-shëm

See also: shem and Shem

Albanian

Alternative forms

• -çëm — Gheg

Etymology

Tosk dialect, from Proto-Albanian *-(i)sama,^[1] which may be from either:

• Proto-Indo-European *somHós (“same, whole, one”), cognate with Old High German -sam (“-some”), Old Norse -samr (“-some”)
• Proto-Indo-European *-is(t)m̥mos (superlative suffix), cognate with Latin -issimus (“-est”) and Old Irish -em (“-est”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃəm/

Suffix

-shëm m (feminine -shme)

1. Makes masculine adjectives from verbs and nouns. The most common meaning the suffix carries is comparable to -able in English.

   ‎këndje (“delight”) + ‎-shëm → ‎këndshëm (“pleasant, delightful”)

   ‎zellje (“zeal”) + ‎-shëm → ‎zellshëm (“zealous”)

Usage notes

While there are certain exceptions, there are some general rules for adding this suffix.

• Verbs that end in -oj generally replace -oj with -ueshëm.

  ‎adhuroj (“I adore; I worship”) + ‎-shëm → ‎adhurueshëm (“absorbing, fascinating; adorable, charming, lovely”)

  ‎admiroj (“I admire”) + ‎-shëm → ‎admirueshëm (“admirable; delightful, lovely”)

• Verbs ending in -ej will replace the -ej with -yeshëm.

  ‎shkëlqej (“I excel; I shine, glow”) + ‎-shëm → ‎shkëlqyeshëm (“excellent, brilliant; bright, brilliant”)

Derived terms

Albanian terms suffixed with -shëm

References

1. Orel, Vladimir E. (2000) A concise historical grammar of the Albanian language: reconstruction of Proto-Albanian‎, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, page 164