Dutch

Alternative forms

• -arij
• -ernij

Suffix

-erij f ‎(plural -erijen)

1. An activity

   plagerij ‎(“tease”), vrijerij ‎(“courtship”)

2. A place associated with an activity or profession

   brouwerij ‎(“brewery”), mederij ‎(“meadery”)

3. A place containing a collection, class or group

   boekerij ‎(“library”)

Usage notes

Many cases of this suffix were probably formed by attaching -ij to agent nouns that already ended in -er, thereby forming a place associated with the agent noun. It may not always be easy to judge whether -erij was attached directly to a verb, or -ij was attached to an agent noun. For example, brouwerij ‎(“brewery”) may be interpreted as a place (-erij) where brewing (brouwen) takes place, but equally as a place (-ij) associated with a brewer (brouwer). Both analyses are probably equally valid, synchronically.

Derived terms