-ary

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-ary suffix repr. L. -ārius ‘pertaining to, connected with’: formed on sbs., as honōrārius HONORARY; on adjs., as prīmārius PRIMARY; on advs., as contrārius CONTRARY. Many of these adjs. were used as sbs.: in the masc., as adversārius ADVERSARY; in the n., as salārium SALARY; and occas. in the fem., as Calvāria, see CALVARY. Since L. -ārius and -āris were repr. in French by -aire, it came about that, when F. words in -aire were adopted in mod. Eng., they received the ending -ary, as militaire MILITARY; cf. -AR.