-ity

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | 523 words | Copyright

-ity in ME. -it(i)e, repr. (O)F. -ité, L. -itās, -itāt-, the form in which -tās, -tāt- -TY usu. appears (cf. -I-), as in suāvitās suavity, f. suāvis, pūritās purity, f. pūrus, auctōritās authority, f. auctor; after i the suffix became -etās, as in pietās, varietās, f. pius, varius; it was added to many adj. suffixes, whence the Eng. forms -acity, -ality, -anity, -arity, -bility, -idity, -ility, -ivity, -ocity, -osity, -uity.

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

MLA
Chicago
APA

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

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

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

Learn more about citation styles