| 释义 |
† -waresuffixOrigin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Old High German -wari (plural), Old Icelandic -veri (singular; Icelandic -verji ), -verjar (plural), Norwegian -vær (singular) < the same Germanic base as ware n.2, probably with original sense ‘defender (of a particular place) by virtue of occupation’. Compare also classical Latin -varii in various ethnonyms denoting Germanic tribes, as Amsivarii, Chattuarii, etc.The suffix is rare in Old High German, where it has frequently fallen together with -āri -er suffix1 (compare burgāri citizen, Rōmāri , Rōmāra Romans); however, it is occasionally attested, compare Ziuwari inhabitants of Augsburg, lit. ‘people of the god Tiw’ (the same text glosses Augsburg as Ciesburg ). The suffix remains productive in Scandinavian, compare Old Icelandic, Icelandic Oddaverjar inhabitants of Oddi (in Iceland), Víkverjar inhabitants of Viken (in Norway), Rómverjar Romans, Þjóðverjar Germans, Ungverji Hungarian (19th cent.; an alteration of earlier Ungari ), Norwegian vikvær inhabitant of Viken (in Norway), lomvær inhabitant of Lom (in Norway), etc., and also shows some extension of sense, compare Old Icelandic, Icelandic skipverjar crew of a ship. A productive suffix in Old English, used for the names of specific peoples both within England (as Cantware inhabitants of Kent, Wihtware inhabitants of the Isle of Wight) and abroad (as Parðware Parthians, Persware Persians, Rōmware Romeware n.), and also, more generally, for the names of inhabitants or occupants of a place, as (burgware citizens, eorðware earthware n.1, hellware hell ware n. at hell n. and int. Compounds 2, heofonware heavenware n.). The suffix ceases to be productive in Middle English, and survives into early modern English only in the fossilized form endware n. In Old English originally a strong feminine (ō-stem) -waru (plural -wara), but in (more common) plural use frequently attracted to the i-stem declension usual for ethnonyms (-ware) or to the very common a-stem or n-stem declensions (respectively, -waras and -waran); see A. Campbell Old Eng. Gram. (1959) §610.7. Although usually in the plural in Old English, singular forms (in collective sense) are also attested. Middle English -ware is attested with plural and (occasionally) singular agreement. This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online December 2020). <  suffix |