Nearby Words

-sy

-sy

a suffix forming nouns or adjectives, sometimes a diminutive of the base word and usually confined to informal and jocular use (bitsy; footsie; halvsies); adjectives formed with -sy may be ironic, implying that the quality in question is self-consciously assumed or feigned (artsy; cutesy; folksy). The combination of -s3 and -y1 or -y2 in certain words (antsy; gutsy) should perhaps be considered further instances of this suffix.

Origin:
perhaps orig. two distinct suffixes, one diminutive (as in Betsy, popsy, tootsy) and the other adjectival; sources of both are uncertain
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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-sy is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
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