-er

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ə/
• (US) enPR: ər, IPA^(key): /ɚ/

From Middle English -er, -ere, from Old English -ere (agent suffix), from Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz (agent suffix). Usually thought to have been borrowed from Latin -ārius. Cognate with Dutch -er and -aar, Low German -er, German -er, Swedish -are, Icelandic -ari, Gothic -𐌰𐍂𐌴𐌹𐍃 (-areis). Compare also Ancient Greek -ήριος (-ḗrios), Old Church Slavonic -арь (-arĭ).

Reinforced by the synonymous but unrelated Old French -or, -eor (Anglo-Norman variant -our), from Latin -(ā)tor, from Proto-Indo-European *-tōr.

• -'er (following an abbreviation, or sometimes following a number)

-er

1. (added to verbs) A person or thing that does an action indicated by the root verb; used to form an agent noun.

   reader, cooker, computer, runner-up, do-gooder

   Antonym: -ee

2. (added to verbs, informal) A person or thing to which the root verb can satisfactorily be done.

   a real looker: a beautiful woman

   a keeper: a person or thing worth keeping

3. (added to a noun denoting an occupation) A person whose occupation is (the noun).

   astrologer, cricketer, trumpeter

4. (added to a number, measurement or noun denoting a quantified set) A name for a person or thing that is based on a number (with or without a noun).

   sixer, six-footer, three-wheeler, first-grader

5. (slang, chiefly entertainment, with few limitations) Used to form nouns shorter than more formal synonyms.

   percenter (commission agent); one-hander (one-man show); oater (a Western-themed movie)

6. (informal, added to a noun) One who enjoys.

   Tooners lined up for tickets to Toy Story.

7. (derogatory, added to nouns) Person who subscribes to a particular conspiracy theory or unorthodox belief.

   anti-vaxxer, birther, flat-Earther, 9/11 truther

• The suffix may be used to form an agent noun of many verbs. In compound or phrasal verbs, the suffix usually follows the verb component (as in passerby and runner-up) but is sometimes added at the end, irrespective of the position of the verb component (do-gooder) or is added to both components for humorous effect (washer-upper).
• The entertainment slang sense is sometimes referred to as the Variety -er.

The translations below are a guide only. For more precise translations, see specific words ending with this suffix.

• -eer

From Middle English -er, -ere, from Old English -ware (suffix denoting residency or meaning "inhabitant of"), from Proto-Germanic *warjaz (“defender, inhabitant”), from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to close, cover, protect, save, defend”). Cognate with Dutch -er, German -er, Swedish -are.

-er

1. (added to a proper noun) Suffix denoting a resident or inhabitant of (the place denoted by the proper noun); used to form a demonym.

   New Yorker, Londoner, Dubliner, New Englander

2. Suffix denoting residency in or around a place, district, area, or region.

   islander, highlander, eastender, prisoner

From Middle English -er, -re, from Old English -ru (plural suffix), from Proto-Germanic *-izō (plural suffix). Cognate with Dutch -er (plural ending), German -er (plural ending). See also -ren.

-er

1. (obsolete, no longer productive) Suffix used to form the plural of a small number of English nouns.

   childer, calver, lamber, linder ("loins")

• -ren

Representing various noun-suffixes in Old French and Anglo-Norman, variously -er, -ier and -ieur, from Latin -aris, -arius, -atorium.

-er

1. Person or thing connected with.

   butler

• -eer

From Middle English -ere, from Old English -ra, from Proto-Germanic *-izô or Proto-Germanic *-ōzô (a derivative of Etymology 6, below); related to superlative -est.

-er

1. (added to certain adjectives and adverbs, now especially short ones) More; used to form the comparative.

   longer, bigger, faster, sooner, simpler

• (more; used to form the comparative): Most adjectives whose comparatives are formed using the suffix -er also form their superlatives using the suffix -est.
  • Final -y preceded by a consonant becomes -i- when the suffix -er or -est is added.

    easy → easier → easiest; gray → grayer → grayest

  • When the stress is on the final (or only) syllable of the adjective, and this syllable ends in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, the final consonant is doubled when the suffix is added.

    dim → dimmer → dimmest

  • The suffixes -er and -est may be used to form the comparative and superlative of most adjectives and adverbs that have one syllable and some that have two or more syllables.

    hot → hotter → hottest; fast → faster → fastest; funny → funnier → funniest; sugary → sugarier → sugariest

  • Some adjectives and adverbs form their comparatives and superlatives irregularly:

    good → better → best; far → farther → farthest, or far → further → furthest, depending on the meaning

  • The comparatives and superlatives of other adverbs and adjectives that have two or more syllables, and adjectives that are participles are formed with more and most.

    rigid → more rigid → most rigid; enormous → more enormous → most enormous; burnt → more burnt → most burnt; freezing → more freezing → most freezing

  • If in doubt, use more to form the comparative and most to form the superlative; for example, thirsty may become thirstier and thirstiest, but more thirsty and most thirsty are also acceptable.
• Words ending with -ng are pronounced /ŋ/ by most dialects instead of /ŋɡ/. However, when -er or -est is added to an adjective, the /ɡ/ appears (in most dialects).

  long (/lɒŋ/) → longer (/ˈlɒŋ.ɡə(ɹ)/); young (/jʌŋ/) → youngest (/ˈjʌŋ.ɡɪst/)

From Middle English -er, from Old English -or, from Proto-Germanic *-ōz.

-er

1. (added to certain adverbs) More; used to form the comparative.

From Middle English -eren, -ren, -rien, from Old English -erian, -rian, from Proto-Germanic *-rōną. Cognate with West Frisian -erje, Dutch -eren, German -eren, -ern, Danish -re, Swedish -ra.

-er

1. (added to a verb or imitative sound) Frequently; used to form frequentative verbs.

   twitter, clamber, bicker, mutter, wander, flutter, flicker, slither, smother, sputter

• (used to form frequentative): -le

• Frequentative on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

From Middle English -er, from Anglo-Norman -er, Old French -er, the infinitive verbal ending.

-er

1. (added to a verb) Instance of (the verbal action); used to form nouns from verbs, especially in legal terms.

   disclaimer, misnomer, remitter, rebutter

From Middle English -er, -ere (diminutive suffix). Compare -el.

-er

1. (added to a verb or noun) Used to form diminutives.

   shiver < shive

   sliver < slive

   splinter < splint

Attested in the UK since the 19th century. Originally Rugby School slang. Later adopted by Oxford University and then wider British society.

-er

1. (originally school slang) Used to form slang or colloquial equivalents of words.

   soccer, rugger, brekkers, Radder, divvers, footer

• -zza

• -ers

From Chinese -兒 (-ér).

-er

1. (fiction) Junior, child, younger person. (Attached to a name, usually a portion of the given name.) (Can we add an example for this sense?)

In Chinese-language fiction translated into English, to add a Chinese flavour (Mandarin language), some translators leave the term "-er" untranslated, left in unaccented pinyin. This practice is similar to not translating "-kun" / "-chan" / "-san" or "sensei" in English-language Japanese fiction.

• -chan (similar suffix extracted from Japanese into English, when used in English-translated Japanese fiction)

• -est
• more

• -er at OneLook Dictionary Search
• “-er” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2019.

• 're, -'re, RE, Re, Ré, r.e., re, re-

From Dutch -er.

-er

1. -er

• IPA^(key): /ɛʁ/

-er

1. person or thing that (does the action indicated by the root); used to form an agent noun.

   ‎brezhoneg (“Breton (language)”) + ‎-er → ‎brezhoneger (“Breton-speaker”)

   ‎c'hoari (“game; to play”) + ‎-er → ‎c'hoarier (“player, actor”)

   ‎tredan (“electricity”) + ‎-er → ‎tredaner (“electrician”)

From Old Occitan, from Latin -ārius. Compare the borrowed doublet -ari.

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /ˈ-e/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈ-eɾ/

-er m (plural -ers)

1. Used to form nouns meaning the location or object where something is usually found.
2. Used to form nouns meaning a plant which is cultivated to produce something.
3. Used to form nouns meaning the purpose of something or an object used for that purpose.

The equivalent suffix -era can be used to form feminine nouns with these meanings, but usually only the masculine or feminine form will be found in Catalan.

-er (feminine -era, masculine plural -ers, feminine plural -eres)

1. Used to form nouns and adjectives referring to an inhabitant of somewhere.
2. Used to form nouns and adjectives referring to engaging in a profession.
3. Used to form nouns and adjectives referring to being prone to some activity or characteristic.

Because these senses are used to form adjectives of two forms or nouns referring to animate objects, both the masculine and feminine forms will be found in Catalan, with the lemma entry found at the masculine form.

• -dor

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛɾ/

-er

1. (added to possessive nouns) their
2. (added to verbs as an indirect object) them

-er

1. Forms agent nouns from verbs, with the sense "someone or something that [verb]s".
2. Forms plural forms of many nouns.
3. Forms the present tense of many verbs.
4. Forms demonyms.

   Berlin -> berliner, Paris -> pariser

5. Forms informal action nouns from verbs.
6. (especially definite) Forms informal abbreviations of nouns, with elision.

   ‎hotdog + ‎-er → ‎hotter

   ‎fjernsyn (“television”) + ‎-er → ‎fjerner

7. Forms a piece of currency from numbers.

   ‎fem (“five”) + ‎-er → ‎femmer (“fiver, five pounds/dollars/kroner/etc.”)

8. Forms a die throw result from numbers.

   Du skal slå mindst en treer for at komme videre.

   You must throw at least a three to move on.

Senses 1 and 3 often lead to heteronymic pairs. For example, from løbe (“run”) [ˈløːb̥ə] comes løber (“runs”) [ˈløːˀb̥ɐ] (verb form) and løber (“runner”) [ˈløːb̥ɐ] (noun), distinguished by stød.

• -der

From Old Dutch *-āri, -ere, from Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz, borrowed from Latin -ārius. Cognate with Dutch -aar.[1]

-er m (plural -ers, feminine -ster)

1. Forms agent nouns from verbs.

   ‎hoeden + ‎-er → ‎hoeder

   ‎spelen + ‎-er → ‎speler

   Synonym: -aar

2. Forms nouns for a person associated with something.

   ‎schip + ‎-er → ‎schipper

From Old Dutch *-āri, -ere, from Proto-Germanic *warjaz.

-er

1. Forms nouns denoting male inhabitants or residents of a place.

   Een Amsterdammer

   A (male) inhabitant of Amsterdam

   Synonym: -aar

2. Formings adjectives denoting something originating from a place.

   Het Groninger museum

   The museum of Groningen

   Synonym: -s

• (male inhabitant): -se (“female inhabitant”)

From Old Dutch -iro, -oro, from Proto-Germanic *-izô, *-ōzô.

-er

1. Forms the comparative form of adjectives.

Latin -are.

• IPA^(key): /e/

-er

1. Forms infinitives of first-conjugation verbs

• Many of these verbs are directly descended from Latin, rather than from stem + suffix

• IPA^(key): [ɐ]

From Middle High German -ære, -er, from Old High German -āri, from Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz, from Latin -arius.[1]

-er m (plural -er)

1. Forms agent nouns etc. from verbs, suffixed to the verb stem.

   ‎arbeiten (“to work”) + ‎-er → ‎Arbeiter (“worker”)

   ‎bohren (“to drill”) + ‎-er → ‎Bohrer (“drill”)

2. indicating something defined by a number; in the plural often all numbers with the same first digits

   ‎16 + ‎-er → ‎16er (“the 16, the 16er, e.g. a bus, a football player, etc.”)

   ‎200 + ‎-er → ‎200er (“200s, e.g. several 200-euro notes, or the list items 200 to 299, etc.”)

   ‎1990 + ‎-er → ‎1990er (“1990s, the years 1990 to 1999”)

• -ler

From Middle High German -er, a plural ending for some neuter nouns

-er

1. Used to form the plurals of some nouns.

• The plural ending -er is used in a fairly large number of neuters (including all those in -tum) and a small number of masculines.

From Middle High German -ære, -er, from Old High German -āri, from Proto-Germanic *warjaz.

-er m

1. Forms nouns indicating an inhabitant of a place, or a person originating from a place.

Probably originated from the prepositioned genitive plural, e.g.: der Berliner Pfannkuchen = "the Berliners’ pancake", and then "the Berlin(er) pancake", reanalysed as an adjective instead of a noun and seen as being in the nominative singular due to the ambiguity of the definite article der since the masculine nominative singular and the genitive plural forms of the definite article are homophonous.[2][3]

-er

1. Forms invariable adjectives from place names, with a genitival meaning, indicating origin from or association with that place.

• In contemporary German, words formed with this suffix -er are written with a capital letter (§ 61 of the official reform spelling rules as of 2006 (and also 2011, 2017, 2018)), e.g. ein Berliner Pfannkuchen. In the past, they were sometimes written with a lowercase letter like most other adjectives, e.g. ein berliner Pfannkuchen.[4]
• In case of placenames which are written with a space, the derived word can be written with a space or with a hyphen (§ 49 of the official reform spelling rules as of 2011), e.g. Bad Schandau → Bad Schandauer or Bad-Schandauer.

-er

1. Used to form nouns referring to doer or who works on something.

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /er/, [ɛr]

-er

1. first-person singular present passive subjunctive of -ō

From a Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz, from Latin -ārius.

• IPA^(key): /eʀ/, [ɐ]

-er

1. -er (suffix used to form agent nouns from verbs)

From Old Dutch -iro, -oro, from Proto-Germanic *-izô, *-ōzô.

-er

1. -er. Forms the comparative of adjectives.

• -re

See Category:Middle Dutch adjective comparative forms.

• -st

• Dutch: -er

• -ier (typically early Middle French)

From Old French -ier, -er, from Latin -are.

-er

1. Forms infinitives of first-conjugation verbs

• Many of these verbs are directly descended from Latin, rather than from stem + suffix

• French: -ier

From Old French -ier.

-er

1. Forms nouns, often denoting professions

   boucher

   butcher

• French: -ier

-er

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

From Old Norse -ari.

-er

1. (added to verbs) person or thing that does an action indicated by the root verb
2. (added to place names) person or thing that originates in the place indicated by the place name
3. (added to numbers) order, position, value or similar indicated by the numeral

• “-er” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

-er

1. Used to form indefinite plurals for most feminine nouns.
2. Used to form indefinite plurals for some masculine nouns.
3. Used to form present tense for one class of weak verbs.
4. (obsolete) Used to form present tense for strong verbs.

-er

1. Alternative form of -or

From Latin -āre.

-er

1. Alternative form of -ier, verbal suffix

• All varieties of Old French use -er but it's more common in Anglo-Norman than in France, specifically before certain consonants such as c and g.

From Latin -ārius.

-er

1. (chiefly Anglo-Norman) Alternative form of -ier, suffix indicating a profession

   falconer, fauconer

   falconer

From Latin -ēre

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈeɾ/
• (Paulistano) IPA^(key): /ˈe(ɾ)/
• (Caipira) IPA^(key): /ˈeɻ/
• (Carioca, Nordestino) IPA^(key): /ˈe(ʁ)/

-er

1. The infinitive of the second class (-er class) of verbs.

From Latin -ēre

-er

1. The infinitive suffix for many verbs.

• -ar
• -ir

-er

1. One of two suffices for indefinite plural for nouns of the third declension (common and neuter); the second one is -r
2. Suffix for present tense, active voice, indicative mood for one of the groups of Swedish verbs

plural suffix

• -or
• -ar
• -r
• -n

present tense suffix

• -r (-ar)
• -as

From Ottoman Turkish ر‎ (-r, -er), from Proto-Turkic *-er. Cognate with Old Turkic 𐰼‎ (-r, -er).

-er

1. Simple present and aorist tense marker
2. Makes adjectives out of verbs
3. Makes nouns out of verbs

   ‎kes- (“to cut”) + ‎-er → ‎keser (“adze”)

   Yağmur diner gibi oldu. ― The rain seems to be stopping.

• -r
• -ar
• -ir
• -mez

From Proto-Turkic [Term?].

• -şer

-er

1. suffix for distributive numbers

   bir → birer

   üç → üçer

   dört → dörder

• Becomes -şer when used after vowel-final words, such as iki (“two”) → ikişer.