-lich

See also: lich, Lich, and lịch

German

Alternative forms

• -licht (nowadays uncommon)

Etymology

Adjective: From Middle High German -lich, -līch, from Old High German -līh, from Proto-West Germanic *-līk. Cognate with English -ly and Dutch -lijk.^[1]

Adverb: From Middle High German -līche, from Old High German -līhho.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɪç/

• Audio:

  (file)

Suffix

-lich

1. Used to form adjectives from verbs, to express that "something can be done with the person or thing described".

   ‎verstehen (“to understand”) + ‎-lich → ‎verständlich (“that can be understood, understandable”)

2. Used to form adjectives from verbs, to express that "that the person or thing described does something".

   ‎sterben (“to die”) + ‎-lich → ‎sterblich (“that dies, mortal”)

3. Used to form adjectives from nouns, to indicate "affiliation".

   ‎Abenteuer (“adventure”) + ‎-lich → ‎abenteuerlich (“associated with adventure, adventurous”)

4. Used to form adjectives from nouns (times), to indicate "repetition".

   ‎Jahr (“year”) + ‎-lich → ‎jährlich (“repeated every year, annually”)

5. Used to form adjectives from adjectives, to express "a weakening or differentiation".

   ‎rot (“red”) + ‎-lich → ‎rötlich (“having a somewhat red coloring, reddish”)

Derived terms

German terms suffixed with -lich

• gastlich
• lächerlich

 

See also

• -ig
• -isch

References

1. Friedrich Kluge (1989) “-lich”, in Elmar Seebold, editor, Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache [Etymological Dictionary of the German Language] (in German), 22nd edition, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, →ISBN

Middle English

Etymology 1

Suffix

-lich

1. Alternative form of -ly (“adjectival suffix”)

Etymology 2

Suffix

-lich

1. Alternative form of -ly (“adverbial suffix”)