| The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. |
A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English. 1996.
|
8. Word Formation: Plurals, Possessives, Affixes, and Compounds
|
| § 18. -fy |
| The verb suffix -fy, which means “to make or cause to become,” derives from Latin ficare or ficari, from facere, meaning “to do or make.” Thus purify means “to make pure, cleanse,” (coming from Latin purificare, from purus, “clean,” plus ficare). In English the suffix -fy now normally takes the form -ify: acidify, humidify, speechify. Verbs ending in -fy often have related nouns that end in -fication or -faction: magnify, magnification; satisfy, satisfaction. | 1 |
|
|
|
| The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. Copyright © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
|
|
