-y

Meaning

1. Added to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives meaning “having the quality of”, either “involving the referent” or “analogous to it”.
2. Added to verbs to form adjectives meaning "inclined to".

Pronounced as (IPA)

/i/

Etymology

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *-kos
Proto-Germanic *-gaz
Proto-West Germanic *-g
Old English -iġ
Middle English -y
English -y
From Middle English -y, -i, from Old English -iġ (“-y, -ic”, suffix), from Proto-West Germanic *-g, from Proto-Germanic *-īgaz (“-y, -ic”), from Proto-Indo-European *-kos, *-ikos, *-iḱos (“-y, -ic”).
Cognate with Scots -ie (“-y”), West Frisian -ich (“-y”), Dutch -ig (“-y”), Low German -ig (“-y”), German -ig (“-y”), Swedish -ig (“-y”), Gothic -𐌹𐌲𐍃 (-igs, “-y”), Latin -icus (“-y, -ic”), Ancient Greek -ικός (-ikós), Sanskrit -इक (-ika). Doublet of -ac and -ic.