-ujo

Unknown; French étui (“case”) has been suggested.[1]

• IPA^(key): /ˈujo/
• Hyphenation: u‧jo
• Rhymes: -ujo

-ujo

1. something filled with, a container or box for, e.g. inko (“ink”) → inkujo (“inkpot”).
2. a country inhabited by, or associated with, an ethnic group, e.g. turko (“Turk”) → Turkujo (“Turkey”).
3. (obsolete) a tree bearing a fruit, e.g. pomo (“apple”) → pomujo (“apple tree”).

The suffixes -ujo and -ingo signify different kinds of containers: An -ingo can contain only a single object or part of an object, such as a glavingo (“scabbard”) (the entire sword isn't inside the holder for example, and it can hold only one sword), plumingo (“pen holder”), kandelingo (“a candlestick”), or fingringo (“a thimble”). An -ujo is a container for multiple objects, generally something which one replenishes or keeps in quantity, and it usually contains things in their entirety, such as a cigarujo (“cigar box”) or sukerujo (“sugar bowl”).

-ujo is almost never used for names of fruit trees outside of early Esperanto writings. This archaic usage comes directly from the Fundamento de Esperanto, but has been nearly entirely supplanted by compounds ending in arbo (“tree”) or arbusto (“bush”), such as pomarbo (“apple tree”).

Likewise, country names using -ujo are little used nowadays, having generally been replaced by names ending in -io or -o. However, in recent times, the -ujo is regaining popularity.

• Ido: -uyo