-i

/iː/English, traditional/aɪ/

suffix

Used to form adjectives, nouns, demonyms (describing people of a particular city, region or country) or genonyms (describing people of a particular tribe, clan or family) and the language spoken by these people.

“Hind + -i → Hindi”

OriginUrdu ـی (-ī) ← Arabic ـِيّ (-iyy)influ. ← Classical Persian ـِی (-ī)influ. →
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Meanings

-i1

suffix
  1. Used to form adjectives, nouns, demonyms (describing people of a particular city, region or country) or genonyms (describing people of a particular tribe, clan or family) and the language spoken by these people.

    Hind + -i → Hindi

    5 more examples

    Hindustan + -i → Hindustani

    Iran + -i → Irani

    Iraq + -i → Iraqi

    Israel + -i → Israeli

    Awadh + -i → Awadhi

-i2

suffix
  1. Forms an alternative plural ending for various words borrowed from Latin that end in ⟨us⟩ in the singular.

    focus + -i → foci

    1 more example

    radius + -i → radii

    1. nonstandardproscribedsometimesForms an alternative plural ending for various words that end in ⟨us⟩ in the singular, despite not being borrowed from Latin.

      amogus + -i → amogi

      1 more example

      platypus + -i → platypi

-i3

suffix
  1. Forms an alternative plural ending for words borrowed from Italian that end in ⟨o⟩ or ⟨e⟩ in the singular.

    calzone + -i → calzoni

    2 more examples

    concerto + -i → concerti

    cognoscente + -i → cognoscenti

-i4

suffix
  1. Used to form diminutives of given names.

    Becki, Benji, Jimmi, Lexi, Nicki, Sammi, Sandi, Trini, Vicki

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
-ese

Origin

-i · suffix

  1. Arabicـِيّ (-iyy)
  2. Hebrew־י (-i)
  3. Middle Persianyḥ (īh)
  4. Middle Persianig
  5. Persianـی (-ī)
  6. Proto-Indo-Iranian*i-
  7. Classical Persianـِی (-ī)influ.
  8. Arabicـِيّ (-iyy)influ.
  9. Urduـی (-ī)
  10. English-i

A conflation of the following suffixes: * For Semitic-speaking places, from the Arabic ـِيّ (-iyy) (nisba suffix) and from Hebrew ־י (-i), both sharing a common Semitic root. * For Indo-Iranian-speaking places, from Persian ـی (-ī) (cognate with the following and also conflated with the above) and Hindustani Hindi -ई (-ī) / Urdu ـی (-ī), from Proto-Indo-Iranian *-ikas, therefore a doublet of the homophonous suffix -y In English, productive since the 19th century.

More words from Arabic, Hebrew, Persian

Full word history & related roots →

-i · suffix

  1. Latin-ī
  2. English-i

From Latin -ī (nominative plural).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

-i · suffix

  1. Latin-ī
  2. Italian-i
  3. English-i

From Italian -i (masculine plural), from Latin -ī (see etymology 2).

More words from Italian, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

-i · suffix

Variant of -ie or -y.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic ـِيّ
  • ـِيّ (-iyy)suffix to form a demonym (especially in the Middle East)
Hebrew ־ִי
  • ־ִיsuffix to form a demonym (especially in the Middle East)
Hindi -ई
  • -ई (-ī)suffix to form a demonym (especially in the Middle East)
Hungarian -i
  • -isuffix to form a demonym (especially in the Middle East)
Persian ـی
  • ـی (-ī)suffix to form a demonym (especially in the Middle East)
Punjabi -ਈ
  • -ਈ (-ī)suffix to form a demonym (especially in the Middle East)
Spanish -í
  • -ísuffix to form a demonym (especially in the Middle East)
Urdu ـی
  • ـی (-ī)suffix to form a demonym (especially in the Middle East)
Cite this entry
APA

-i. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-i

MLA

“-i.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-i. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “-i,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-i.

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