-te

Betekenis (English)

1. (feminine, morpheme) appended to an adjective, making a feminine noun which refers to the size or quality referred to by the adjective, cognate to -th.
2. (feminine, morpheme) appended to the stem of a verb, yields a feminine noun which refers to the object of such a verb.

Synonyms

-heid

-ie

-schap

-teit

Etymologie (English)

Inherited from Middelnederlands: -ede

Inherited from Old Dutch: -itha

In summary

From Middle Dutch -ede, from Old Dutch -itha, from Proto-West Germanic *-iþu, from Proto-Germanic *-iþō. More at -th.
Middle Dutch -ede was shortened to -de in late Middle Dutch, and the suffix was devoiced to -te according to the 't kofschip rule. This voiceless variety was then taken to be the suffix proper and the voiced variety gradually fell out of use.