-se

/-n-s//-n-z//-s//-ʒ/

suffix

Forms verbs from adjectives or nouns. When attached to certain adjectives, it forms a transitive verb whose meaning is, to make (adjective). The same construction could also be done to certain (fewer) nouns, as, bless, in which case the verb means roughly, to make bloody/sanctify.

OriginMiddle English -sen ← Old English -sian ← Proto-Germanic *-isōną →
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Meanings

suffix
  1. Forms verbs from adjectives or nouns. When attached to certain adjectives, it forms a transitive verb whose meaning is, to make (adjective). The same construction could also be done to certain (fewer) nouns, as, bless, in which case the verb means roughly, to make bloody/sanctify.

Origin

  1. Proto-Germanic*-isōną
  2. Old English-sian
  3. Middle English-sen
  4. English-se

From Middle English -sen (verbal ending), from Old English -sian (verbal ending), from Proto-Germanic *-isōną.

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

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Cite this entry
APA

-se. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-se

MLA

“-se.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-se. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “-se,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-se.

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