I. adjective suffix or adverb suffix
Etymology: Middle English -er, -ere, -re, from Old English -ra (in adjectives), -or (in adverbs); akin to Old High German -iro, adjective comparative suffix, Latin -ior, Greek -iōn
— used to form the comparative degree of adjectives and adverbs of one syllable
hott er
dri er
and of some adjectives and adverbs of two or more syllables
complet er
beautifull er
II. noun suffix
also -ier or -yer
Etymology: Middle English -er, -ere, -ier, -iere; partly from Old English -ere (from Latin -arius ); partly from Old French -ier, -iere, from Latin -arius, -aria, -arium -ary; partly from Anglo-French -ere, from Latin -ator -or — more at -ary , -or
1.
a. : person occupationally connected with
furr ier
law yer
b. : person or thing belonging to or associated with
head er
old-tim er
c. : native of : resident of
cottag er
New York er
d. : one that has
three-deck er
e. : one that produces or yields
pork er
2.
a. : one that does or performs (a specified action)
batt er
— sometimes added to both elements of a compound
build er -upp er
b. : one that is a suitable object of (a specified action)
broil er
3. : one that is
foreign er
— in all senses -yer in a few words after w, -ier in a few other words, otherwise -er