-k

A suffix found in nouns, usually with a diminutive effect.

Suffix idiomatic, morpheme

  1. A suffix found in nouns, usually with a diminutive effect.
    • chine > chink; stale > stalk

Origin

From Middle English -ke, from Old English -(u)c and -ca (diminutive suffix). More at -ock.

Suffix idiomatic, morpheme

  1. A suffix found in verbs of Middle English, Old English, usually with an intensive or frequentative effect.
    • tale, talk; steal, stalk; mire, mirk; hear, hark; fare, firk; peer, perk; yare, yark; gaw, gawk

Origin

From Middle English -ken, -kien, from Old English -cian, from Proto-West Germanic *-ukōn, *-ikōn, from Proto-Germanic *-ukōną, *-ikōną. Cognate with West Frisian -kje, German -chen, Danish -ke, Swedish -ka, Faroese -ka. Perhaps related to Old English diminutive suffix -uc, -oc. More at -ock.