-liche

See also: liche

Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old English -līc, -līċ, from Proto-Germanic *-līkaz (having the body or form of), from *līką (body)

Suffix

-liche (comparative -lichere, superlative -lyest)

  1. Used to form adjectives from nouns, the adjectives having the sense of "like or characteristic of what is denoted by the noun".
  2. Appended to adjectives in order to render meaning of the adjective either more intense or more approximate.
    • E.g. ded (no longer alive), dedliche (causing, resembling or subject to death); short (not long), shortliche (momentary; very brief)
  3. Used to form adverbs from adjectives, and nouns; the adverbs having the sense of "in the manner of what is denoted by the adjective/noun".
  4. Optionally appended to adverbs without suffixes with no change to the meaning.

Derived terms

<a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs14 CategoryTreeLabelCategory' href='/wiki/Category:Middle_English_words_suffixed_with_-liche' title='Category:Middle English words suffixed with -liche'>Middle English words suffixed with -liche</a>

Descendants

Usage notes

  • Which variant of this suffix is most common varies depending on the word; there is little consistency, though -lich(e) and -ly in general are notably frequent.

References

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