-ary
-ary
a suffix occurring originally in loanwords from Classical and Medieval Latin, on adjectives ( elementary; honorary; stationary; tributary ), personal nouns ( actuary; notary; secretary ), or nouns denoting objects, especially receptacles or places ( library; rosary; glossary ). The suffix has the general sense “pertaining to, connected with” the referent named by the base; it is productive in English, sometimes with the additional senses “contributing to,” “for the purpose of,” and usually forming adjectives: complimentary; visionary; revolutionary; inflationary.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To -ary
00:10
-ary
is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
| -ary | |
| —suffix | |
| 1. | (forming adjectives) of; related to; belonging to: cautionary; rudimentary |
| 2. | (forming nouns) |
| a. a person connected with or engaged in: missionary | |
| b. a thing relating to; a place for: commentary; aviary | |
| [from Latin -ārius,-āria,-ārium] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
-ary
adj. and n. suffix, in most cases from L. -arius, -arium "connected with, pertaining to, the man engaged in." IT appears in words borrowed from L. in M.E. In later borrowings from Latin to French, it became -aire and passed into M.E. as -arie, subsequently -ary.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Nearby Words
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