-ine

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | 596 words | Copyright

-ine4 suffix repr. F. -ine (-in) or L. -īna (-īnus), in orig. identical with -INE1, used in abstr. formations on vbs. and agent-nouns, as doctrīna DOCTRINE, ruīna RUIN, and concr. sbs. on other stems, as fascīna FASCINE. The adjs. in -īnus, -īna were used also sb., as in concubīna CONCUBINE. consobrīnus COUSIN. Some are anglicized with -in, as ruin.

In techn. and commercial use this suffix has a vague application and forms names of textile materials, natural and artificial substances, etc., as brilliantine, dentine, grenadine, nectarine.

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

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

T. F. HOAD. "-ine." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-ine3.html

T. F. HOAD. "-ine." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-ine3.html

Learn more about citation styles