Ar, ard, er, yer, ster[11]—signifying agent or doer; as in beggar, drunkard, beginner, lawyer, spinster. Er forms verbs of adjectives, as lower, from low, and also forms the comparatives of adjectives.
Ess, as in songstress, is borrowed from the French.
Dom, ship, ric, wic—from dom, judgment; ship, shape or condition; ric, rice, power; wic, a dwelling—signify state, condition, quality, etc., as in kingdom, friendship, bishopric, Berwick.
El, kin (= chen, German), let (from French), ling, ock—have a diminutive effect, as in manikin, streamlet, youngling, hillock, cockerel.
En—adjective termination, as wooden, from wood; it also converts adjectives into verbs, as deepen from deep.
Fold—from fealdan, to fold; a numeral termination, like ple, from the Latin plico, I fold.
Ful—full; truthful.
Hood, ness—of uncertain derivation, signify state, etc., as in priesthood, righteousness.
Ish—isc (Saxon), isch (German), denotes a quality; like rakish, knavish, churlish, Danish. Ish is also employed as a diminutive—blackish.
Less—loss: as penniless, hopeless.