-er

I

aff. cvb a noun-forming suffix, added to nouns to form words designating persons from the object of their occupation or labor (hatter; moonshiner; roofer), or from their place of origin or abode (Icelander; southerner), or designating persons or things from some special characteristic or circumstance (double-decker; fourth-grader; tanker; teenager). When added to verbs, -er1 forms nouns denoting a person, animal or thing that performs or is used in performing the action of the verb

baker; eye-opener; fertilizer; pointer; teacher[/ex]

Compare -ier I -yer Etymology: ME -er(e), repr. OE -ere agentive suffix (c. OHG -āri, Go -areis < Gmc *-arjaz < L -ārius -ary) and OE -ware, forming ethnonyms (as Rōmware Romans), c. OHG -āri < Gmc *-warioz people II

-er

cvb aff. a noun suffix occurring in loanwords from French in the Middle English period, most often names of occupations (butcher; carpenter; grocer; mariner; officer), but also other nouns (corner; danger; primer)

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Etymology: ME < AF -er, OF -ier < L -ārius, -ārium. Cf. -ary, -eer, -ier III

-er

aff. a termination of nouns denoting action or process, occurring orig. and predominantly in loanwords from French or Anglo-French:

dinner; rejoinder; remainder[/ex]

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Etymology: < AF or OF, orig. inf. suffix -er, -re IV

-er

aff. a suffix regularly used in forming the comparative degree of adjectives:

harder; smaller[/ex]

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Etymology: ME -er(e), -re, OE -ra, -re; c. G -er V

-er

aff. a suffix regularly used in forming the comparative degree of adverbs:

faster[/ex]

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Etymology: ME -er(e), -re, OE -or; c. OHG -or VI

-er

aff. a formative appearing in verbs having frequentative meaning:

flicker; flutter; shiver; shudder[/ex]

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Etymology: ME; OE -r-; c. G -(e) r- VII

-er

cvb aff. Chiefly Brit. a suffix that creates informal or jocular mutations of more neutral words, which are typically clipped to a single syllable before application of the suffix, and sometimes subjected to other phonetic alterations: bed-sitter; fresher; rugger; soccer

Compare -ers

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Etymology: prob. modeled on nonagentive uses of -er I; said to have first become current in University College, Oxford, 1875–80