Key Notes •
- This suffix is used in a few well-known words to mean ‘a person who does something’. Some of these nouns are related to verbs (e.g. beggar, burglar, liar) but others are not (e.g. vicar, bursar, scholar).
- Note these words; they also end in –ar but not the suffix –ar in this article: ajar, agar, antimacassar, attar, avatar, bazaar, budgerigar, cheddar, churidar, cougar, czar, deurmekaar, fauj(i)dar, fel(d)spar, friar, fulmar, guitar, hangar, hussar, iftar, jaguar, khimar, langar, nagar, namaskar, nebuchadnezzar, sagar, sahukar, samovar, sarkar, scimitar, shikar, sitar, sugar, thekedar, thikadar, tsar, tzar, vinegar, zamindar
Origins | Usage Notes | Examples |
From Old French –aire, –ier, or from Latin –aris | Forming adjectives, especially in words containing -(u)l-, -ell- and words ending in -ula, -ula, -ulus, -ulum, especially in scientific use: of the kind specified; relating to | stellar, regular, similar, linear, lunar, molecular, globular, angular, granular, pustular, popular, secular, annular, circular, auricular, fistular, capsular, cellular, corpuscular, funicular, jugular, glandular, orbicular |
Forming nouns through assimilation | scholar | |
Via Old French from Latin –are (neuter of –aris) | Forming nouns: things pertaining to | altar, pillar, collar |
From Old French -aire, -ier, or from Latin -arius, -arium | Forming nouns: things pertaining to | bursar, exemplar, vicar, notar, ordinar |
Alteration of -er, -or | liar, pedlar, medlar, mortar, beggar |
Word Formation Resource •
2 Points
Only available upon request
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