-our

suffix

Used to form abstract nouns of state, quality, or action from Latin or French roots.

“colour, favour, honour, labour, valour”

OriginMiddle English -our ← Anglo-Norman -our ← Old French -or →
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Meanings

suffix

alternative -or

  1. UKCommonwealth spellingUsed to form abstract nouns of state, quality, or action from Latin or French roots.

    colour, favour, honour, labour, valour

Origin

  1. Old French-or
  2. Anglo-Norman-our
  3. Middle English-our
  4. English-our

From Middle English -our, from Anglo-Norman -our, -ur, and Old French -or (modern -eur), from the Latin accusative suffix -ōrem, from -or. The spelling with u reflects the Anglo‐Norman raising of the Old French close‐mid vowel /o/ (which developed from the Latin long vowel /oː/) to a high‐back vowel /u/. In the United States, the spelling -or—which had coexisted as a variant since Middle English—was standardized by Noah Webster to match the original Latin form.

More words from Middle English, Anglo-Norman, Old French

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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