-esse

Middle English

suffix

Definitions

Denotes a female form of otherwise male nouns denoting beings or persons.

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French -esse derived from Latin -issa (feminine noun-forming suffix) derived from Ancient Greek -ισσα.

Origin

Ancient Greek

-ισσα

Gloss

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms

-ess English
-issa Latin
-essa Italian
-ισσα Ancient Greek
-esse Old French
-easă Romanian, Moldavian, Moldovan
-ισσα Greek (modern)
-esse Middle Dutch
-êsse Norman
-issā Proto-Brythonic
-esse ONF.
-essa Old Catalan