A Stealth Suffix

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brogine
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A Stealth Suffix

Postby brogine » Wed Feb 16, 2022 5:42 pm

It struck me - I may be the last to know - that ‘-th’, seemingly an integral part of some words, is actually a suffix. Obvious in such words as ‘growth’ and ‘truth’, it’s less so in ‘bath’, ‘birth’, ‘death’, ‘math’, ‘oath’, ‘ruth(less)’ (from verbs). And ‘dearth’, ‘death’, ‘depth’, ‘health’, and ‘mirth’ (from adjectives).

The specifics in the foregoing screed courtesy of the OED.

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Slava
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Re: A Stealth Suffix

Postby Slava » Sat Jul 01, 2023 7:20 pm

According to Etymonline.com, there are actually two '-th's. Here's the page.
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brogine
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Joined: Sun Feb 11, 2007 4:41 pm

Re: A Stealth Suffix

Postby brogine » Tue Jul 04, 2023 4:28 pm

Thanks. Their antecedents are similar. Could they be related?
The uses are not so different.


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