I. ə(r), after some vowels (ə)r in R speech, after ŋ gə(r) ( but after ŋ -er II is ə(r)) adjective suffix or adverb suffix
Etymology: Middle English -er, -ere, -re, from Old English -ra (in adjectives), -or (in adverbs); akin to comparative suffixes Old High German -iro, -ōro (in adjectives), -ōr (in adverbs), Old Norse -ri, -ari (in adjectives), -r, -ar (in adverbs), Gothic -iza, -oza (in adjectives), -is, -os (in adverbs), Latin -ior (in adjectives), Greek -iōn (in adjectives), Sanskrit -īyas (in adjectives)
— used to form the comparative degree of adjectives and adverbs of one syllable
hott er
dri er
lat er
soon er
cold er
and of certain adjectives and adverbs of two syllables
abl er
complet er
gentli er
happi er
yellow er
and sometimes of longer ones; regularly accompanied by coalescence with final e of the base word, change of final postconsonantal y of the base word to i, or doubling of the final consonant of the base word immediately after a short stressed vowel — compare more II
II. ə(r) — compare -er I noun suffix
also -ier ēə(r), yə(r) ; or -yer yə(r)
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English -er, -ere, from Old English -ere; akin to Dutch & German -er, Old High German -āri, Old Norse -ari, Gothic -areis; all from a prehistoric Germanic suffix borrowed from Latin -arius 1 -ary; in sense 1, partly from Middle English -er, -ier, -ere, -iere, from Anglo-French -er, -ere & Old French -ier, -iere, from Latin -arius, -aria, -arium 1 -ary; in sense 2, partly from Middle English -er, -ere, from Middle French -ere, from Latin -ator (suffix denoting an agent) — more at -ary , -or
1.
a. : person occupationally connected with
hatt er
jail er
furr ier
hos ier
law yer
b. : person or thing belonging to, related to, or associated with
head er
old-tim er
high school er
c. : native of : resident of : one coming from
cottag er
London er
Maryland er
New York er
d. : one that has
three-deck er
the baby is a ten-pound er
e. : one that produces or yields
pork er
veal er
wool er
2.
a. : one that does or performs (a specified action)
mak er
play er
report er
transform er
range find er
— sometimes added to both elements of a compound
build er -upp er
try er -out er
b. : one that is a suitable object of (a specified action)
broil er
fry er
3. : one that is
foreign er
gon er
western er
down-and-out er
— -yer in a small number of words after w, -ier in a small number of words after other letters, otherwise -er; -er and -ier regularly accompanied by doubling of the final consonant of the base word immediately after a short stressed vowel, -ier regularly accompanied by omission of final e of the base word, -er regularly accompanied by coalescence with final e of the base word and sometimes accompanied by change of final postconsonantal y of the base word to i
fli er
fly er