suffix) Added to a noun to form an occupation or a collective noun.

   ‎hajó (“ship”) + ‎-s → ‎hajós (“sailor”)

3. (number-forming suffix) Added to a cardinal number to form a digit or figure, cf. the relevant template.

   ‎nulla (“zero”) + ‎-s → ‎nullás (“the digit or figure 0”)

Usage notes

• (all senses) Variants:

  -s is added to words ending in a vowel. Final -a changes to -á-. Final -e changes to -é-.

  -os is added to some back-vowel words ending in a consonant

  -as is added to other back-vowel words ending in a consonant

  -es is added to unrounded (and some rounded) front-vowel words ending in a consonant

  -ös is added to most rounded front-vowel words ending in a consonant

Derived terms

See also

• Appendix:Hungarian suffixes

Ingrian

Etymology 1

From Proto-Finnic *-ssa. Cognates include Finnish -ssa and Estonian -s.

Pronunciation

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /-sːɑ/, , /-sːæ/,
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /-s/,

Suffix

-s

1. Used to form the inessive case; in, inside

Usage notes

• May trigger vowel elongation of the preceding vowel.

Inflection

Etymology 2

From Proto-Finnic *-nci, from Proto-Uralic *-mte. Cognates include Finnish -s and Estonian -s.

Pronunciation

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /-s/,
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /-s/,

Suffix

-s

1. Used to form ordinal numbers from cardinal numbers; -th

Declension

Derived terms

Etymology 3

From Proto-Finnic *-ci, from Proto-Uralic *-ti. Cognates include Finnish -si.

Pronunciation

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /-s/,
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /-s/,

Suffix

-s

1. (obsolete) Used to mark the possession of the second person singular; thy, your
   • 1936, D. I. Efimov, Lukukirja: Inkeroisia alkușkouluja vart (ensimäine osa), Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 7:

     Niin mamallees i saoki.

     Just say so to your mother.

Usage notes

• May trigger vowel elongation of the preceding vowel.

Inflection

Etymology 4

From Proto-Finnic *-s. Cognates include Finnish -s.

Pronunciation

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /-s/,
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /-s/,

Suffix

-s

1. (non-productive) Used to form nouns from other nouns

   ‎ohja (“rein”) + ‎-s → ‎ohjas (“rein”)

Declension

Derived terms

References

• V. I. Junus (1936) Iƶoran Keelen Grammatikka‎, Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 43

Karelian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *-ci, from Proto-Uralic *-ti. Cognates include Finnish -si.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /s/

Suffix

-s

1. Used to mark the possession of the second person; thy, your

   jalka (“leg”) → jalkas (“your leg(s)”)

Derived terms

References

• P. M. Zaykov (1999) Грамматика Карельского языка (фонетика и морфология) [Grammar of the Karelian language (phonetics and morphology)], →ISBN, page 47

Kashubian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *si. Cognates include Polish -ś and Slovincian -sz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /-s/

Particle

-s

1. appended to relative/interrogative pronouns to form indefinite pronouns

   ‎chto (“who”) + ‎-s → ‎chtos (“someone”)

Derived terms

Latin

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Indo-European *-s. Cognate with Ancient Greek -ς (-s).

Suffix

-s

1. suffix marking the nominative singular form of non-neuter nouns in declensions other than the first.

Usage notes

Non-neuter nominative singular forms of the second declension originally ended in this suffix preceded by the Indo-European thematic vowel *-o-; together, the thematic vowel and suffix still had the form *-os in Proto-Italic, but became -us in Latin by vowel reduction. The ending -us found in second-declension nominative singular forms is often reinterpreted as being a suffix itself (an example of rebracketing) rather than a sequence of stem-final vowel + -s.

Likewise, in the fourth declension and fifth declension this ending is always preceded by the characteristic vowels of these declensions (-u- and -ē- respectively), with the result that -us and -ēs are frequently regarded as the nominative singular suffixes of these declensions.

The suffix appears most clearly in the third declension: stem-final consonants are often modified by the addition of the suffix, which can cause various modifications in spelling (for example, ‎lēg- (“law”) + ‎-s → ‎lēx (“law”, nominative singular)).

Derived terms

Low German