English word origin

Etymology of -ee

From Middle English -ee, -ē, from Anglo-Norman and Old French -ee, French -é, -ée, endings forming past participle of verbs ending in -er. Doublet of -ate. More distantly related to inherited English -ed.

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

Added to transitive verbs to form words meaning a person or thing that is the object of that verb (i.e., to whom or to which an action is done). · Added to intransitive verbs to form words meaning a person or thing that is the subject of that verb (that is, who or that does an action). · Used to form words meaning a person who is the other party to a contract or other transaction involving a person described by the corresponding word ending in -or. · Used to form words meaning a person who has undergone a particular medical procedure.

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

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mention-eeenm
Derivation mention-eefro
Derivation mention-éfr
Doublet mention-ateen
Cognate mention-eden

This page abbreviates 1 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

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": "object of action"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "-ee"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English -ee"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "xno",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Anglo-Norman"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "-ee"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French -ee"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "-é"
      },
      "expansion": "French -é"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "-ate"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of -ate"
    },
    {
      "name": "cognate",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "-ed"
      },
      "expansion": "English -ed"
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "id": "object of action"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "-ee",
      "-ee#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "-ē",
      "-e#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "-ee",
      "-ee#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "-é",
      "-é#French"
    ],
    [
      "-ée",
      "-ée#French"
    ],
    [
      "-er",
      "-er#French"
    ],
    [
      "-ate",
      "-ate#English"
    ],
    [
      "-ed",
      "-ed#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "Added to transitive verbs to form words meaning a person or thing that is the object of that verb (i.e., to whom or to which an action is done).",
        "Added to intransitive verbs to form words meaning a person or thing that is the subject of that verb (that is, who or that does an action).",
        "Used to form words meaning a person who is the other party to a contract or other transaction involving a person described by the corresponding word ending in -or.",
        "Used to form words meaning a person who has undergone a particular medical procedure."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme",
        "uncommon"
      ],
      "recordId": "2b720fb7c8e64688da1fc2b72f0eadb6c7285148d716b7ae33a0e029325617f7",
      "rawRecordSha256": "9239528fc4b6aa38a96ef3c5b96f27fe1630a5676b1a462c792fd44fd05dcd94",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 187165
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

suffix

Used to form diminutives.

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

Perhaps a variation on -ie and -y

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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  "templates": [
    {
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "id": "diminutive"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "id": "diminutive"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "-ie",
      "-ie#English"
    ],
    [
      "-y",
      "-y#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "Used to form diminutives."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ],
      "recordId": "0688b76622c5bd811ba608839160c9bf4e7c6f91fe3806074310f402004083c8",
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗

suffix

Used in mimicking English as stereotypically spoken by the Chinese.

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

Most likely derived from the rudimentary English used by Chinese immigrants to America during the 17th to 19th centuries. The ee (/iː/) sound would be added by those speakers to “cushion” the final consonants of English words so as to make them sound more euphonic and be easier to speak, which is naturally done also by native speakers of highly syllabic languages (such as Italian, Japanese and Brazilian Portuguese). Phenomenon explanation Vowels following consonants is the default (or natural) state of human speech, with Modern English being an outlier at that. Compare child-directed words—such as Daddy, blankie, doggy and horsy—which end with the /iː/ vowel too and arise naturally from children's rudimentary, developing pronunciations of the corresponding consonant-final words (Dad, hors(e) etc.), following the same principle described above.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "wp",
      "args": {
        "1": "Chinese Pidgin English"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "id": "derogatory"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "lg",
      "args": {
        "1": "Epenthesis",
        "2": "added"
      },
      "expansion": "added"
    },
    {
      "name": "col-top",
      "args": {
        "1": "1",
        "2": "Phenomenon explanation"
      },
      "expansion": "Phenomenon explanation"
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "id": "derogatory"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "euphonic",
      "euphonic"
    ],
    [
      "child-directed",
      "child-directed speech"
    ],
    [
      "blankie",
      "blankie#English"
    ],
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      "doggy",
      "doggy#English"
    ],
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      "horsy",
      "horsy#Noun"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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      "pos": "suffix",
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      ],
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      ],
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Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗

suffix

Alternative form of -y (infinitive suffix).

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

No narrative was extracted for this section. Available source templates and references appear below; no ancestor chain has been invented to fill the gap.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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        "1": "en",
        "id": "infinitival"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
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      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "id": "infinitival"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    }
  ],
  "links": [],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of -y (infinitive suffix)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative",
        "morpheme"
      ],
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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 -ee →

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-LWVl