Meanings
suffix
- Used to form adjectives and nouns describing things and characteristics of a city, region, or country, such as the people and the language spoken by these people.
Faroese, Maltese, Milanese, Parmese, Portuguese, Viennese; Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese; Beninese, Congolese, Togolese
Synonyms & antonyms
suffixUsed to form adjectives and nouns describing things and characteristics of a city, region, or country, such as the people and the language spoken by these people.
suffixUsed to form nouns meaning the jargon or language used by a particular profession or being or in a particular context.
Similar
Origin
- Late Latin-iscus
- Latin-ēnsis
- Old French-eis
- Middle English-eys
- English-ese
From Middle English -eys, from Old French -eis, from Latin -ēnsis and, less often, Late Latin -iscus. Generally used in place of more common equivalent suffixes such as -er and -an on the model of equivalent terms in Italian and Portuguese, particularly for Italian, Portuguese African, and East Asian places first widely discussed in Portuguese and Latin.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans -ees
- -eesforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
Arabic ـِيّ
- ـِيّ (-iyy)forming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
Basque -era, -tar
- -eraforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -tarforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -darforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
Bulgarian -ски
- -ски (-ski)forming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
Catalan -ès, -esa
- -èsforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -esaforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -ésforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -esaforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
Czech -ština, -čtina
- -štinaforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -čtinaforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -skýforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -skáforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
Danish -esisk
- -esiskforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
Dutch -ees
- -eesforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
Esperanto -ano
- -anoforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
Finnish -lainen
- -lainenforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
French -ais, -ois
- -aisforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -oisforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
German -isch, -ese
- -ischforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -eseforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -erforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
Greek -ικός
- -ικός (-ikós)forming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
Hungarian -i, -i
- -iforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -iforming nouns meaning the jargon used by a particular profession
- -beliforming nouns meaning the jargon used by a particular profession
Icelandic -skur, -iskur
- -skurforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -iskurforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -skaforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
Irish -ach, -each
- -achforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -eachforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -isforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
Italian -ese, -ano
- -eseforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -anoforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -anaforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
Latin -ensis, -ita
- -ensisforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -itaforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -itesforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -anusforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -inusforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -iusforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
Latvian -ietis, -iete
- -ietisforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -ieteforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -isksforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
Persian -ی
- -یforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
Polish -cki, -ski
- -ckiforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -skiforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -yforming nouns meaning the jargon used by a particular profession
Portuguese -ês, -esa
- -êsforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -esaforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -anoforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -anaforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
Romanian -esc, -ească
- -escforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -eascăforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
Russian -ский, -ец
- -ский (-skij)forming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -ец (-ec)forming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -каforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
Scottish Gaelic -ach, -each
- -achforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -eachforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
Slovak -ský, -ská
- -skýforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -skáforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
Spanish -és, -esa
- -ésforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -esaforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -enseforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -anoforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -anaforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
Tagalog -ano, -ana
- -anoforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -anaforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
Turkish -li, -lu
- -liforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -luforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -lüforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
Ukrainian -ський
- -ський (-sʹkyj)forming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
Welsh -eg, -aidd
- -egforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
- -aiddforming adjectives or nouns describing things or people characteristic of a particular place
Cite this entry
APA
-ese. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-ese
MLA
“-ese.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-ese. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “-ese,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-ese.
Source: -ese on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.