-wear

suffix

worn by a particular sex (e.g., menswear, womenswear) or age of person (e.g., kidswear).

OriginEnglish wear ← Middle English weren ← Old English werian →
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Meanings

suffix-wear (noun-forming suffix, uncountable)
  1. Used to form nouns denoting clothing:
    1. uncountableworn by a particular sex (e.g., menswear, womenswear) or age of person (e.g., kidswear).
    2. uncountableworn on a particular part of the body (e.g., neckwear).
    3. uncountablefor a particular use (e.g., daywear).
    4. uncountablemade in a particular way (e.g., knitwear) or (redundantly) of a particular kind (e.g., shoewear).

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*wes-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*woséyeti
  3. Proto-Germanic*wazjaną
  4. Proto-West Germanic*waʀjan
  5. Old Englishwerian
  6. Middle Englishweren
  7. Englishwear
  8. English-wear

From the noun wear (“clothing”).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

-wear. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-wear

MLA

“-wear.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-wear. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “-wear,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-wear.

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