n.
Function: noun suffix
Etymology: Middle English -isme, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French, partly from Latin -isma (fr. Gk) & partly from Latin -ismus, from Greek -ismos; Greek -isma & -ismos, from verbs in -izein -ize
1 a : act : practice : process <critic ism > <plagiar ism > b : manner of action or behavior characteristic of a (specified) person or thing <animal ism > c : prejudice or discrimination on the basis of a (specified) attribute <rac ism > <sex ism >
2 a : state : condition : property <barbarian ism > b : abnormal state or condition resulting from excess of a (specified) thing <alcohol ism > or marked by resemblance to (such) a person or thing <giant ism >
3 a : doctrine : theory : religion <Buddh ism > b : adherence to a system or a class of principles <stoic ism >
4 : characteristic or peculiar feature or trait <colloquial ism >