Etymology: < ancient Greek -ώτης, indicating nativity. Compare -ite suffix1.English nouns in -ot and -ote denoting the inhabitants of places and derived directly from Greek nouns in -ώτης are found from the late 16th cent.: probably the earliest is Cypriot n. (see also epirot n., Italiot n.). Earlier still are loans (containing a somewhat extended sense of the suffix) from French words in -ote or classical (or post-classical) Latin words in -ōta (or -ota ), which are ultimately from Greek words in -ώτης , such as idiot n. and adj., patriot n. Formations in English are found from the 17th cent. (apparently first in Maniote n.), although most formations are from the 19th cent. (e.g. Massaliot n. and adj., Naxiote n. and adj.). Most English formations are, however, still from Greek or Latin place names in instances where no corresponding adjective in -ώτης (or ōta , ota ) is attested (an exception is Sciote adj.).
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).