suffix
n. countablen. a group of letters added to the end of a word to change its meaning or its part of speech. For example, adding '-ly' to 'quick' makes it an adverb.
n. a morpheme added to the end of a stem or root to form a new word or to mark a grammatical category. In computing and mathematics, refers to a string or character appended to the end of a sequence.
The suffix '-ness' turns the adjective 'happy' into a noun.
When learning new vocabulary, identifying the suffix can help you guess if a word is a verb, noun, or adjective.
Linguistic analysis of the document revealed several archaic suffixes that are no longer productive in modern English, suggesting the text was written several centuries ago.
Borrowed from Latin suffīxus (“suffix”), from sub- (“under”) + fīxus (perfect passive participle of fīgere (“to fasten, fix”)), equivalent to sub- + -fix.
Commonly used in linguistic and technical contexts; often contrasted with 'prefix'.