-ee

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ee"

English

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-tós

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos

Proto-Italic *-ātos

Latin -ātus

Old French -ébor.

Middle English -ee

English -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.

Suffix

-ee (noun-forming suffix, plural -ees)

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).
Synonym: -ed

Antonym: -er

‎examine + ‎-ee → ‎examinee

‎interview + ‎-ee → ‎interviewee

‎train + ‎-ee → ‎trainee

‎employ + ‎-ee → ‎employee
(less common) 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).
‎absent + ‎-ee → ‎absentee

‎respond + ‎-ee → ‎respondee

‎stand + ‎-ee → ‎standee

‎post + ‎-ee → ‎postee
(law) 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.
Antonym: -or

‎assign + ‎-ee → ‎assignee

‎legate + ‎-ee → ‎legatee

‎mortgage + ‎-ee → ‎mortgagee
(medicine) Used to form words meaning a person who has undergone a particular medical procedure.
‎laryngectomy + ‎-ee → ‎laryngectomee
Irregularly added to nouns to mean a person somehow associated with the object denoted by the noun.
‎barge + ‎-ee → ‎bargee

‎tender + ‎-ee → ‎tenderee

‎venereal + ‎-ee → ‎venerealee

Derived terms

English terms suffixed with -ee

Translations

The translation tables below are a guide only. See individual words formed using this suffix for more precise translations.

forming words meaning a person to whom or a thing to which an action is done

Albanian: -të, -atë
Esperanto: -ato (eo)
Finnish: -tu
French: -é (fr) m, -ée (fr) f
German: ge- (de) (prefix) + -er (de) m, -e (de) f, -es (de) n, -en (de) pl (strong), -e (de) (weak)
Ido: -ato, -ario
Irish: -aí m
Italian: -ato (it) m, -ata f
Japanese: 被 (ja) (hi-) (prefix)
Spanish: -ado (es) m, -ada (es) f
Welsh: -ai

forming words meaning a person who or a thing that does an action, especially where a passive sense of the verb is implied

French: -eur (fr) m, -euse (fr) f
Irish: -aí m
Italian: -tore m, -trice f

law: forming words meaning a person who is the other party to a contract

Irish: -aí m

medicine: forming words meaning a person who has undergone a particular medical procedure

irregularly added to nouns to mean a person somehow associated with the object denoted by the noun

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Slovak: ^{(please verify)} -ec

Etymology 2

Perhaps a variation on -ie and -y^[1]

Suffix

-ee

Used to form diminutives.
Synonyms: (suffixes) -cule, -el, -et, -ette, -icle, -ie, -kin, -le, -let, -ling, -ole, -ule, -y, (prefixes) mini-, micro-, nano-

‎boot + ‎-ee → ‎bootee

‎goat + ‎-ee → ‎goatee

‎settle + ‎-ee → ‎settee

Translations

The translation table below is a guide only. See individual words formed using this suffix for more precise translations.

used to form diminutives

Hungarian: -cska (hu)/-cske (hu)
Italian: -etto, -ino (it)

Etymology 3

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.

Suffix

-ee

(offensive, derogatory) Used in mimicking English as stereotypically spoken by the Chinese.
- 1897, The Outlook, volume 56, page 1044:
  "No stealee. You no thinkee? Chinaman no thinkee stealee!" he said, earnestly.
- 1938, Minnesota Journal of Education, volume 19, page 52:
  A Chinaman had a toothache, and phoned a dentist for an appointment. Doctor: "Two-thirty all right?" Chinaman: "Yes, tooth hurtee, all light. What time I come?"

Related terms

no tickee, no washee

Etymology 4

Suffix

-ee

Alternative form of -y (infinitive suffix).

References

^ T.F. Hoad, Concise Dictionary of English Etymology, →ISBN; headword -ee

Finnish

Etymology

See -ea. With vowel assimilation.

Suffix

-ee (colloquial or dialectal)

alternative form of -ea

Usage notes

Predominant type in the Tavastian and Savonian dialects. Well preserved even in urban speech.
Used in the same way as the standard -ea: e.g. korkee "high", standard korkea.
Especially in the Savonian dialects, shorter words with the suffix are subject to consonant gemination: pimeä > pimmee.

Latin

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [e.ɛ]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [e.e]

Suffix

-ee

vocative masculine singular of -eus

Manx

Etymology

From Old Irish -igidir (whence also Irish -igh and Scottish Gaelic -ich), originally a denominative verb formative, from Proto-Celtic *-sagyetor; compare Welsh -hau.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /i/

Suffix

-ee

Suffix used to form verbs from nouns.

Usage notes

Affixed verbs ending in -ee form a sizeable number of verbs. Some monosyllabic verbs in Manx (which historically are not from affixes), however, are not a result of affixation, such as niee "to wash".

Derived terms

Manx terms suffixed with -ee

Middle French

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin -āta.

Suffix

-ee f (plural -ees)

forms a feminine noun indicating a quantity or content measured by what the base noun denotes, often translatable as -ful in English.

Derived terms

Middle French terms suffixed with -ee (measure)

cuilleree

Descendants

French: -ée f

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Latin -ēum n, from Ancient Greek -εῖον n (-eîon), originating in the substantivized neuter of -εῖος (-eîos, adjective suffix).

Suffix

-ee m (plural -ees)

-eum (Noun-forming suffix found in words of Greek origin meaning “place or building associated with a specific purpose or person” (indicated by the root word))
‎prytane + ‎-ee → ‎prytanee

Derived terms

Middle French terms suffixed with -ee (-eum)

Colossee

Mausolee

prytanee

Descendants

French: -ée m

Etymology 3

Learned borrowing from Latin -eus.

Suffix

-ee m

ending found in male names from Greek
Neree ― Nereus

Persee ― Perseus

Derived terms

Category Middle French terms suffixed with -ee (-eus) not found

Descendants

French: -ée m

Navajo

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /-èː/

Suffix

-ee

adverbializing enclitic
hashkéhee ― in a mean or angry way

tąądee ― slowly, leisurely, gradually, little by little

tʼáá ádíláahee ― in an annoying manner

tʼáá łaʼ bizhiʼee ― united, all standing together

tʼáá naʼńleʼee ― sloppily, carelessly, roughly

tʼáadoo yistiʼee ― freely, boldly, without hesitation

tʼáá nanitʼinee ― secretly, covertly

tsʼísee kehgo ― physically, carnally