-ity - Wiktionary

See also: ity and -itý

English

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Pronunciation

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• (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /əti/, /ɪti/; but see the usage notes below
• (General American, Canada) IPA(key): /əti/, [əɾi], [ɾi], /ɪti/, [ɪɾi]

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA(key): /əti/, [əɾi]

Etymology 1

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From Middle English -ite, -itee, from Old French -ite, -ete, -eteit (“-ity”), from Latin -itātem, from -itās, from Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts (suffix). Cognate with Gothic -𐌹𐌸𐌰 (-iþa, “-th”), Old High German -ida (“-th”), Old English -þo, -þu, -þ (“-th”). More at -th. By surface analysis, -i- (“connecting vowel”) +‎ -ty.

Alternative forms

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• -ty
• ⠰⠽

Suffix

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-ity

1. Used to form an uncountable noun from an adjective; especially, to form the noun referring to the state, property, or quality of conforming to the adjective's description. ‎absurd + ‎-ity → ‎absurdity (“the quality of being absurd or inconsistent with obvious truth, reason, or sound judgment”) ‎anonym(ous) + ‎-ity → ‎anonymity (“the quality or state of being anonymous”) ‎modern + ‎-ity → ‎modernity (“the quality of being modern or contemporary”) ‎precar(ious) + ‎-ity → ‎precarity (“a condition of existence without predictability or security, affecting material or psychological welfare”)
2. Used to form a countable noun from an adjective, referring to someone or something that conforms to the adjective's description. ‎absurd + ‎-ity → ‎[an] absurdity (“that which is absurd; an absurd action; a logical contradiction”) ‎anonym(ous) + ‎-ity → ‎[an] anonymity (“that which is anonymous”) ‎insipid + ‎-ity → ‎[an] insipidity (“something that is insipid; an insipid utterance, sight, object, etc.”) ‎odd + ‎-ity → ‎[an] oddity (“an odd or strange thing or opinion; a strange person; an oddball”)
3. Used to form other nouns, especially abstract nouns.

Usage notes

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• Many nouns formed with -ity are uncountable; those that are countable form their plurals in -ities.
• Final -e is dropped before adding this suffix.
• Final -ble changes to -bil before this suffix due to its Latin origin; compare, for example, noble and nobility.
• Pronunciation:
  • The addition of -ity to an adjective results in a shift of stress to the antepenultimate syllable; that is, words in -ity are stressed on the last syllable before the -ity, even in cases where this syllable is part of another suffix (as in words in -ability and -icity). Further, this shift typically results in a change in vowel quality; compare, for example, real and reality, where the sound [æ] in the second word is not present in the first. These vowel quality changes are usually consistent with the spelling of both forms — note that the letter <a> in the second word is present in the first — but sometimes spelling changes are seen, as with the suffix -ous, which when it combines with -ity produces the suffix -osity.
  • While a final -c is pronounced [k], before -ity it becomes [s]; compare, for example, elastic and elasticity.

Derived terms

[edit] English terms suffixed with -ity abandonability aberrationality ability ablativity abnormality abnormity aboriginality Aboriginality abortivity abrosexuality absentativity absentiality absolutivity absorbativity absorptivity abstractivity abstrusity absurdity abusivity accentuality acceptivity accessibility accidentality accomplicity accountability accretivity accumulativity accusativity achirality achromaticity achronality achronicity acicularity acidity acidophilicity acontextuality acoustoelasticity acridity actionability actionality activatability activity actuality acyclicality acyclicity acylindricity adaptability adaptivity addibility addictivity additionality additivity addressivity adequality adherability adhesivity adiabaticity adicity adipogenicity adiposity adjectivality adjectivity adjunctivity admissibility adnominality adorability adsorbability adultivity aduncity adverbiality adversariality adversativity advisability aeriality aerodynamicity aestheticality aestheticity aeviternity affability affectivity affectuality affinity affirmativity Africanity Afrocentricity agentivity agglutinativity aggregability aggressivity agility agranularity alcoholicity aldermanity algebraicity algidity alienity aliorelativity alkalinity allativity allegoricality allelicity allergenicity allocability alloimmunity allusivity alogicality alphabeticality alphabeticity alterhumanity alternativity alveolarity Amazighity ambidexterity ambiguity ambiphilicity ambipolarity ambisexuality ambitransitivity Americanity Americentricity Americocentricity amidicity amorphicity amortality amphipathicity amphiphilicity amphiproticity amphitheatricality amyloidity anaerobicity anality analysability analyticality analyticity analyzability anaphoricity anatomicity ancestrality androgenicity androgynity androsexuality anecdotality -aneity angelicality angiocentricity angularity anharmonicity animality anionicity anisotropicity annuality annularity annullity anonymity anteriority anteroposteriority anthropocentricity anthropogenicity anticipability anticipatability antigenicity antimutagenicity antineoplasticity antipodicity antiquity antisociality antitheticality anxiogenicity aphoristicity apodicticity apoliticality apostolicity appealability appreciability aqueity aquilinity arachnidity araciality arationality arbitrability arboreality arcanity archaicity aregionality argumentality argumentativity arhythmicality aridity arithmeticity arity aromanticity aromaticity arrhythmicity arthritogenicity artifactuality artificiality ascertainability asemanticity asexuality asininity

Related terms

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• -ability, -ibility

Translations

[edit] Used to form nouns from adjectives.

Afrikaans: -iteit Albanian: -itet m Armenian: -ություն (-utʻyun) Aromanian: -ãtati, -tati Asturian: -idá f, -dá f Bashkir: -лыҡ (-lıq), -лек (-lek), -лоҡ (-loq), -лөк (-lök) Basque: -itate Belarusian: -ітэ́т m (-itét) Catalan: -itat (ca) f, -tat (ca) f Chinese: Mandarin: 性 (zh) (xìng) Czech: -ita f Danish: -itet c, -hed (da) c Dutch: -heid (nl), -iteit (nl) f Estonian: -iteet Finnish: -uus (fi), -iteetti French: -ité (fr) f, -té (fr) f Friulian: -itât, -tât Galician: -dade (gl) f, -idade (gl) f German: -ität (de) f Greek: -ότητα (el) f (-ótita) Hebrew: ־וּת f (-ut) Hungarian: -itás (hu) Indonesian: -itas (id) Interlingua: -itate (ia) Italian: -ità f Japanese: 性 (ja) (sei) Korean: 성(性) (ko) (seong) Kurdish: Northern Kurdish: -tî (ku) f, -îtî (ku) f, -ayetî (ku) f Latin: -itas f Latvian: -itāte Malay: -iti (ms), -itet, -itas, ke--an Maltese: -ità f Middle English: -te, -ite Norwegian: Bokmål: -itet (no) Nynorsk: -itet Occitan: -itat f Old English: -þu, -þ Polish: -ość (pl) Portuguese: -idade (pt) f, -dade (pt) f Romanian: -itate (ro) f, -tate (ro) f, -ătate (ro) f, -eață f, -ețe f, -ie (ro) f Russian: -ность f (-nostʹ), -ите́т (ru) m (-itét), -ство n (-stvo) Sicilian: -ità f, -itati f Slovak: -ita f Slovene: -nost f Spanish: -idad (es) f, -edad (es) f, -dad (es) f Swahili: u- Swedish: -het (sv) c, -itet (sv) Tagalog: -idad Tamil: -மை (-mai) Turkish: -lük (tr), -luk (tr), -lık (tr), -lik (tr), -ite Ukrainian: -іте́т m (-itét) Yiddish: ־יטעט (-itet)

See also

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• -ness, -hood, -ship, -itas, -itude, -th, -ia, -itia, -ability, -ibility, -icity, -osity, -ous, -ose

Etymology 2

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Variant of -ety, likely an alteration of -edy, equivalent to -ed +‎ -y.

Suffix

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-ity

1. Alternative form of -ety. ‎hip + ‎-ity → ‎hippity, hippity-hop

Polish

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Etymology

[edit] Etymology treeProto-Indo-European *-tósProto-Balto-Slavic *-tasProto-Slavic *-tъder.Proto-Slavic *-itъPolish -ity

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *-itъ.

Pronunciation

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• IPA(key): /ˈi.tɘ/
• Rhymes: -itɘ
• Syllabification: -i‧ty

Suffix

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-ity m

1. forms masculine adjectives ‎pracować + ‎-ity → ‎pracowity

Declension

[edit] Declension of -ity (hard)

singular					plural
masculine animate	masculine inanimate	feminine	neuter	virile (= masculine personal)	non-virile
nominative/vocative	-ity		-ita	-ite	-ici	-ite
genitive	-itego		-itej	-itego	-itych
dative	-itemu		-itej	-itemu	-itym
accusative	-itego	-ity	-itą	-ite	-itych	-ite
instrumental	-itym		-itą	-itym	-itymi
locative	-itym		-itej	-itym	-itych

Derived terms

[edit] Polish terms suffixed with -ity chorowity kraijty mianowity -owity pieczołowity pospolity pracowity przyzwoity rozmaity sierdzity słabowity smakowity sowity wodnity znakomity znamienity

Further reading

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• -ity in Polish dictionaries at PWN