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-ese

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-ese

a suffix forming adjectival derivatives of place names, esp. countries or cities; frequently used nominally to denote the inhabitants of the place or their language: Faroese; Japanese; Vietnamese; Viennese. By analogy with such language names, -ese occurs in coinages denoting in a disparaging, often facetious way a characteristic jargon, style, or accent: Brooklynese; bureaucratese; journalese; computerese.

Origin:
prob. orig. < It -ese, later repr. Sp, Pg -es, F -ais, -ois, all < L -ēnsem -ensis
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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-ese  
suff.  
  1. Of, relating to, characteristic of, or originating in a specified place: Vietnamese.

  2. Native or inhabitant of: Taiwanese.

    1. Language or dialect of: Chinese.

    2. Literary style or diction of: journalese.


[Middle English, from Italian, from Latin -ēnsis, originating in.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

-ese 
suffix from O.Fr. -eis (modern Fr. -ois, -ais), from V.L., from L. -ensem "belonging to" or "originating in."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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