-ock

suffix

Forming nouns from nouns, originally with a diminutive sense.

“hillock, haddock, bullock, Drillock, ballock, maddock, paddock”

OriginMiddle English -ock ← Old English -oc ← Proto-West Germanic *-uk →
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Meanings

suffix

alternative -ick · alternative -ik

  1. Forming nouns from nouns, originally with a diminutive sense.

    hillock, haddock, bullock, Drillock, ballock, maddock, paddock

Origin

  1. Proto-Germanic*-ukaz
  2. Proto-West Germanic*-uk
  3. Old English-oc
  4. Middle English-ock
  5. English-ock

From Middle English -ock, -ok, -uk, -uck, from Old English -oc, -uc (diminutive suffix), from Proto-West Germanic *-uk, from Proto-Germanic *-ukaz (diminutive suffix). Akin to Old Saxon -ik (diminutive suffix), German -ich, Middle Low German -ken (diminutive suffix), Middle Dutch -kin, Old Norse -kr (diminutive suffix). More at -kin.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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