-ster

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | 622 words | Copyright

-ster suffix repr. OE. -istre, -estre, corr. to MLG. -(e)ster, (M)Du. ster :- WGmc. *-strjōn, added to vbs. and sbs.; primarily applied to females, but in OE. also to males. Survivals from OE. are seamster (sempster), songster, tapster; in ME. appear brewster, huckster, maltster, spinster. From XVI -ster has been used for comps. having derogatory force, as in daubster, rhymester, trickster; gansgster is a modern (U.S.) coinage (XIX). A few formations on adjs. date from XVI; as youngster (on which was modelled oldster). Feminine formations made with the addition of -ESS1 are huckstress, sempstress, songstress.

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

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

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

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