Ancient Greek

Suffix

-της • ‎(-tēs) f ‎(genitive -τητος) third declension

1. Forms nouns representing a state of being

Declension

Synonyms

• -ίᾰ ‎(-ía), -ίᾱ ‎(-íā), -σύνη ‎(-súnē), -άς ‎(-ás), -ος ‎(-os) (neuter)

References

• Smyth, Herbert Weir (1920), “Part III: Formation of Words”, in A Greek grammar for colleges, Cambridge: American Book Company, § 840

Etymology 2

From Proto-Hellenic *-tās (whence also Mycenaean Greek 𐀑𐀴𐀲 ‎(ki-ti-ta, /ktitā(s)/, κτίτης)), probably a masculine formation from Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂, feminine of *-tos. Originally used in adjectival compounds, the suffix's narrowing to agentivity may be by analogy to -τηρ ‎(-tēr) and -τωρ ‎(-tōr).^[1]

Alternative forms

• -τής ‎(-tḗs) agent noun

Suffix

-της • ‎(-tēs) m ‎(genitive -του) first declension

1. Added to noun stems to form masculine nouns of the person concerned with a thing
2. Added to verb stems to form masculine agent nouns: -er
3. Added to place names to form masculine demonyms: -ian

Declension

Synonyms

• (person concerned): -τίς ‎(-tís) (feminine), -εύς ‎(-eús), -ειᾰ ‎(-eia) (feminine), -ίς ‎(-ís) (feminine), -ττᾰ ‎(-tta) (feminine), -σσᾰ ‎(-ssa) (feminine), -αινᾰ ‎(-aina) (feminine)
• (agent noun): -τίς ‎(-tís) (feminine), -τήρ ‎(-tḗr), -τειρᾰ ‎(-teira) (feminine), -τωρ ‎(-tōr), -τρός ‎(-trós), -τρίᾱ ‎(-tríā) (feminine), -τρίς ‎(-trís) (feminine)
• (demonym): -τίς ‎(-tís) (feminine), -ίς ‎(-ís) (feminine), -ιος ‎(-ios), -κός ‎(-kós), -ικός ‎(-ikós), -ᾱνός ‎(-ānós) -ηνός ‎(-ēnós), -ῖνος ‎(-înos)

Derived terms

• (by reanalysis) -ῑ́της ‎(-ī́tēs)

References

1. ↑ Sihler, Andrew L. (1995) New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, § 267

• Smyth, Herbert Weir (1920), “Part III: Formation of Words”, in A Greek grammar for colleges, Cambridge: American Book Company, §§ 839.1, 843.2, 844.2

See also