1400s
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Languages (32)
English
Afrikaans • Albanian • Chinese • Czech • Danish • Dutch • Estonian • Finnish • French • German • Hungarian • Ingrian • Karelian • Kashubian • Latin • Low German • Lushootseed • Manx • Middle English • Mohawk • Northern Sami • Norwegian Bokmål • Old English • Old French • Pipil • Portuguese • Quechua • Spanish • Swedish • Tagalog • Welsh
Page categories
Afrikaans • Albanian • Chinese • Czech • Danish • Dutch • Estonian • Finnish • French • German • Hungarian • Ingrian • Karelian • Kashubian • Latin • Low German • Lushootseed • Manx • Middle English • Mohawk • Northern Sami • Norwegian Bokmål • Old English • Old French • Pipil • Portuguese • Quechua • Spanish • Swedish • Tagalog • Welsh
Page categories
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /s/ (after a voiceless consonant sound /p, t, k, f, θ/)
- IPA(key): /z/ (after a vowel sound or a voiced consonant sound /m, n, ŋ, b, d, ɡ, v, ð, l, ɹ/)
- IPA(key): /ɪz/ (after a sibilant consonant sound /s, z, ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ/—usually written -es)
- (weak vowel merger) IPA(key): /əz/
- Homophones: -'s, 's
Etymology 1
Inherited from Middle English -s, -es, from Old English -as, nominative-accusative plural ending of masculine a-stem (i.e. strong) declension nouns, from Proto-West Germanic *-ōs, from Proto-Germanic *-ōs, *‑ōz, from Proto-Indo-European *-es, *-oes (plural endings). The spread of this ending in later Middle English was once argued to have been the result of Anglo-Norman influence; however, -as was already the most common Old English plural marker (used in approximately 40% of Old English nouns), and was initially more common in the North of England where French influence was weakest, only later gradually spreading south, replacing the usual southern plural ending -en. Cognate with Scots -s (plural ending), Saterland Frisian -s (plural ending), West Frisian -s (plural ending), Dutch -s (plural ending), Low German -s (plural ending), Danish -er (plural ending), Swedish -r, -ar, -or (plural ending), Icelandic -ar (plural ending), Gothic -𐍉𐍃 (-ōs, nominative plural ending of a-stem masculine nouns). Not directly related to German -er (plural ending) which has a different origin.
Suffix
-s
- Used to form regular plurals of nouns.
- one computer → five computers
- Used to form many pluralia tantum (nouns that are almost or entirely without singular forms).
- shorts
- sunglasses
- When appended to a number ending in at least one 0, expresses a range of numbers which share the digits before some or (usually) all of the 0s; frequently used for decades, centuries and temperatures.
- We often look back on the 1960s [the years from 1960 to 1969] with rose-tinted glasses.
- The Industrial Revolution went into full-swing during the 1800s [the years from 1800 to 1899 – but see usage notes].
- The temperature today will be in the low 30s.
- He placed in the 200s in the end.
Usage notes
- (regular plurals): In semi-formal or formal contexts, where the plurality of a noun depends on some unknown aspect of the sentence, the s may be parenthesised: "The winner(s) will be invited to a prize ceremony."
- (number): Decades formed with -s are usually pronounced as if they were written as two separate numbers. For example, 1970s is read as nineteen-seventies, as if it were written as 19 70s, not as *nineteen-hundred seventies or *one thousand nine hundred and seventies.
- (number): When the number before the -s ends in more than one zero, there is ambiguity about the range of numbers that is meant. For example, 1800s could mean "the years from 1800 to 1899; the entire 19th century" or "the years from 1800 to 1809; the first decade of the 19th century". The intended meaning can usually be derived from context.
Derived terms
Descendants
Translations
The translations below are a guide only. See individual words for precise translations.
regular plurals of nouns
|
See also
other plural-forming suffixes
Etymology 2
From Middle English -(e)s (third-person singular ending), from Northumbrian Old English -es, -as (third-person singular endings). Gradually replaced the older -eth, from Old English -(e)þ, -aþ, during the Middle English and Early Modern English periods.
It is predominantly believed that -(e)s is identical to the Old English second-person singular ending -es, -est (cf. archaic Modern English -est, as in thou singest). The use for the third-person singular would have been caused by speakers of Old Norse who switched to speaking English and confounded the endings due to analogy with their native tongue. In Old Norse, the second and third person singular indicative forms were identical (e.g. þú masar, hann masar; þú þekkir, hann þekkir; etc.).
An alternative theory sees the shift from /θ/ in -eth to /s/ (later /z/) in -(e)s as a mere phonetic simplification due to the frequency of the ending, but the objection to this is that no such development can be observed anywhere else in English. Nevertheless the relative similarity in sound between both forms may have facilitated the spread of -es.
Suffix
-s
- Used to form the third-person singular indicative present tense of verbs.
- to eat → he eats
Usage notes
- In Standard English, the -s suffix is only used to mark the third person singular present of verbs; however, in some varieties of English, particularly northern English, Scottish, US Southern and AAVE, the -s can be extended to other persons/numbers as well, as in: I eats me spinach; I hates the Yankees; they likes it here; etc.
- As in modern nonstandard varieties, the -s suffix can be used to mark the third-person plural in Early Modern English. However, it is less common than the modern standard zero ending, and is frequently only found in restricted contexts; for instance, Shakespeare only uses it where a plural subject has "singular" semantics.[1]
See also
other verb endings
References
Etymology 3
From Middle English -es, from Old English -es, the masculine and neuter genitive singular ending of strong nouns. More at -'s.
Suffix
-s
- Used in the formation of certain English adverbs.
Derived terms
Etymology 4
A variant spelling of -'s, partly an archaism, partly by dropping the apostrophe.
Alternative forms
Suffix
-s
- (on pronouns) Possessive marker, indicating that an object belongs to the word bearing the marker.
- (on nouns, now nonstandard) Alternative form of -'s
- devils doorbell; dogs-bane; St. Marys; (obsolete) kings
Usage notes
- In most cases where -s is found nowadays as a possessive case marker, it is a simple misspelling of -'s. However, possessive determiners derived from personal pronouns use -s (e.g., its, not it's). The same is true of pronouns derived from possessive determiners (e.g., theirs, not their's). The possessive form of who takes -se (whose, not who's).
- Bare -s is used in some business names that derive from possessive family names, e.g., Barclays and Harrods, but compare Sainsbury’s; compare Wikipedia's article on possessives in business names. In speech, /z/ (or /s/) is sometimes added to business names which have neither -s nor -'s in writing, resulting in s-forms, which see.
- Sometimes used in place names; e.g., Harpers Ferry (formerly spelled “Harper’s Ferry”), Queens County (note that the former name of County Laois was officially “Queen’s County”, however, the apostrophe-less spelling is well-attested).
Etymology 5
Modern sense in slang [circa 1936]. According to OED, a colloquial clipping of the hypocoristic diminutive suffix -sy. As AHD writes, -sy itself usually being informal, ironic and/or jocular, and possibly a combination of -s (“plural marker”) and conflation of -y as adjectival with its sense as a diminutive suffix (e.g., puppy, kitty), the latter notion probably from Scots.
Suffix
-s
Derived terms
Unsorted:
Related terms
Etymology 6
Derived from 's.
Verb
-s (clitic)
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
