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-ster. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
-ster, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
-ster in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
-ster you have here. The definition of the word
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-ster, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
From Middle English -estere, -ester, from Old English -estre (“-ster”, feminine agent suffix), from Proto-West Germanic *-astrijā, of disputed origin. Cognate with Middle Low German -ester, Dutch -ster.
Suffix
-ster
- Someone who is, or who is associated with, or who does something specified.
- (humorous, sometimes offensive) A diminutive appended to a person's name.
- 1992, Russell Baker, "Observer; Pretty Good Read" (review of What It Takes by Richard Ben Cramer), New York Times, 25 Jul.,
- Cramer's exploration of the hearts, minds and souls of America's ambition-crazed Presidential candidates moves ahead at a pace that feels childishly frantic . . . . This is not just because it keeps referring to Senator Robert Dole as "the Bobster."
2023 April 21, John Crace, “Psycho goes down raging: the liberal wokerati finally get to Raab”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:“Never better,” the Raabster spat back. “Just get on with it. What’s the score?”
Usage notes
- Relatively uncommon for agent nouns, compared to more usual -er and -or; primarily used for single-syllable words. Also informal, particularly in contemporary productive use – compare hipster, scenester, bankster; older terms such as barrister do not have this casual connotation, however.
- Sometimes used in proper names, e.g. Napster (file-sharing software), Blockster (Brandon Block, disc jockey)
- In older words, used as a suffix for jobs that were held by women, e.g., webster (“female webber, or weaver”), baxter (“female baker”), spinster (“female spinner”), brewster (“female brewer”).
Synonyms
Derived terms
Anagrams
- Rest., 'rest, rest., REST, ERTs, rets, erst, rest, tres, RETs, TERs, SERT, estr-, -estr-
Dutch
Etymology
From Middle Dutch -ster, from Old Dutch *-istra, from Proto-West Germanic *-astrijā; cognate with Middle Low German -ester, Old English -estre. Perhaps also merging with Vulgar Latin -istria, borrowed from Ancient Greek -ιστρια (-istria).[1]
Suffix
-ster f
- female equivalent of -er
Derived terms
References
- ^ A. van Loey, "Schönfeld's Historische Grammatica van het Nederlands", Zutphen, 8. druk, 1970, →ISBN; § 177
Middle English
Suffix
-ster
- Alternative form of -estere