*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of -ar

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin -ārisbor. English -ar Borrowed from Latin -āris (“of, pertaining to”). Distant dou

4 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 4 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
suffix

Of, near, or pertaining to; adjective suffix appended to various words, often nouns, to make an adjective form. Often added to words of Latin origin, but used with other words also.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin -ārisbor. English -ar Borrowed from Latin -āris (“of, pertaining to”). Distant doublet of -al.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "la:-āris<t:of, pertaining to>",
        "id": "adjectival",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₂el-\nProto-Indo-European *-is\nProto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?\nProto-Italic *-ālis\nLatin -ālis\nLatin -ārisbor.\nEnglish -ar\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"gloss\" : \"of, pertaining to\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"adjectivizing suffix\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*h₂élis\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"grow\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₂el-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-is\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*-ālis\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"-ālis\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"-āris\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-ar\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"adjectival\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"-ar\" id=\"English:_adjectival\">\nBorrowed from Latin -āris (“of, pertaining to”)."
    },
    {
      "name": "dbt",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "-al",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "doublet of -al"
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "la:-āris<t:of, pertaining to>",
        "id": "adjectival",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₂el-\nProto-Indo-European *-is\nProto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.?\nProto-Italic *-ālis\nLatin -ālis\nLatin -ārisbor.\nEnglish -ar\nBorrowed from Latin -āris (“of, pertaining to”)."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*h₂el-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂el-#Proto-Indo-European:_grow"
    ],
    [
      "*-is",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-is"
    ],
    [
      "*-ālis",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/-ālis"
    ],
    [
      "-ālis",
      "-alis#Latin:_adjectivizing_suffix"
    ],
    [
      "-āris",
      "-aris#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "-āris",
      "-aris#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "-al",
      "-al#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "Of, near, or pertaining to; adjective suffix appended to various words, often nouns, to make an adjective form. Often added to words of Latin origin, but used with other words also."
      ],
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
suffix

Ending of some nouns denoting occupations, chiefly inherited from Middle English nouns borrowed from Old French or Medieval Latin.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-os? Proto-Indo-European *-o- Proto-Indo-European *-so- Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂so- Proto-Indo-European *-yós Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂s(i)yós Proto-Italic *-āsijos Proto-Italic *-āsios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Old French -airebor. Middle English -ar, -er, -arie English -ar Inherited from Middle English -ar, -er, -arie, borrowed from Latin -ārius or Old French -aire. Doublet of -ary, -eer, -ier, and -yer.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:<alt:-ar, -er, -arie><ety:bor<la:-ārius<id:agent noun>><fro:-aire>>",
        "id": "Latinate agent noun",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "2"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *-eh₂\nProto-Indo-European *-os?\nProto-Indo-European *-o-\nProto-Indo-European *-so-\nProto-Indo-European *-eh₂so-\nProto-Indo-European *-yós\nProto-Indo-European *-eh₂s(i)yós\nProto-Italic *-āsijos\nProto-Italic *-āsios\nLatin -āriusnom.\nLatin -āriusbor.\nOld French -airebor.\nMiddle English -ar, -er, -arie\nEnglish -ar\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"agent noun\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"nom.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Nominalization of\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"adjective\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"adjective\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*-āsijos\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*-eh₂s(i)yós\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*-eh₂so-\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-eh₂\", \"status\" : \"ambiguous\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"alt\" : \"*-so-\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"id\" : \"athematic\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-os\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"alt\" : \"*-o-\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"children\" : [ ], \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"id\" : \"suffix\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-yós\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*-āsios\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"-ārius\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"nominalization\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"-ārius\", \"lang\" : \"la\" }, { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old French\", \"term\" : \"-aire\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"fro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-ar\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"Latinate agent noun\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"-ar\" id=\"English:_Latinate_agent_noun\">\nInherited from Middle English -ar, -er, -arie, borrowed from Latin -ārius or Old French -aire."
    },
    {
      "name": "dbt",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "-ary",
        "3": "-eer",
        "4": "-ier<id:occupation>",
        "5": "-yer"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of -ary, -eer, -ier, and -yer"
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:<alt:-ar, -er, -arie><ety:bor<la:-ārius<id:agent noun>><fro:-aire>>",
        "id": "Latinate agent noun",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "2"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *-eh₂\nProto-Indo-European *-os?\nProto-Indo-European *-o-\nProto-Indo-European *-so-\nProto-Indo-European *-eh₂so-\nProto-Indo-European *-yós\nProto-Indo-European *-eh₂s(i)yós\nProto-Italic *-āsijos\nProto-Italic *-āsios\nLatin -āriusnom.\nLatin -āriusbor.\nOld French -airebor.\nMiddle English -ar, -er, -arie\nEnglish -ar\nInherited from Middle English -ar, -er, -arie, borrowed from Latin -ārius or Old French -aire."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*-eh₂",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-eh₂"
    ],
    [
      "*-os",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-os#Proto-Indo-European:_athematic"
    ],
    [
      "*-yós",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-yós#Proto-Indo-European:_suffix"
    ],
    [
      "*-āsios",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/-āsios#Proto-Italic:_adjective"
    ],
    [
      "-ārius",
      "-arius#Latin:_adjective"
    ],
    [
      "-ārius",
      "-arius#Latin:_agent_noun"
    ],
    [
      "-aire",
      "-aire#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "-ārius",
      "-arius#Latin:_agent_noun"
    ],
    [
      "-aire",
      "-aire#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "-ary",
      "-ary#English"
    ],
    [
      "-eer",
      "-eer#English"
    ],
    [
      "-ier",
      "-ier#English:_occupation"
    ],
    [
      "-yer",
      "-yer#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "Ending of some nouns denoting occupations, chiefly inherited from Middle English nouns borrowed from Old French or Medieval Latin."
      ],
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        "morpheme"
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 216026
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
suffix

Ending of some agent nouns inherited from Middle English.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English -ar, -are, variant of Middle English -ere, from Old English -ere. More at -er.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mention-arenm
  • Cognate mention-ereenm
  • Inherited-form mention-ereang
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "id": "native agent noun"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "-ar"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English -ar"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "-ere"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English -ere"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "-ere"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English -ere"
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "id": "native agent noun"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "-ar",
      "-ar#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "-are",
      "-are#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "-ere",
      "-ere#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "-ere",
      "-ere#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "-er",
      "-er#English"
    ]
  ],
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        "Ending of some agent nouns inherited from Middle English."
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Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗
suffix

Used to form names of star types.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Clipping of star or stellar; modelled after the earlier coinages pulsar and quasar.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "id": "star suffix"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "clipping",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "star"
      },
      "expansion": "Clipping of star"
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "id": "star suffix"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "star",
      "star#English"
    ],
    [
      "stellar",
      "stellar#English"
    ],
    [
      "pulsar",
      "pulsar#English"
    ],
    [
      "quasar",
      "quasar#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
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  "lexical": [
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        "Used to form names of star types."
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for -ar →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-LWFy