-ency

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | 620 words | Copyright

-ency suffix — L. -entia (see -ENCE, -Y3), used in the formation of sbs. denoting qualities or states, from which concr. or semi-concr. senses have been developed in Eng. adoptions, as distinct from the derivs. in -ENCE, which have freq. the sense of action or process in addition to or to the exclusion of that of quality or state. Examples of the difference now gen. established between the suffixes are recurrence and currency, emergence and emergency, dependence and dependency; several forms in -ency have become established to the exclusion of parallel forms in -ence, as decency, efficiency, inconsistency.

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T. F. HOAD. "-ency." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

T. F. HOAD. "-ency." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-ency.html

T. F. HOAD. "-ency." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-ency.html

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