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In linguistics, an agent noun (in Latin, nomen agentis) is a word that is derived from another word denoting an action, and that identifies an entity that does that action.[1] For example, driver is an agent noun formed from the verb drive.[2]
Usually, derived in the above definition has the strict sense attached to it in morphology, that is the derivation takes as an input a lexeme (an abstract unit of morphological analysis) and produces a new lexeme. However, the classification of morphemes into derivational morphemes (see word formation) and inflectional ones is not generally a straightforward theoretical question, and different authors can make different decisions as to the general theoretical principles of the classification as well as to the actual classification of morphemes presented in a grammar of some language (for example, of the agent noun-forming morpheme).
| -cz | bieg-ać 'to run' | bieg-acz 'runner' |
|---|---|---|
| -rz | pis-ać 'to write' | pis-arz 'writer' |
| -c | †kraw-ać 'to cut' | kraw-iec 'tailor' |
| -ca | daw-ać 'to give' | daw-ca 'giver' |
| -k | pis-ać 'to write' | pis-ak 'marker' (pen) |
| skak-ać 'to jump' | skocz-ek 'jumper' | |
| chodz-ić 'to walk' | chodz-ik 'walker' (walking aid) | |
| -ciel | nos-ić 'to carry' | nos-i-ciel 'carrier' |
| -nik | pracow-ać 'to work' | pracow-nik 'worker' |
| rob-ić 'to do' 'to work' rob-ot-a 'work' |
rob-ot-nik 'worker' | |
| praw-ić 'to orate' 'to moralize' praw-o 'law' praw-y 'right' 'righteous' |
praw-nik 'lawyer' | |
| -y | las 'forest' leś-nik 'forester' |
leś-nicz-y 'forester' |
An agentive suffix or agentive prefix is commonly used to form an agent noun from a verb. Examples:
- English: -er, -or, -ian, -ist
- Basque: -le (ikasle 'student' from ikasi 'learn')
- Chinese: ⋯者 (-zhě)
- Coptic: ⲣⲉϥ-, as in ⲣⲉϥⲙⲉⲓ (refmei 'loving person') from ⲙⲉⲓ (mei 'to love')
- Dutch: -er, -ende, -or, -iet, -ant, -aar
- Finnish: -ja/-jä (puhua 'speak', puhuja 'speaker'; lyödä 'hit', lyöjä 'hitter'); -uri (borrowed from '-or'/'er', probably via German)
- French: -(t)eur (m.); -(t)eure,[3] -(t)euse, -trice, -iste (f.)
- Georgian: მე- ... -ე (me- ... -e), as in მებაღე (mebaghe 'gardener') from ბაღი (baghi 'garden'); otherwise the nominalization of the present participle (formed with many possible circumfixes) may occur.[4]
- German: -er, -ler, -ner, -or, -ör, -ist, -it, -ite, -ant, -ent (may be compounded with the feminine ending -in)
- Greek: -ήρ, -τήρ
- Hungarian: no specific agentive suffix, the nominalization of present participle (suffix: -ó/-ő, according to vowel harmony) is used instead; examples: dolgozó ('worker'), szerelő ('repairman'), vezető ('leader', 'driver', 'electrical conductor')
- Irish: -óir (broad), -eoir (slender), -aí (broad), -í (slender)
- Khasi: prefix nong- or myn-, for example shad 'to dance', nongshad 'dancer'; tuh 'to steal', myntuh 'thief'
- Latin: -tor (m.) / -trix (f.) / -trum (n.) / -torius, -a, -um (adj.) as in arator / aratrix / aratrum / aratorius; -sor (m.) / -strix (f.) / -strum (n.) / -sorius, -a, -um (adj.) as in assessor / assestrix / *assestrum / assessorius; see also: -ens
- Maori: kai-
- Persian: ـنده (-ande): from present roots; as in گوینده (gūyande; 'speaker') from گفتن، گوی- (goftan, gūy-; to speak) / ـار (-ār) : from past roots; as in خواستار (xwāstār; 'wanter') from خواستن، خواه- (xwāstan, xwāh-; 'to want'). / ـگر (-gar): from nouns; as in کارگر (kārgar; 'worker') from کار (kār; 'work').[5]
- Polish: see table
- Quechua: -q (pukllay 'to play', pukllaq 'player')
- Russian: -чик or -ник (m.) / -чица or -ница (f.) as in ученик 'student'; -тель (m.) / -тельница (f.) as in учитель 'teacher'[6]
- Spanish: -dor(a), -ero(a), -ista, -ario(a)
- Turkish: -ci (çiçekçi 'florist' from çiçek 'flower')
- Welsh: -wr (m.), -ores (f.)
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