-ism
a suffix appearing in loanwords from greek, where it was used to form action nouns from verbs (baptism); on this model, used as a productive suffix in the formation of nouns denoting action or practice, state or condition, principles, doctrines, a usage or characteristic, devotion or adherence, etc. (criticism; barbarism; darwinism; despotism; plagiarism; realism; witticism; intellectualism).
-ism
suffix
indicating an action, process, or result criticism, terrorism
indicating a state or condition paganism
indicating a doctrine, system, or body of principles and practices leninism, spiritualism
indicating behaviour or a characteristic quality heroism
indicating a characteristic usage, esp of a language colloquialism, scotticism
indicating prejudice on the basis specified s-xism, ageism
word origin
-ism
suffix forming nouns of action, state, condition, doctrine, from fr. -isme, from l. -isma, from gk. -isma, from stem of verbs in -izein. used as an independent word, chiefly disparagingly, from 1680.
-ism suff.
action, process; practice: vegetarianism.
characteristic behavior or quality: puerilism.
state; condition; quality: senilism.
state or condition resulting from an excess of something specified: strychninism.
doctrine; theory; system of principles: darwinism.
Read Also:
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-ismus suff. spasm; contraction: strabismus.
- -ist
a suffix of nouns, often corresponding to verbs ending in -ize or nouns ending in -ism, that denote a person who practices or is concerned with something, or holds certain principles, doctrines, etc.: apologist; dramatist; machinist; novelist; realist; socialist; thomist. -ist suffix (forming nouns) a person who performs a certain action or is concerned with […]
- -ista
combining form indicating a supporter or follower of someone or something fashionista, portillista word origin
- -istan
comb form a suffix forming nouns humorously denoting a fictional place name word origin 1990; modeled on many place names of asian and indian subcontinent
- -istic
a suffix of adjectives (and in the plural, of nouns from adjectives) formed from nouns ending in -ist and having reference to such nouns, or to -ssociated nouns in -ism (deistic; euphuistic; puristic). in nouns, it usually has a plural form (linguistics). -istic suffix equivalent to a combination of -ist and -ic but in some […]