-oon

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | 600 words | Copyright

-oon repr. F. -on in words with stress on the final syll. adopted XVI–XVIII, e.g. dragoon, as distinguished from the -on of adoptions from AN. (OF.), e.g. baron, felon, and of more modern adoptions, e.g. chignon; hence repr. gen. F. dim -on, and the corr. It. augm. -one, Sp. augm. -on — L. -ōnem, nom. -ō, forming sbs. of the nickname or pejorative type, e.g. balatrō jester, nāsō big-nosed man; exx. of various types of deriv. are balloon, buffoon, cartoon, harpoon, lampoon, macaroon, platoon, quadroon; rarely used as an Eng. formative, as in spittoon.

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

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

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

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