-ent

/ənt/India/enʈ/India[ë̞ɳʈ]

suffix

Causing, doing, or promoting a certain action.

“agent, deterrent”

OriginMiddle English -ent ← Old French -ent ← Latin -ēns →
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Meanings

suffix
  1. Causing, doing, or promoting a certain action.

    absorbent, efficient

  2. One that causes, does, or promotes a certain action.

    agent, deterrent

Origin

  1. Latin-ēns
  2. Old French-ent
  3. Middle English-ent
  4. English-ent

From Middle English -ent, also -ant, -aunt, etc., from Old French -ent and its source Latin -ēns (accusative singular -entem), suffix of present participles of verbs in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th conjugations.

More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Sounds the same

-ant
Cite this entry
APA

-ent. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-ent

MLA

“-ent.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-ent. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “-ent,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-ent.

Source: -ent on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.