-eer

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | 456 words | Copyright

-eer suffix repr. mostly F. -ier :- L. -ārius -ARY, and denoting ‘one who is concerned with, handles, or deals with’. In several words there were earlier vars. in -er and -ier (which was gen. replaced by -eer in XVII); charioteer and engineer go back to ME. antecedents adopted from OF. forms in -eor (mod. -eur).

Most of the sbs. have deriv. vbs., which are used particularly in the gerund and prp., e.g. electioneering, mountaineering.

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T. F. HOAD. "-eer." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "-eer." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-eer1.html

T. F. HOAD. "-eer." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-eer1.html

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