A. With meanings, the state of being, the quality or condition of being

Form in English From Latin Examples

• -ity/ety/ty     -tas      pauci [few]: paucity
• -y     -ia      miser [wretched]: misery
• -ce     -(t)ia      patientia [endurance]: patience
•         gratus [pleasing, thankful]: grace
• -ice     -itia     malus [bad]: malice
• -(i)tude     -(i)tudo     pulcher [attractive, beautiful]: pulchritude
•         (base in -itudin- as in multitudinous, latitudinal)
• -mony    -monia/monium      parcus [sparing, thrifty]: parsimony

B. With various meanings

act, office, place, or condition of; cf. study < studere; perjury < periurium

• -y     -ium      augur [soothsayer]: augury

office, function of; cf. directorate, episcopate, consulate, emirate, diaconate, tribunate

• -ate     -atus      pontifex [priest]: pontificate

act, office, art, condition of; cf. medicine, famine

• -ine     -ina      discipulus [pupil]: discipline

 

C. Diminutive suffixes: these add the meaning small to nouns. The most important diminutive suffixes from Latin are:

• -ule, -le     -ulus/a/um      granum [grain]: granule
•     forma [shape]: formula
•     scrupus [sharp stone]: scruple
• -ole     -olus/a/um      gladius [sword]: gladiolus
• -cule, -cle     -culus/a/um     pars, part- [part]: particle
•     homo, homin- [man]: homunculus
• -el,-il     -illus, ellus/a/um         cerebrum [brain]: cerebellum
• -leus/a/um -leus/a/um nux, nuc- [nut]: nucleus

Both English and Latin forms are in common use in technical terminology.