-er

See also: Appendix:Variations of "er"

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Page categories

English

Pronunciation

(UK)
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ə/
- (Northumbria) IPA^(key): /ɐ/
(General American) enPR: ər, IPA^(key): /ɚ/, [ɹ̩]
Audio (US): (file)
Homophones: -or; -a (non-rhotic)

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-os?

Proto-Indo-European *-o-

Proto-Indo-European *-so-

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂so-

Proto-Indo-European *-yós

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂s(i)yós

Proto-Italic *-āsijos

Proto-Italic *-āsios

Latin -āriusnom.

Latin -āriusbor.

Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz

Proto-West Germanic *-ārī

Old English -ere

Middle English -ere

▲

Latin -ārius

Old French -ierbor.

Middle English -er

English -er

Inherited from Middle English -ere, -er, from Old English -ere, from Proto-West Germanic *-ārī, from Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz, usually thought to have been borrowed from Latin -ārius; see Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz for an alternate theory. Reinforced by Middle English -er, from Old French -ier, also from Latin -ārius; compare the synonymous but unrelated Old French -or, -eor (Anglo-Norman variant -our), from Latin -(ā)tor, from Proto-Indo-European *-tōr.

The "inhabitant" sense is sometimes connected to Middle English -wær(r)e, -ware, from Old English -ware (suffix denoting residency), from Proto-West Germanic *-wari, from Proto-Germanic *warjaz (“inhabitant”), from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to protect”).

Cognates

Cognate with Saterland Frisian -er, West Frisian -er, Dutch -er, German Low German -er, German -er, Danish -er, Swedish -are and Icelandic -ari.

Alternative forms

-'er (following an abbreviation, or sometimes following a number)
-r (following <ee>)

Suffix

-er (noun-forming suffix, plural -ers)

(added to verbs) A person or thing that does an action indicated by the root verb; used to form an agent noun.
Antonym: -ee

‎read + ‎-er → ‎reader

‎see + ‎-er → ‎seer

‎cook + ‎-er → ‎cooker

‎compute + ‎-er → ‎computer

‎run + ‎-er → ‎runner

‎toast + ‎-er → ‎toaster

‎swim + ‎-er → ‎swimmer

‎do good + ‎-er → ‎do-gooder
(added to verbs, informal) A person or thing to which the root verb is done or can be done satisfactorily.
‎look + ‎-er → ‎looker (“an attractive person”)

‎keep + ‎-er → ‎keeper (“a person or thing worth keeping”)
(added to nouns, chiefly denoting occupations) A person whose occupation is the root noun; (more broadly, occasionally with adjectives) a person characterized by the root.
‎astrology + ‎-er → ‎astrologer

‎baby boom + ‎-er → ‎baby boomer

‎conlang + ‎-er → ‎conlanger

‎cricket + ‎-er → ‎cricketer

‎trumpet + ‎-er → ‎trumpeter

‎zine + ‎-er → ‎ziner
(added to numbers, measurements or nouns denoting quantified sets) A person or thing to which a certain number or measurement applies.
‎six + ‎-er → ‎sixer

‎six foot + ‎-er → ‎six-footer

‎three-wheel + ‎-er → ‎three-wheeler

‎first grade + ‎-er → ‎first grader
(slang, chiefly entertainment, with few limitations) Used to form nouns shorter than more formal synonyms.
‎percent + ‎-er → ‎percenter (“commission agent”)

‎one hand + ‎-er → ‎one-hander (“one-man show”)

‎oat + ‎-er → ‎oater (“a Western-themed movie”)
(added to nouns) A person who is associated with, or supports a particular theory, doctrine, or political movement.
‎birth + ‎-er → ‎birther

‎flat earth + ‎-er → ‎flat-earther

‎truth + ‎-er → ‎truther

‎woke + ‎-er → ‎woker
(added to nouns or occasionally adjectives) A thing that is related in some way to the root, such as by location or purpose.
‎bacon + ‎-er → ‎baconer (“pig raised for bacon”)

‎chocolate chip + ‎-er → ‎chocolate chipper (“cookie containing chocolate chips”)

‎sternwheel + ‎-er → ‎sternwheeler (“vessel driven by a sternwheel”)
(slang, added in slang speech to verbs or adjectives) Indicates a correspondence or coincidence between the action or condition indicated by the root and the noun being described.
‎piss + ‎-er → ‎pisser (“a hilariously funny event or situation”)
(added to a proper noun) Suffix denoting a resident or inhabitant of (the place denoted by the proper noun); used to form a demonym.
‎New York + ‎-er → ‎New Yorker

‎London + ‎-er → ‎Londoner

‎Dublin + ‎-er → ‎Dubliner

‎New England + ‎-er → ‎New Englander
Suffix denoting residency in or around a place, district, area, or region.
‎island + ‎-er → ‎islander

‎highland + ‎-er → ‎highlander

‎East End + ‎-er → ‎East-Ender

Usage notes

The suffix may be used to form an agent noun of many verbs. In compound or phrasal verbs, the suffix usually follows the verb component (as in passerby and runner-up) but is sometimes added at the end, irrespective of the position of the verb component (do-gooder) or is added to both components, often with humorous effect (washer-upper). Rarely, it may even appear three times, as in picker-upperer.
The occupational sense is often applied generally to members of a group, as in crewer (“a member of a crew”) and Z-lister (“one on the Z-list”); fans and hobbyists, as in K-popper (“a fan of K-pop”), and those who use a particular tool or instrument, as in JavaScripter (“a programmer who uses JavaScript”).
The entertainment slang sense is sometimes referred to as the Variety -er.

Derived terms

English terms suffixed with -er (agent noun)

English terms suffixed with -er (occupation)

association footballer

English terms suffixed with -er (measurement)

English terms suffixed with -er (ideology)

English terms suffixed with -er (relational)

English terms suffixed with -er (inhabitant)

British Virgin Islander

Translations

The translations below are a guide only. For more precise translations, see specific words ending with this suffix.

(used to form agent nouns) person or thing that does...

Afrikaans: -er
Albanian: -es m, -ese f, -ës m, -ëse f, -tar m, -tare f
American Sign Language: OpenB@SideChesthigh-OpenB@SideChesthigh OpenB@SideTrunkhigh-OpenB@SideTrunkhigh
Arabic: مُـ (ar) (mu-)
Egyptian Arabic: مِـ (mi-)
Armenian: -իչ (-ičʻ)
Azerbaijani: -çı (az), -çi (az), -çu (az), -çü (az), -an, -yan, -ən, -yən, -ıcı, -ici, -ucu, -ücü
Bashkir: -сы (-sı), -се (-si), -со (-su), -сө (-sü)
Catalan: -dor (ca) m, -dora (ca) f, -triu f, -er (ca) m, -era (ca) f
Chinese:
Mandarin: ...者 (zh) (-zhě), ...家 (zh) (-jiā)
Czech: -ič m, -ač m, -itel m, -átor m, -ec (cs) m
Danish: -er (da)
Dutch: -er (nl)
Egyptian: -y
Faroese: -ari
Finnish: (person that does) -ja (fi), -ri (fi); (thing or tool that does) -in (fi), -uri (fi), -ari (fi)
French: -eur (fr) m, -euse (fr) f
Galician: -eiro (gl) m, -eira (gl) f
German: -er (de) m
Greek: -άς (el) m (-ás), -ού (el) f (-oú)
Guarani:
Paraguayan Guarani: ^{(please verify)} -hára
Hebrew: participle (present tense)
Hungarian: -ó (hu)/-ő (hu)
Icelandic: -ari m
Ido: -er
Igbo: onye-
Indonesian: peng- (id), pem- (id), pe (id)
Interlingua: -ero m, -era f, -ario m, -aria f, -ista m or f
Irish: -éir m
Italian: -ore m, -tore m
Japanese: ...者 (ja) (...しゃ, -sha), ...家 (ja) (...か, -ka), ...手 (ja) (...て, -te)
Kongo: mu-
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: -van (ku), -er (ku)
Kyrgyz: -чы (-cı), -чи (-ci), -чу (-cu), -чү (-cü)
Lao: -ການ (kān)
Latin: -tor m
Latvian: -ājs (lv) m, -āja f, -ējs (lv) m, -ēja f, -ents m, -ente f, -ists m, -iste f, -ors m, -ore f, -ers m, -eris m, -ere f, -ieris m, -iere f
Malay: peng- (ms), pem-
Māori: kai-
Mongolian: -гч (-gč)
Nahuatl:
Classical Nahuatl: -qui
Navajo: -é
Nupe: -ci
Old English: -ere m, -a f
Pashto: -ونکی
Persian: ـکننده (-konande), ـگر (-gar)
Portuguese: -dor (pt) m
Romanian: -tor (ro) m, -toare f
Russian: -тель (ru) m (-telʹ) (-а́тель m (-átelʹ) / -я́тель m (-játelʹ) / -и́тель (ru) m (-ítelʹ)), -ник (ru) m (-nik), -о́вщик (ru) m (-óvščik), -щик (ru) m (-ščik), -щи́к (ru) m (-ščík), -чик (ru) m (-čik), -ик (ru) m (-ik), -и́к (ru) m (-ík), -ец (ru) m (-ec), -а́тор (ru) (-átor), -а́ч (ru) m (-áč), -ер (ru) m (-er)
Sanskrit: -क m (-ka)
Scottish Gaelic: -adair, -air, -aire, -ear, -iche
Spanish: -dor (es) m, -dora (es) f, -ero (es) m, -era (es) f
Swahili: m-
Swedish: -re (sv)
Tagalog: taga- (tl)
Tamil: -இ (-i)
Thai: นัก... (th) (nák...), ผู้... (th) (pûu...), คน... (th) (kon...), ช่าง... (th) (châang...)
Turkish: -cı (tr), -çı (tr), -cu (tr), -çu (tr), -ci (tr), -çi (tr), -cü (tr), -çü (tr), -an, -yan, -en (tr), -yen (tr)
Ukrainian: -тель m (-telʹ), -ник m (-nyk), -щик m (-ščyk), -чик m (-čyk), -їк m (-jik), -ік m (-ik), -ець m (-ecʹ), -а́тор (-átor), -а́ч m (-áč), -ер m (-er), -ар m (-ar)
Unami: -t
Welsh: -wr (cy) m, -ydd (cy) m, -wraig f
Wiradjuri: -daayn
Yoruba: oní-

person whose occupation is...

Afrikaans: -er
American Sign Language: OpenB@SideChesthigh-OpenB@SideChesthigh OpenB@SideTrunkhigh-OpenB@SideTrunkhigh
Armenian: -իչ (-ičʻ)
Azerbaijani: -çi (az), -çı (az), -çu (az), -çü (az)
Bashkir: -сы (-sı), -се (-si), -со (-su), -сө (-sü)
Catalan: -er (ca) m, -era (ca) f
Chinese:
Mandarin: ...员 (zh) (-yuán) (general), ...工 (zh) (-gōng) (of physical work), ...手 (zh) (-shǒu) (of sports, games or instruments), ...师 (zh) (-shī) (of a skilled job), ...家 (zh) (-jiā) (honorific), ...的 (zh) (-de) (informal)
Czech: -ař (cs) m, -ář (cs) m, -íř m, -ník (cs) m, -ista m, -ák (cs) m, -ec (cs) m, -ik (cs) m, -log m, -graf m, -ér m, -er (cs) m, -or m
Esperanto: -isto (eo)
Finnish: -ja (fi), -ri (fi)
French: for players of instruments or games, often translated as joueur m/joueuse f de followed by the name of the instrument or game played, but some words have specific translations
Galician: -eiro (gl) m, -eira (gl) f
Greek: -άς (el) m (-ás), -ού (el) f (-oú)
Hebrew: ־ַאי m (-ay), ־ָן m (-an)
Hungarian: -us (hu), -ász (hu)/-ész (hu), -s (hu)/-os (hu)/-as (hu)/-es (hu)/-ös (hu), -lógus (hu)
Icelandic: -maður (is) m
Ido: -ist
Interlingua: -ero m, -era f, -ario m, -aria f, -ista m or f
Irish: -éir m
Italian: (for players of instruments) -ista m/f, (for players of sports) -ista m/f, giocatore m/giocatrice f di followed by the name of the sport
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: -kar (ku), -er (ku)
Kyrgyz: -чы (-cı), -чи (-ci), -чу (-cu), -чү (-cü)
Mongolian: -чин (-čin), -ч (-č)
Nupe: -ci
Persian: ـکار (fa) (-kâr)
Polish: -arz (pl) m, -arka (pl) f, -acz (pl) m, -aczka f, -ca (pl) m, -czyni f, -nik (pl) m, -niczka f, -ciel m, -cielka f
Portuguese: -eiro (pt)
Scottish Gaelic: (for players of sports) -air m, -adair m
Spanish: -ista (es) m or f, -dor (es) m, -dora (es) f, -ero (es) m, -era (es) f
Swedish: (for players of instruments) -are (sv), -ist (sv), -spelare; (for players of sports) -spelare
Tagalog: taga- (tl)
Tamil: -ஆளர் c (-āḷar), -ஆளன் m (-āḷaṉ), -ஆளி c (-āḷi), -காரர் c (-kārar), -காரன் m (-kāraṉ), -காரி f (-kāri), -அர் c (-ar), -அன் m (-aṉ), -அள் f (-aḷ), -இ f (-i)
Thai: นัก... (th) (nák...), ช่าง... (th) (châang...)
Turkish: -cı (tr), -ci (tr), -cu (tr), -cü (tr); -çı (tr), -çi (tr), -çu (tr), -çü (tr)
Welsh: -wr (cy) m, -ydd (cy) m, -wraig f
Wiradjuri: -daayn
Yucatec Maya: -náal

(with numbers, measurements or quantified sets) ranked by or having...

Czech: -ák (cs) m
Finnish: -inen (fi), -nen (fi)
French: not used in French
Hungarian: -s (hu)/-os (hu)/-as (hu)/-es (hu)/-ös (hu), -ú (hu)/-ű (hu)/-jú/-jű
Italian: not used in Italian
Latvian: -nieks (lv) m, -niece f
Polish: -ak (pl) m
Yoruba: oní-

(used form a demonym) resident or inhabitant of...

American Sign Language: OpenB@SideChesthigh-OpenB@SideChesthigh OpenB@SideTrunkhigh-OpenB@SideTrunkhigh
Armenian: -ցի (-cʻi)
Catalan: -er (ca) m, -era (ca) f
Czech: -an (cs) m, -ec (cs) m, -ák (cs) m
Dutch: -er (nl) m, -se (nl) f
Esperanto: -ano (eo)
Finnish: -lainen (fi)
French: often translated as habitant m/habitante f de followed by the name of the place, but some words have specific translations
Galician: -eiro (gl) m, -eira (gl) f
Georgian: -ელი (-eli)
Hungarian: -i (hu), -lakó (hu)
Ido: -an
Japanese: 人 (ja) (-jin)
Malay: orang (ms)
Nupe: -ci
Persian: ـی (-i)
Portuguese: -ês (pt), -ense (pt), -ão (pt), -eiro (pt), -ista (pt), -enho (pt)
Russian: -ец (ru) (-ec), -анин (-anin), -анка (-anka), -ка (ru) (-ka)
Scottish Gaelic: -ach, -each
Swedish: -bo (sv), -are (sv)
Yoruba: oní-

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Old English -ru

Middle English -re

English -er

Inherited from Middle English -re, -er, from Old English -ru (plural suffix), from Proto-Germanic *-izō (plural suffix). Cognate with Dutch -er (plural ending), German -er (plural ending). See also -ren.

Suffix

-er

(obsolete, no longer productive) Suffix used to form the plural of a small number of English nouns.
childer, calver, lamber, linder ("loins")

Derived terms

-ren

Etymology 3

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *-yōs

Proto-Germanic *-izô

Proto-West Germanic *-iʀō

Proto-Germanic *-ōzô

Proto-West Germanic *-ōʀō

Old English -ra

Middle English -ere

English -er

From Middle English -ere, from Old English -ra, from Proto-West Germanic *iʀō, *-ōʀō, from Proto-Germanic *-izô or Proto-Germanic *-ōzô (a derivative of Etymology 4, below); related to superlative -est.

Suffix

-er

(added to certain adjectives and adverbs, now especially short ones) More; used to form the comparative.
‎hard + ‎-er → ‎harder

‎wet + ‎-er → ‎wetter

‎motley + ‎-er → ‎motlier

‎eerie + ‎-er → ‎eerier

‎clayey + ‎-er → ‎clayier

The younger child was outgoing, the older quite reserved.

Usage notes

(more; used to form the comparative): Most adjectives whose comparatives are formed using the suffix -er also form their superlatives using the suffix -est.
- Final -y preceded by a consonant becomes -i- when the suffix -er or -est is added.
  easy → easier → easiest; gray → grayer → grayest
- When the stress is on the final (or only) syllable of the adjective, and this syllable ends in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, the final consonant is doubled when the suffix is added.
  dim → dimmer → dimmest
- The suffixes -er and -est may be used to form the comparative and superlative of most adjectives and adverbs that have one syllable and some that have two or more syllables.
  hot → hotter → hottest; fast → faster → fastest; funny → funnier → funniest; sugary → sugarier → sugariest
- Some adjectives and adverbs form their comparatives and superlatives irregularly:
  good → better → best; far → farther → farthest, or far → further → furthest, depending on the meaning
- The comparatives and superlatives of other adverbs and adjectives that have two or more syllables, and adjectives that are participles are formed with more and most.
  rigid → more rigid → most rigid; enormous → more enormous → most enormous; burnt → more burnt → most burnt; freezing → more freezing → most freezing
- If in doubt, use more to form the comparative and most to form the superlative; for example, thirsty may become thirstier and thirstiest, but more thirsty and most thirsty are also acceptable.
Words ending with -ng are pronounced /ŋ/ by most dialects instead of /ŋɡ/. However, when -er or -est is added to an adjective, the /ɡ/ appears in most dialects (but not in wrong)
long (/lɒŋ/) → longer (/ˈlɒŋ.ɡə(ɹ)/); young (/jʌŋ/) → youngest (/ˈjʌŋ.ɡɪst/)

Translations

used to form the comparative of adjectives

American Sign Language: OpenA@SideChesthigh OpenA@SideNeckhigh
Armenian: ավելի (hy) (aveli)
Azerbaijani: daha (az), -raq, -rək
Basque: please add this translation if you can
Breton: -oc'h (br)
Burmese: please add this translation if you can
Czech: -ejší, -ější, -čí, -ší
Dutch: -er (nl)
Esperanto: pli (eo) (used before the adjective)
Finnish: -mpi
French: plus (fr) (used before the adjective)
Galician: máis (gl)
Georgian: please add this translation if you can
German: -er (de)
Greek: -τερος (-teros)
Ancient Greek: -τερος (-teros), -ίων (-íōn)
Hungarian: -bb
Italian: più (it) (used before the adjective)
Japanese: より (ja) (yori), もっと (ja) (motto)
Khmer: ជាង (km) (ciəng)
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: -tir (ku)
Lao: ກວ່າ (kuā)
Latin: -or, -ior
Lü: please add this translation if you can
Macedonian: по- (po-)
Mari:
Eastern Mari: -рак (-rak)
Old English: -ra
Old Norse: -ari
Persian: ـتر (-tar)
Polish: bardziej (pl) (used before the adjective)
Portuguese: mais (pt)
Romani: -eder, po (used before the adjective), maj (used before the adjective)
Russian: бо́лее (ru) (bóleje) (used before the adjective), -ее (ru) (-eje) (various suffixes exist)
Serbo-Croatian: -и m, -а f, -е n
Shan: please add this translation if you can
Spanish: más (es) (used before the adjective)
Swedish: mer (sv) (used before the adjective), -are (sv)
Tagalog: mas (tl) (used before the adjective)
Thai: -กว่า (th) (-gwàa)
Tibetan: please add this translation if you can
Turkish: daha (tr)
Vietnamese: ... hơn (vi)
Welsh: -ach, mwy (cy) (used before the adjective only if polysyllabic)
Zhuang: please add this translation if you can

Etymology 4

From Middle English -er, from Old English -or, from Proto-West Germanic *-ōʀ, Proto-Germanic *-ōz.

Suffix

-er

(added to certain adverbs) More; used to form the comparative.

Translations

used to form the comparative of adverbs

Czech: -eji, -ěji
Dutch: -er (nl)
Finnish: -mpi
French: plus (fr) (used before the adverb)
Galician: máis (gl)
German: -er (de)
Hungarian: -bb
Italian: più (used before the adverb)
Macedonian: по- (po-)
Persian: ـتر (-tar)
Polish: bardziej (pl) (used before the adverb)
Portuguese: mais (pt)
Spanish: más (es) (used before the adverb)
Swedish: mer (sv) (used before the adverb), -are (sv)

Etymology 5

Etymology tree

Proto-Germanic *-urōną

Proto-West Germanic *-urōn

Old English -erian

Middle English -eren

English -er

From Middle English -eren, -ren, -rien, from Old English -erian, -rian, from Proto-West Germanic *-rōn, *-iʀōn, from Proto-Germanic *-rōną or *-izōną. Cognate with West Frisian -erje, Dutch -eren, German -eren, -ern, Danish -re, Swedish -ra.

Suffix

-er

(added to a verb or imitative sound) Frequently; used to form frequentative verbs.
twitter, clamber, bicker, mutter, wander, flutter, flicker, slither, smother, sputter

Synonyms

(used to form frequentative): -le

Translations

used to form frequentatives

Finnish: -(e)lla, -(e)llä (fi)
Hungarian: -g
Portuguese: -ejar (pt)

Etymology 6

From Middle English -er, from Anglo-Norman -er, Old French -er, the infinitive verbal ending.

Suffix

-er

(chiefly law, added to a verb) Instance of (the verbal action); used to form nouns from verbs.
‎disclaim + ‎-er → ‎disclaimer

‎remit + ‎-er → ‎remitter

‎misname + ‎-er → ‎misnomer

‎rebut + ‎-er → ‎rebutter

‎attain + ‎-er → ‎attainder

Derived terms

English terms suffixed with -er (action noun)

Etymology 7

From Middle English -er, -ere (diminutive suffix). Compare -el.

Suffix

-er

(added to a verb or noun) Used to form diminutives.
‎shive + ‎-er → ‎shiver

‎slive + ‎-er → ‎sliver

‎splint + ‎-er → ‎splinter

Etymology 8

English Wikipedia has an article on:

Oxford "-er"

Wikipedia

Attested in the UK since the 19th century. Originally Rugby School slang. Later adopted by Oxford University and then wider British society.

Suffix

-er

(originally school slang) Used to form slang or colloquial equivalents of words.
‎association + ‎-er → ‎soccer (“association football”)

‎football + ‎-er → ‎footer (“association football”)

‎rugby + ‎-er → ‎rugger

‎Radcliffe + ‎-er → ‎Radder (“a building at Oxford University”)

Derived terms

-zza

Related terms

-ers

Translations

used to form slang equivalents

Finnish: -is (fi)
Hungarian: -ci

Etymology 9

From Middle English -er, from Old English -er, -or, from Proto-Germanic *-raz. Compare -le.

Suffix

-er

(now chiefly dialectal) A suffix creating adjectives from verbs, indicating aptitude, proneness, or tendency toward a specified action:
‎clive + ‎-er → ‎cliver (“apt to cleave or adhere to, tenacious, expert as seizing”)

‎slip + ‎-er → ‎slipper (“tending to make slip, slippery”)

‎wake + ‎-er → ‎waker (“tending to wake, watchful”)

Synonyms

-le

Etymology 10

From Mandarin -兒 / -儿 (-ér).

Pronunciation

enPR: ŭr

Suffix

-er

(Chinese literature) Junior, child, younger person. (Attached to a name, usually one syllable of the given name.)
Li’er said hello to his father.
- 1979, Women of China‎^[1], page 44:
  Yue’er began to laugh again and her tears shimmered like dew on a lotus leaf disturbed by a breeze. Then we heard a sound. It was Man’er.
- 2002 [1934], Xiao Hong, “The Field of Life and Death”, in Howard Goldblatt, transl., The Field of Life and Death & Tales of Hulan River, →ISBN, page 32:
  The fish was laid out on the table, but Ping’er had not come back, nor had his father.
- 2014 [1959], Zhong Lihe, “The Little Ridge”, in T. M. McClellan, transl., From the Old Country: Stories and Sketches of China and Taiwan, →ISBN, page 202:
  Ying’er was not yet three years old. Li’er had always been the one to play with her or to carry her places on his back.

Usage notes

Especially in Mandarin Chinese literature that has been translated into English, the suffix is often left untranslated in unaccented pinyin. This practice is similar to the use of -kun / -chan / -san or sensei in English-language Japanese fiction.
Often, an apostrophe (used to mark syllable boundaries in pinyin) is inserted before the hyphen (as in Li'er), though it can also be omitted (Yinger).

Coordinate terms

-chan

References

“-er”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “-er”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

're, RE, Re, Ré, r.e., re, re-

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch -er.

Pronunciation

Audio: (file)

Suffix

-er

-er

Bavarian

Etymology

From Middle High German -er, from Old High German -ari, from Proto-West Germanic *-ārī. Cognates include German -er and Luxembourgish -er.

Pronunciation

(Vienna) IPA^(key): /-a/

Suffix

-er

Used to form agent nouns from verbs; -er

Derived terms

Breton

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɛʁ/

Suffix

-er

person or thing that (does the action indicated by the root); used to form an agent noun.
‎brezhoneg (“Breton (language)”) + ‎-er → ‎brezhoneger (“Breton-speaker”)

‎c'hoari (“game; to play”) + ‎-er → ‎c'hoarier (“player, actor”)

‎tredan (“electricity”) + ‎-er → ‎tredaner (“electrician”)

Derived terms

Breton terms suffixed with -er

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin -ārius. Compare the borrowed doublet -ari.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (Northern) [ˈe̞]
IPA^(key): (Balearic, Central, Northwestern) [ˈe]
IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈeɾ]

Suffix

-er m (noun-forming suffix, plural -ers)

forms nouns meaning the location or object where something is usually found
‎vespa (“wasp”) + ‎-er → ‎vesper (“wasp nest”)
forms nouns meaning a plant which is cultivated to produce something
‎garrofa (“carob”) + ‎-er → ‎garrofer (“carob tree”)
forms nouns meaning the purpose of something or an object used for that purpose
‎tovallola (“towel”) + ‎-er → ‎tovalloler (“towel rail”)

Usage notes

The equivalent suffix -era can be used to form feminine nouns with these meanings, but usually only the masculine or feminine form will be found in Catalan.

Suffix

-er (adjective-forming suffix, feminine -era, masculine plural -ers, feminine plural -eres)

forms nouns and adjectives referring to an inhabitant of somewhere
‎Brasil (“Brazil”) + ‎-er → ‎brasiler (“Brazilian”)
forms nouns and adjectives referring to engaging in a profession
‎camió (“truck”) + ‎-er → ‎camioner (“truck driver”)
forms nouns and adjectives referring to being prone to some activity or characteristic
‎mentida (“lie”) + ‎-er → ‎mentider (“liar, deceptive”)
forms relational adjectives
‎llet (“milk”) + ‎-er → ‎lleter (“milk [relational adjective], dairy”)

‎pel·lícula (“film”) + ‎-er → ‎pel·liculer (“film [relational adjective], filmic, cinematic”)

Usage notes

Because these senses are used to form adjectives of two forms or nouns referring to animate objects, both the masculine and feminine forms will be found in Catalan, with the lemma entry found at the masculine form.

Derived terms

Catalan terms suffixed with -er

References

“-er”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
“-er” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.

Central Franconian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ʌ/

Etymology 1

From Middle High German -er, from various Proto-Germanic suffixes.

Regarding the use in masculine pronouns, the medieval documentation shows that, for “who” and “that one”, Ripuarian had forms with and without -r alongside (wer/wē, der/dē), but for “he” only hē. Today these forms have been unified to r-less wä, dä, hä, but the r-form still survives in the unstressed article der (“the”). The use in indefinite pronouns is analogical; in comparison to other High German dialects, this expansion was very limited, encompassing neither determiners nor adjectives.

Suffix

-er (inflectional)

forms comparatives
forms feminine dative forms of pronouns, determiners and adjectives
forms masculine nominative/accusative forms of indefinite pronouns: eener, keener, mäncher, selver, welcher (only in independent use)

Etymology 2

From Middle High German -er(e), -ære, ultimately from Latin -arius.

Suffix

-er (derivational)

-er, -or; forms agent nouns

Chungli Ao

Etymology 1

Suffix

-er

simple present verb suffix

Etymology 2

See Proto-Central Naga *th-ra (“ten”) (whence also ter (“ten”)).

Suffix

-er

Forms numerals denoting multiples of ten.

Derived terms

Chungli Ao terms suffixed with -er (numeral)

lir

tir

Chuukese

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɛɾ/

Suffix

-er

(added to possessive nouns) their
(added to verbs as an indirect object) them

Related terms

Chuukese possessive determiners
		small objects, concepts	large objects, living things	suffix
singular	first person	ai	nei	-ei
	second person	omw, om	noum	-om
	third person	an	noun	-an
plural	first person	äm (exclusive) ach (inclusive)	nöu̇m (exclusive) nöüch (inclusive)	-em (exclusive) -ach (inclusive)
	second person	ämi, ami	noumi	-emi
	third person	ar	nour	-er

Cornish

Etymology

From either Latin -or or English -er.

Suffix

-er m (plural -oryon)

Forms masculine agent nouns
Synonyms: -yas, -ydh

‎kig (“meat”) + ‎-er → ‎kiger (“butcher”)
Forms adjectives for spoken languages; -phone
‎Sowsnek (“English”) + ‎-er → ‎Sowsneger (“Anglophone”)

Usage notes

Feminine suffix -es changes this suffix to -ores.

Derived terms

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse -ari, from Latin -ārius.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [-ɐ]

Suffix

-er

Forms agent nouns from verbs, with the sense "someone or something that verbs".
Forms plural forms of many nouns.
Forms the present tense of many verbs.
Forms demonyms.
‎Berlin + ‎-er → ‎berliner

‎Paris + ‎-er → ‎pariser
Forms informal action nouns from verbs.
(especially definite) Forms informal abbreviations of nouns, with elision.
‎hotdog + ‎-er → ‎hotter

‎fjernsyn (“television”) + ‎-er → ‎fjerner
Forms a piece of currency from numbers.
‎fem (“five”) + ‎-er → ‎femmer (“fiver, five pounds/dollars/kroner/etc.”)
Forms a die throw result from numbers.
Du skal slå mindst en treer for at komme videre.
You must throw at least a three to move on.

Usage notes

Senses 1 and 3 often lead to heteronymic pairs. For example, from løbe (“run”) [ˈløːb̥ə] comes løber (“runs”) [ˈløːˀb̥ɐ] (verb form) and løber (“runner”) [ˈløːb̥ɐ] (noun), distinguished by stød.

Derived terms

Danish terms suffixed with -er

References

“-er” in Den Danske Ordbog

Dutch

Alternative forms

-der

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ər/

Etymology 1

From Old Dutch *-āri, -ere, from Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz, borrowed from Latin -ārius. Cognate with Dutch -aar.^[1]

Suffix

-er m (plural -ers, feminine -ster)

Forms agent nouns from verbs.
Synonym: -aar

‎hoeden + ‎-er → ‎hoeder

‎spelen + ‎-er → ‎speler
Forms nouns for a person associated with something.
‎schip + ‎-er → ‎schipper

Derived terms

Dutch terms suffixed with -er (agent noun)

Descendants

Afrikaans: -er

Etymology 2

From Old Dutch *-āri, -ere, from Proto-Germanic *warjaz.

Suffix

-er

Forms nouns denoting male inhabitants or residents of a place.
Een Amsterdammer
A (male) inhabitant of Amsterdam

Synonym: -aar
Formings adjectives denoting something originating from a place.
Het Groninger museum
The museum of Groningen

Synonym: -s

Antonyms

(antonym(s) of “male inhabitant”): -se (“female inhabitant”)

Derived terms

Dutch terms suffixed with -er (inhabitant)

Etymology 3

From Middle Dutch -er, from Old Dutch -iro, -oro, from Proto-Germanic *-izô, *-ōzô.

Suffix

-er

Forms the comparative form of adjectives.

Derived terms

Dutch comparative adjectives

Etymology 4

From Middle Dutch -er, from Old Dutch -ro, from Proto-West Germanic *-eʀā, from Proto-Germanic *-aizōz.

Suffix

-er

(archaic, except in fixed expressions) Used to form the (strong) feminine singular genitive.
onverrichter zake ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

de schoonheid ener vrouw ― the beauty of a woman
(archaic, except in fixed expressions) Used to form the (strong) feminine singular dative.
te goeder trouw ― in good faith

Usage notes

Mostly encountered vestigially, such as in fixed expressions; see for example the descendants at -wijs.

References

^ A. van Loey, "Schönfeld's Historische Grammatica van het Nederlands", Zutphen, 8. druk, 1970, →ISBN; § 175

French

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /e/
Audio (France (Brétigny-sur-Orge)): (file)

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Italic *-āzi

▲

Latin -ereinflu.

Latin -āre

Old French -ier

Middle French -er

French -er

Inherited from Middle French -er.

For the loss of final -r in pronunciation, compare another suffix -ier (but not its feminine form -ière), and nouns gars and monsieur. Elsewhere, -r is not silent (e.g. hiver, mer).

Suffix

-er (verb-forming suffix)

forms infinitives of first-conjugation verbs
aimer ― to love

Usage notes

In newly formed verbs, this suffix may be preceded by a euphonic consonant /t/ after a base ending in an oral vowel to avoid hiatus. In verbs formed from bases ending in nasal vowels, /n/ is inserted and the nasal vowel is denasalized:
‎agio (“agio”) + ‎-er → ‎agioter (“to speculate”)

‎blabla (“chit-chat”) + ‎-er → ‎blablater (“to chit-chat”)

‎bourdon (“bumblebee; drone”) + ‎-er → ‎bourdonner (“to buzz, drone”)

Conjugation

Conjugation of -er (see also Appendix:French verbs)

infinitive	compound	avoir + past participle
infinitive	simple	-er
present participle or gerund¹	simple	-ant /ɑ̃/
present participle or gerund¹	compound	ayant + past participle
past participle		-é /e/
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il, elle, on	nous	vous	ils, elles
(simple tenses)	present	-e /ə/²	-es /ə/	-e /ə/	-ons /ɔ̃/	-ez /e/	-ent /ə/
	imperfect	-ais /ɛ/	-ais /ɛ/	-ait /ɛ/	-ions /jɔ̃/	-iez /je/	-aient /ɛ/
	past historic³	-ai /e/	-as /a/	-a /a/	-âmes /am/	-âtes /at/	-èrent /ɛʁ/
	future	-erai /ə.ʁe/	-eras /ə.ʁa/	-era /ə.ʁa/	-erons /ə.ʁɔ̃/	-erez /ə.ʁe/	-eront /ə.ʁɔ̃/
	conditional	-erais /ə.ʁɛ/	-erais /ə.ʁɛ/	-erait /ə.ʁɛ/	-erions /ə.ʁjɔ̃/	-eriez /ə.ʁje/	-eraient /ə.ʁɛ/
(compound tenses)	present perfect	present indicative of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
	past anterior³	past historic of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il, qu’elle	que nous	que vous	qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple tenses)	present	-e /ə/²	-es /ə/	-e /ə/	-ions /jɔ̃/	-iez /je/	-ent /ə/
(simple tenses)	imperfect³	-asse /as/	-asses /as/	-ât /a/	-assions /a.sjɔ̃/	-assiez /a.sje/	-assent /as/
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
(compound tenses)	pluperfect³	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	~~nous~~	~~vous~~	–
simple		—	-e /ə/	—	-ons /ɔ̃/	-ez /e/	—
compound		—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—
¹ The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en.
² -é when inverted.
³ In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way: past historic → present perfect past anterior → pluperfect imperfect subjunctive → present subjunctive pluperfect subjunctive → past subjunctive (Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

Derived terms

French terms suffixed with -er (verbal)

Descendants

→ Swedish: -era (partially derived from French)

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-os?

Proto-Indo-European *-o-

Proto-Indo-European *-so-

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂so-

Proto-Indo-European *-yós

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂s(i)yós

Proto-Italic *-āsijos

Proto-Italic *-āsios

Latin -āriusnom.

Latin -ārius

Old French -ier

Middle French -er

French -er

Inherited from Middle French -er, from Old French -ier, from Latin -ārius, a nominalization of -ārius, from Proto-Italic *-āsios, from *-āsijos, from Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂s(i)yós, from *-eh₂so- + *-yós.

Suffix

-er m (noun-forming suffix, plural -ers)

forms nouns indicating the person who exercises a particular activity
Synonym: (female equivalent) -ère

boulanger ― baker

Derived terms

French terms suffixed with -er (nominal)

Gagauz

Alternative forms

-ii, -iy (Cioc-Maidan, Avdarma, Vulcănești, Etulia, Cișmichioi)

Etymology

Inherited from Old Anatolian Turkish [script needed] (-yorır, -yörir), [script needed] (-yor, -yör), ultimately from Proto-Turkic *yorï-. Irregular evolution is explained as ıyor > *ıor > *ıar > êr, with contamination from the suffix -ar.^[1] Compare Turkish -iyor, Turkmen -ýar. Doublet of örümää.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /eˑɾ/

Suffix

-er (back vowel variant -êr)

marks the present imperfective tense
‎olmaa (“to happen”) + ‎-er → ‎olêr (“is happening”)

‎yaşamaa (“to live”) + ‎-er → ‎yaşêêr (“is living”)

‎görmää (“to see”) + ‎-er → ‎görer (“s/he sees”)

‎istemää (“to want”) + ‎-er → ‎isteer (“s/he wants”)

References

^ Dinçaslan, M.F. (2023). Gagavuz Türkçesi Ana Ağız Alanları ile Alt Ağız Gruplarının Şimdiki Zaman Ekinin Varyantlarına Göre Tasnifi. Uluslararası Türk Lehçe Araştırmaları Dergisi / International Journal of Turkic Dialects (TÜRKLAD). 7. Cilt, 2. Sayı, 369-38

German

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ər/, [ɐ]
Audio (Germany (Berlin)): (file)

Etymology 1

From Middle High German -ære, -er, from Old High German -āri, from Proto-West Germanic *-ārī, from Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz, further etymology unknown but possibly from Latin -ārius.^[1]

Suffix

-er m (strong, genitive -ers, plural -er, feminine -erin)

Forms agent nouns etc. from verbs, suffixed to the verb stem.
‎arbeiten (“to work”) + ‎-er → ‎Arbeiter (“worker”)

‎bohren (“to drill”) + ‎-er → ‎Bohrer (“drill”)
Forms instance nouns from verbs.
‎husten (“to cough”) + ‎-er → ‎Huster (“single cough, instance of coughing”)

‎hüpfen (“to hop”) + ‎-er → ‎Hüpfer (“hop, instance of hopping”)
Indicates something defined by a number; in the plural often all numbers with the same first digits
‎16 + ‎-er → ‎16er (“the 16, the 16er, e.g. a bus, a football player, etc.”)

‎200 + ‎-er → ‎200er (“a 200, the 200s, e.g. a 200-euro note, or the list items 200 to 299, etc.”)

‎1990 + ‎-er → ‎1990er (“1990s, the years 1990 to 1999”)

Declension

Declension of *-er* [masculine, strong]
	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	-er	die	-er
genitive	eines	des	-ers	der	-er
dative	einem	dem	-er	den	-ern
accusative	einen	den	-er	die	-er

Derived terms

German terms suffixed with -er (agent noun)

Related terms

-ler, -ner

Etymology 2

From Middle High German -er, a plural ending for some neuter nouns.

Suffix

-er

Used to form the plurals of some nouns, especially of neuter ones.
‎Kind (“child”) + ‎-er → ‎Kinder (“children”)

‎Lied (“song”) + ‎-er → ‎Lieder (“songs”)

Usage notes

The plural ending -er is used in a fairly large number of neuters (including all those in -tum) and a small number of masculines.

Etymology 3

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *wer-

Proto-Indo-European *-yeti

Proto-Germanic *warjaną

Proto-Germanic *warjaz

▲

Proto-Germanic *-ārijazinflu.

Old High German -āri

Middle High German -ære

German -er

From Middle High German -ære, -er, from Old High German -āri, from Proto-Germanic *warjaz.

Suffix

-er m (strong, genitive -ers, plural -er, feminine -erin)

Forms nouns indicating an inhabitant of a place, or a person originating from a place.

Declension

Declension of *-er* [masculine, strong]
	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	-er	die	-er
genitive	eines	des	-ers	der	-er
dative	einem	dem	-er	den	-ern
accusative	einen	den	-er	die	-er

Derived terms

German terms suffixed with -er (inhabitant)

Etymology 4

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *wer-

Proto-Indo-European *-yeti

Proto-Germanic *warjaną

Proto-Germanic *warjaz

▲

Proto-Germanic *-ārijazinflu.

Old High German -āri

Middle High German -ære

German -erder.?

German -er

Probably originated from the prepositioned genitive plural of etymology 3 above, e.g.: der Berliner Pfannkuchen = "the Berliners’ pancake", and then "the Berlin(er) pancake", reanalysed as an adjective instead of a noun and seen as being in the nominative singular (due to the ambiguity of the definite article der, which is both masculine nominative and plural genitive).^[2]^[3]

Suffix

-er

Forms invariable adjectives from place names, with a genitival meaning, indicating origin from or association with that place.

Usage notes

In contemporary German, words formed with this suffix -er are written with a capital letter (§ 61 of the official reform spelling rules as of 2018), e.g. ein Berliner Pfannkuchen. In the past, they were sometimes written with a lowercase letter like most other adjectives, e.g. ein berliner Pfannkuchen.^[4]
In case of placenames which are written with a space, the derived word can be written with a space or with a hyphen (§ 49 of the official reform spelling rules as of 2011), e.g. Bad Schandau → Bad Schandauer or Bad-Schandauer.
Since adjectives in -er are undeclined, they cannot normally support genitives by themselves. However, in the feminine and plural the ending -er happens to be same as that of a declined (strong) adjective and according pseudo-genitives may be encountered, such as Meldungen Berliner Zeitungen (“reports of Berlin newspapers”) instead of more proper Meldungen von Berliner Zeitungen. Such usage has been discouraged, but is no longer considered an error.

Derived terms

Etymology 5

From Middle High German -er.

Suffix

-er

Forms the comparative form of adjectives.
‎lang + ‎-er → ‎länger

‎schön + ‎-er → ‎schöner

‎exakt + ‎-er → ‎exakter

References

^ A. van Loey, "Schönfeld's Historische Grammatica van het Nederlands", Zutphen, 8. druk, 1970, →ISBN; § 175
^ Johann Christoph Adelung, Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, vol. 1 (Leipzig, 1793), pages 1848-1852, sub verbo 4. -Er
^ Hermann Möller, Ahd. frôno (nhd. fron-) als elliptischer Plural, in the Zeitschrift für deutsche Wortforschung, volume 4 (editor Friedrich Kluge; Straßburg, 1903), page 95
^ The current official spelling rules prescribe the capital letter without further explanation and without indicating the part of speech of the words formed with the suffix (compare -isch/-sch, derivatives of which are labelled adjectives in § 62).

Hungarian

Etymology

Possibly an unadapted borrowing from English -er, by analogy of word pairs like blog and blogger (whose doubled final consonant is consistently pronounced long in Hungarian, as opposed to English) and/or perhaps earlier borrowed word pairs like stop and stoppol. Other existing slang terms ending in -er, like vaker, haver, sóder, might have played some role. (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ɛr]

Suffix

-er

(slang, slightly derogatory) Added to a shortened form of a noun, lengthening the first consonant following its first vowel, to derive a noun.
kalauz (“ticket inspector”) → kaller

nyugdíjas (“pensioner”) → nyugger

mami (“mommy; elderly woman”) → mammer

jobboldali (“rightist”) → jobber

Derived terms

Hungarian nouns suffixed with -er

nyugger

Jamtish

Etymology

From Old Norse -r.

Same as Swedish -er.

Suffix

-er

(archaic, no longer productive) Old masculine singular nominative case suffix.
Jamtish ałder = Swedish ålder

Latin

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈɛr]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈɛr]

Suffix

-er

first-person singular present passive subjunctive of -ō (first conjugation)

Luxembourgish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ɐ]

Etymology 1

From Middle High German -er(e), older -ære, from Old High German -āri, from Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz, from Latin -ārius.

Suffix

-er (derivational)

-er (forms agent nouns from verbs)

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Middle High German -er, from a confluence of various Old High German endings.

The use for all feminine datives (rather than only strong ones as in German) is found in Central Franconian from the earliest records (as in Dutch). The use with independent plural adjectives goes back to the original genitive (generalized from partitive constructions). Compare the corresponding neuter form in -es (as in vill Guddes), which is likewise from a genitive.

Suffix

-er (inflectional)

forms the comparatives of some adjectives (in limited use, see notes at méi)
‎grouss + ‎-er → ‎gréisser
forms the feminine dative of determiners and adjectives
Et ass déi zweet Dier op der rietser Säit.
It’s the second door on your right hand.
forms the independent nominative/accusative plural of adjectives (when used with neither a preceding determiner nor a following noun)
Ech hunn zwou Zorte Brieder kaaft: décker an dënner.
I bought two kinds of boards: thick ones and thin.

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch -iro, -oro, from Proto-Germanic *-izô, *-ōzô.

Suffix

-er

-er. Forms the comparative of adjectives.

Descendants

Dutch: -er

Middle English

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old French -ier, from Latin -ārius.

Alternative forms

-eer, -ere, -ier, -ir, -yr

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /-ˈeːr/, /-ər/

Suffix

-er

(chiefly no longer productive) Reflects Old French deverbal formations forming agent or instrument nouns.

Usage notes

Due to vowel reduction, this suffix is often indistinguishable from -ere; especially in Late Middle English, it further tends to be conflated with -our (see that entry for forms reflecting such confusion).

Derived terms

Descendants

English: -er (conflated with -ere)
Middle Scots: -er, -ar
- Scots: -er (conflated with -ere)

References

“-ē̆r(e, suf.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Old French -er, from Latin -āre, from Proto-Italic *-āzi.

Alternative forms

-ar, -eer, -ere

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /-ˈeːr/, /-ər/

Suffix

-er

(no longer productive) Reflects Old French infinitives in nominal use.

Derived terms

Middle English terms suffixed with -er (infinitival)

dyner

soper

Descendants

English: -er
Middle Scots: -er, -ar
- Scots: -er

References

“-ēr, suf.(4).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 3

Suffix

-er

alternative form of -ere (agentive suffix)

Etymology 4

Suffix

-er

alternative form of -ere (comparative suffix)

Etymology 5

Suffix

-er

alternative form of -er (abstract nominal suffix)

Etymology 6

Suffix

-er

alternative form of -re (plural suffix)

Etymology 7

Suffix

-er

alternative form of -eren

Middle French

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Italic *-āzi

▲

Latin -ereinflu.

Latin -āre

Old French -ier

Middle French -er

Inherited from Old French -ier / -er, from Latin -āre.

Alternative forms

-ier (typically early Middle French)

Suffix

-er

Forms infinitives of first-conjugation verbs

Usage notes

Many of these verbs are directly descended from Latin, rather than from stem + suffix

Derived terms

Middle French terms suffixed with -er (verb)

Descendants

French: -er

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-os?

Proto-Indo-European *-o-

Proto-Indo-European *-so-

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂so-

Proto-Indo-European *-yós

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂s(i)yós

Proto-Italic *-āsijos

Proto-Italic *-āsios

Latin -āriusnom.

Latin -ārius

Old French -ier

Middle French -er

Inherited from Old French -ier.

Alternative forms

-ier (typically early Middle French)

Suffix

-er

Forms nouns, often denoting professions
‎bouc + ‎-er → ‎boucher (“butcher”)

Derived terms

Category Middle French terms suffixed with -er (noun) not found

Descendants

French: -ier, -er
→ English: -eer, -er

Norman

Etymology

Inherited from Latin -āre.

Suffix

-er

alternative form of -ier, verbal suffix

Derived terms

Norman terms suffixed with -er

Northern Kurdish

Etymology

Most probably not a cognate of English -er or Latin -ōr or -tōr, and instead a back-formation from -ker (a variant of -ger (“-ist”)) understood as "k-" (present stem of kirin) + "-er". Natively only exists with the most basic verbs such as kirin (-ker), birin (-ber), xistin (-xer or -xîner or -êxer), dan (-der), anîn/înan (-îner)... Later also conflated with -kar (“suffix indicating a job or duty”) and -dar (“suffix indicating a possessor”). Popularized in the 20th century under the influence of similar suffixes in European languages. Before that (and now natively) diminutives such as -ok, -oke, -ek, -ik was used to form agent nouns; which are also present participle suffixes.

Despite being less likely, can still be from Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr, but the -r- is lost in Northwestern Iranic and that would have given *-it, *-id or lost entirely depending on the position, compare Persian برادر and Northern Kurdish bira.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɛɾ/
Rhymes: -ɛɾ
Hyphenation: -er

Suffix

-er f

used to form nouns referring to doer or who works on something
‎bû (“to be”) + ‎-er → ‎bûyer (“event”)

‎destpêkirin (“to start”) + ‎-er → ‎destpêker (“starter”)

Derived terms

Northern Kurdish terms suffixed with -er

Norwegian Bokmål

Pronunciation

This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Etymology 1

From Danish -er.

Suffix

-er

(added to numbers) order, position, value or similar indicated by the numeral

Etymology 2

From Danish -er, from Old Norse -ari, from Medieval Latin and Middle Low German words, both from Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz, from Latin -ārius.

Suffix

-er

(added to verbs) person or thing that does an action indicated by the root verb
(added to place names) person or thing that originates in the place indicated by the place name

Etymology 3

From Danish -er.

Suffix

-er

suffix added to most of indefinite plural nouns, usually identical to Danish, but unlike Nynorsk and Swedish

Derived terms

Norwegian Bokmål terms suffixed with -er

References

“-er” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Suffix

-er

Used to form indefinite plurals for most feminine nouns.
Used to form indefinite plurals for some masculine nouns.
Used to form present tense for one class of weak verbs.
(obsolete) Used to form present tense for strong verbs.

Suffix

-er

imperative of -era

Old English

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /er/

Suffix

-er

alternative form of -or

Old French

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin -āre.

Suffix

-er

alternative form of -ier, verbal suffix

Usage notes

All varieties of Old French use -er but it's more common in Anglo-Norman than in France, specifically before certain consonants such as c and g.

Etymology 2

From Latin -ārius.

Suffix

-er

(chiefly Anglo-Norman) alternative form of -ier, suffix indicating a profession
falconer, fauconer
falconer

Old Frisian

Alternative forms

-ere

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *iʀ, from Proto-Germanic *iz, from Proto-Indo-European *ís. Cognates include Old High German er, Old Norse er and Gothic 𐌹𐍃 (is).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈer/

Pronoun

-er

enclitic nominative of hī

Descendants

Saterland Frisian: er
West Frisian: er

Old Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse -r.

Suffix

-er

denotes the nominative singular of adjectives, masculine a-stem, i-stem, u-stem, and an-stem, as well as feminine ijo-stem nouns
denotes the nominative and accusative plurals of r- and consonant stem nouns
fisker
fish

dø̄ver
deaf

Polish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-os?

Proto-Indo-European *-o-

Proto-Indo-European *-so-

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂so-

Proto-Indo-European *-yós

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂s(i)yós

Proto-Italic *-āsijos

Proto-Italic *-āsios

Latin -āriusnom.

Latin -āriusbor.

Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz

Proto-West Germanic *-ārī

Old English -ere

Middle English -ere

▲

Latin -ārius

Old French -ierbor.

Middle English -er

English -erbor.

Polish -er

Borrowed from English -er.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɛr/
Rhymes: -ɛr
Syllabification: -er

Suffix

-er m

-er, creates an agent noun
‎aport + ‎-er → ‎aporter

Declension

Animate:

Declension of -er

	singular	plural
nominative	-er	-erzy/-ery (deprecative)
genitive	-era	-erów
dative	-erowi	-erom
accusative	-era	-erów
instrumental	-erem	-erami
locative	-erze	-erach
vocative	-erze	-erzy

Animal:

Declension of -er

	singular	plural
nominative	-er	-ery
genitive	-era	-erów
dative	-erowi	-erom
accusative	-era	-ery
instrumental	-erem	-erami
locative	-erze	-erach
vocative	-erze	-ery

Inanimate:

Declension of -er

	singular	plural
nominative	-er	-ery
genitive	-eru	-erów
dative	-erowi	-erom
accusative	-er	-ery
instrumental	-erem	-erami
locative	-erze	-erach
vocative	-erze	-ery

Derived terms

Portuguese

Etymology

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese -er, from Latin -ēre. The short -ere of some Latin verbs was reinterpreted as either -er or -ir.

Pronunciation

(Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈe(ʁ)/ [ˈe(h)]
- (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /ˈe(ɾ)/
- (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /ˈe(ʁ)/ [ˈe(χ)]
- (Caipira) IPA^(key): /ˈe(ɻ)/

(Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈeɾ/
- (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈe.ɾi/

Rhymes: (Portugal, São Paulo) -eɾ, (Brazil) -eʁ, (Brazil, with r-dropping) -e

Suffix

-er (verb-forming suffix, first-person singular present -o, first-person singular preterite -i, past participle -ido)

forms the infinitive of the second-conjugation verbs

Conjugation

Conjugation of -er (See Appendix:Portuguese verbs)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (tu)	Third-person (ele / ela / você)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal	-er
Personal	-er	-eres	-er	-ermos	-erdes	-erem
Gerund
	-endo
Past participle
Masculine	-ido			-idos
Feminine	-ida			-idas
Indicative
Present	-o	-es	-e	-emos	-eis	-em
Imperfect	-ia	-ias	-ia	-íamos	-íeis	-iam
Preterite	-i	-este	-eu	-emos	-estes	-eram
Pluperfect	-era	-eras	-era	-êramos	-êreis	-eram
Future	-erei	-erás	-erá	-eremos	-ereis	-erão
Conditional	-eria	-erias	-eria	-eríamos	-eríeis	-eriam
Subjunctive
Present	-a	-as	-a	-amos	-ais	-am
Imperfect	-esse	-esses	-esse	-êssemos	-êsseis	-essem
Future	-er	-eres	-er	-ermos	-erdes	-erem
Imperative
Affirmative		-e	-a	-amos	-ei	-am
Negative (não)		não -as	não -a	não -amos	não -ais	não -am

Saterland Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian -ere, from Proto-West Germanic *-ārī. Cognates include West Frisian -er and German -er.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /-ər/

Suffix

-er

Forms agent nouns from verbs; -er

Declension

Saterland Frisian terms suffixed with -er

Scots

Etymology

From Middle English -ere, from Old English -ere.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /-ər/

Suffix

-er

Forms agent nouns from verbs; -er

Spanish

Etymology

Inherited from Latin -ēre (second conjugation infinitive suffix). Cognate with French -oir, Italian -ere, Romanian -ea.

Suffix

-er (verb-forming suffix, first-person singular present -o, first-person singular preterite -í, past participle -ido)

a verb ending for infinitives for the second conjugation

Conjugation

Below are the suffixes for the regular conjugation of -er verbs

Conjugation of -er (See Appendix:Spanish verbs)

		singular			plural
infinitive			-er
gerund			-iendo
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		-ido		-ida
		plural		-idos		-idas
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
indicative		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	-o	-es^{^tú} -és^{^vos}	-e	-emos	-éis	-en
	imperfect	-ía	-ías	-ía	-íamos	-íais	-ían
	preterite	-í	-iste	-ió	-imos	-isteis	-ieron
	future	-eré	-erás	-erá	-eremos	-eréis	-erán
	conditional	-ería	-erías	-ería	-eríamos	-eríais	-erían

subjunctive		yo	tú vos	él/ella/ello usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ellos/ellas ustedes
	present	-a	-as^{^tú} -ás^{^vos²}	-a	-amos	-áis	-an
	imperfect (ra)	-iera	-ieras	-iera	-iéramos	-ierais	-ieran
	imperfect (se)	-iese	-ieses	-iese	-iésemos	-ieseis	-iesen
	future¹	-iere	-ieres	-iere	-iéremos	-iereis	-ieren

imperative		—	tú vos	usted	nosotros nosotras	vosotros vosotras	ustedes
	affirmative		-e^{^tú} -é^{^vos}	-a	-amos	-ed	-an
	negative		no -as	no -a	no -amos	no -áis	no -an

¹Rare; now chiefly used in legal language.
²Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tuteo-form for the present subjunctive.

Selected combined forms of -er

These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.

		singular			plural
		1st person	2nd person	3rd person	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
with infinitive -er	dative	-erme	-erte	-erle, -erse	-ernos	-eros	-erles, -erse
with infinitive -er	accusative	-erme	-erte	-erlo, -erla, -erse	-ernos	-eros	-erlos, -erlas, -erse

with gerund -iendo	dative	-iéndome	-iéndote	-iéndole, -iéndose	-iéndonos	-iéndoos	-iéndoles, -iéndose
with gerund -iendo	accusative	-iéndome	-iéndote	-iéndolo, -iéndola, -iéndose	-iéndonos	-iéndoos	-iéndolos, -iéndolas, -iéndose

with informal second-person singular tuteo imperative -e	dative	-eme	-ete	-ele	-enos	not used	-eles
with informal second-person singular tuteo imperative -e	accusative	-eme	-ete	-elo, -ela	-enos	not used	-elos, -elas

with informal second-person singular voseo imperative -é	dative	-eme	-ete	-ele	-enos	not used	-eles
with informal second-person singular voseo imperative -é	accusative	-eme	-ete	-elo, -ela	-enos	not used	-elos, -elas

with formal second-person singular imperative -a	dative	-ame	not used	-ale, -ase	-anos	not used	-ales
with formal second-person singular imperative -a	accusative	-ame	not used	-alo, -ala, -ase	-anos	not used	-alos, -alas

with first-person plural imperative -amos	dative	not used	-ámoste	-ámosle	-ámonos	-ámoos	-ámosles
with first-person plural imperative -amos	accusative	not used	-ámoste	-ámoslo, -ámosla	-ámonos	-ámoos	-ámoslos, -ámoslas

with informal second-person plural imperative -ed	dative	-edme	not used	-edle	-ednos	-eos	-edles
with informal second-person plural imperative -ed	accusative	-edme	not used	-edlo, -edla	-ednos	-eos	-edlos, -edlas

with formal second-person plural imperative -an	dative	-anme	not used	-anle	-annos	not used	-anles, -anse
with formal second-person plural imperative -an	accusative	-anme	not used	-anlo, -anla	-annos	not used	-anlos, -anlas, -anse

Related terms

-ar
-ir

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish -er.

Suffix

-er

One of two suffixes for indefinite plural for nouns of the third declension (common and neuter); the second one is -r
Suffix for present tense, active voice, indicative mood for one of the groups of Swedish verbs
Agent noun suffix, often for loan words ending with -ik.
‎matematik (“mathematics”) + ‎-er → ‎matematiker (“mathematician”)

‎fysik (“physics”) + ‎-er → ‎fysiker (“physicist”)

‎slarv (“sloppiness, carelessness”) + ‎-er → ‎slarver (“someone sloppy or careless”)

Usage notes

See the usage notes for -r.

Anagrams

-re, re-

Turkish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈ-eɾ/, [ˈæɾ]

Etymology 1

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish ـر (-r, -er), from Proto-Turkic *-ür. Cognate with Old Turkic 𐰼 (r² /⁠-(e)r⁠/). Negative -mez are from Proto-Turkic *-meŕ, from Proto-Turkic *-me + *-er or *-ür (Azerbaijani -ər (“indefinite future suffix”) — -məz, but -ir (“simple present suffix”) — -mir).

Suffix

-er

simple present and aorist tense marker
future tense marker; see usage notes

Suffix

-er -mez

as soon as
Eve gelir gelmez duş alırım.
As soon as I get home, I take a shower.

Usage notes

Can change to -ir (almak → alır, but içmek → içer). There are some rules governing the usage of -er/ir, the former is used in case of monosyllabic stems, while the latter is used elsewhere; with the exceptions of 14 verbs below which uses -ir on the aorist
almak — alır
bilmek — bilir
bulmak — bulur
denmek — denir
durmak — durur
gelmek — gelir
görmek — görür
kalmak — kalır
olmak — olur
ölmek — ölür
sanmak — sanır
varmak — varır
vermek — verir
vurmak — vurur

The suffix -r is used after verb stems ending in a vowel. Unlike most negations of tense suffixes which regularly uses the suffix -me, negative aorist suffix is -mez instead of *-mer.

Is more often used to indicate a future tense (perhaps due to habitual meanings not often occurring in informal speech), roughly equivalent to English will, as opposed to -ecek, which more closely corresponds to be going to.

Sen gidersen ben de giderim.

If you go I'll go too.

Ben hallederim onu.

I'll take care of/can take care of that.

Eve gelirken alırım ondan, evet.

Yeah, I'll get some on my way home.

Related terms

Etymology 2

Suffix

-er

Makes adjectives out of verbs
Makes nouns out of verbs
‎kes- (“to cut”) + ‎-er → ‎keser (“adze”)

Yağmur diner gibi oldu. ― The rain seems to be stopping.

Derived terms

Category Turkish terms suffixed with -er (deverbal) not found

Etymology 3

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish ـر (-er), from Proto-Turkic [Term?].

Suffix

	preceding vowel
	a / ı / o / u	e / i / ö / ü
postconsonantal	-ar	-er
postvocalic	-şar	-şer

-er

suffix for distributive numbers
‎bir + ‎-er → ‎birer

‎iki + ‎-er → ‎ikişer

‎dört + ‎-er → ‎dörder

‎beş + ‎-er → ‎beşer

Derived terms

Turkish terms suffixed with -er (distributive)

Walloon

Etymology

Inherited from Old French -ier, from Latin -āre.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /e/

Suffix

-er

forms infinitives of first conjugation verbs.
inmer ― to love

Conjugation

—

— Conjugation of the verb -er in Walloon — Codjowaedje do viebe -er e walon

infinitive	compound	aveur + past participle
infinitive	simple	-er
gerund¹	simple	-ant
gerund¹	compound	åyant + past participle
past participle				masculine		feminine
		singular		-é		-êye
		plural		-és		-êyes
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		dji (dj')	ti (t')	i (il) / ele	dji (dj') / nos²	vos	i (il)
(simple tenses)	present	-e	-es	-e	-ans	-ez	-èt or -nut³
	imperfect	-éve	-éves	-éve	-éns	-îz	-ént
	preterite	-a	-as	-a	-îs	-îz	-ît
	future	-rè	-rès	-rè	-rans	-roz	-ront
	conditional	-reu	-reus	-reut	-réns	-rîz	-rént
(compound tenses)	present perfect	present indicative of aveur + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect indicative of aveur + past participle
	past anterior	preterite indicative of aveur + past participle
	future perfect	future of aveur + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional of aveur + past participle
subjunctive		ki dj'	ki t'	k' i (il) / k' ele	ki dj' / ki nos²	ki vos	k' i (il)
(simple tenses)	present	-e	-es	-e	-anxhe	-oxhe	-èxhe or -nuxhe³
(simple tenses)	imperfect	-axhe	-axhes	-axhe	-énxhe	-îxhe	-énxhe
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of aveur + past participle
(compound tenses)	pluperfect	imperfect subjunctive of aveur + past participle
imperative		–	ti	–	~~dji / nos~~	~~vos~~	–
simple		—	-e!	—	-ans!	-ez!	—
compound		—	simple imperative of aveur + past participle	—	simple imperative of aveur + past participle	simple imperative of aveur + past participle	—
¹ The Walloon gerund is usable only with the preposition tot (Eastern, Southern) or e (Central, Western).
² The second person plural dji is used in Central and Southern dialects
³ The form -èt/-exhe is used in Eastern and Southern dialects, the form -nut/-nuxhe is used in Central and Western dialects.

Welsh

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ɛr/

Etymology 1

Suffix

-er

(literary) verb suffix for the impersonal present subjunctive
(literary) verb suffix for the impersonal imperative

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English -er.^[1]

Suffix

-er m

suffix forming nouns
‎brig (“branches, sprigs, shoots”) + ‎-er → ‎briger (“stamens”)

‎tafl (“sling, catapult”) + ‎-er → ‎tafler (“sling, catapult”)

‎col (“awn”) + ‎-er → ‎colier (“awner, chobber”)

References

^ R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke, et al., editors (1950–present), “-er”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

Yola

Suffix

-er

alternative form of -eare

Derived terms

Yola terms suffixed with -er

[1] A. van Loey, "Schönfeld's Historische Grammatica van het Nederlands", Zutphen, 8. druk, 1970, →ISBN; § 175

[2] Dinçaslan, M.F. (2023). Gagavuz Türkçesi Ana Ağız Alanları ile Alt Ağız Gruplarının Şimdiki Zaman Ekinin Varyantlarına Göre Tasnifi. Uluslararası Türk Lehçe Araştırmaları Dergisi / International Journal of Turkic Dialects (TÜRKLAD). 7. Cilt, 2. Sayı, 369-38

[3] A. van Loey, "Schönfeld's Historische Grammatica van het Nederlands", Zutphen, 8. druk, 1970, →ISBN; § 175

[4] Johann Christoph Adelung, Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, vol. 1 (Leipzig, 1793), pages 1848-1852, sub verbo 4. -Er

[5] Hermann Möller, Ahd. frôno (nhd. fron-) als elliptischer Plural, in the Zeitschrift für deutsche Wortforschung, volume 4 (editor Friedrich Kluge; Straßburg, 1903), page 95

[6] The current official spelling rules prescribe the capital letter without further explanation and without indicating the part of speech of the words formed with the suffix (compare -isch/-sch, derivatives of which are labelled adjectives in § 62).

[7] R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke, et al., editors (1950–present), “-er”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

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