-ee

a suffix forming from transitive verbs nouns which denote a person who is the object or beneficiary of the act specified by the verb (addressee; employee; grantee); recent formations now also mark the performer of an act, with the base being an intransitive verb (escapee; returnee; standee) or, less frequently, a transitive verb (attendee) or another part of speech (absentee; refugee).

Origin:
< French -é, (masculine), -ée (feminine), past participle endings < Latin -ātus, -āta -ate¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source

Link To -ee

Relevant Questions

What Is 1x1x1x1x?

00:10

-ee is always a great word to know.

So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:

an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.

a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.

LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

Collins

World English Dictionary

-ee

—*suffix forming nouns*
1.	indicating a person who is the recipient of an action (as opposed, esp in legal terminology, to the agent, indicated by -or or -er): assignee; grantee; lessee
2.	indicating a person in a specified state or condition: absentee; employee
3.	indicating a diminutive form of something: bootee

[via Old French -e, -ee, past participial endings, from Latin -ātus, -āta-ate¹]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

-ee

in legal English (and in imitation of it), represents the Anglo-Fr. -é ending of pps. used as nouns. As these sometimes were coupled with agent nouns in -or, the two suffixes came to be used as a pair to denote the initiator and the recipient of an action.

Matching Quote

"Ef yo' play wid puppy, ee lick yo' face (Familiarity breeds contempt)."

-Administration in the State of Sout

Upgrade to Ad-free Premium Membership!