-eur

¹

1. a suffix occurring in loanwords from French, usually agent nouns formed from verbs ( entrepreneur; voyeur ), less commonly adjectives ( agent provocateur ).

Eur.

²

abbreviation for

1. Europe.
2. European.

eur-

combining_form

1. a variant of euro-

Word History and Origins

Origin of -eur¹

< French; Old French -o ( u ) r < Latin -ōr- -or ² and -eo ( u ) r < Latin -ātōr- -ator; -tor

Example Sentences

The results represent the successful completion of a project funded by the European Research Council with a Consolidator Grant of EUR 2.4 million.

From Science Daily

Germany for example, has pledged over EUR 40 billion to support those affected by coal phase-out.

From Science Daily

A new study from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, shows that these emissions caused pollution corresponding to socio-economic costs of more than EUR 680 million between 2014 and 2022.

From Science Daily

According to the calculations, the majority of the shipping companies that invested in scrubbers have already reached break even, and the total surplus by the end of 2022 for all of the 3,800 vessels, was EUR 4.7 billion.

From Science Daily

As for the costs associated with the degradation of marine ecosystems, the study shows that between the years 2014 and 2022, scrubber water discharges have polluted at a cost of over EUR 680 million in the Baltic Sea area.

From Science Daily

Words That Use -Eur

What does -eur mean?

The form -eur is a suffix that marks an agent noun or, occasionally, an adjective in loanwords from French. Agent nouns are nouns that indicate a person who does an action. Broadly speaking, then, -eur means “doer.” The suffix -eur is relatively common in both everyday and technical terms.

The suffix -eur ultimately comes from the Latin -or or -ator, which was used to indicate agent nouns.

An equivalent of -eur in words from English is the suffix -er, as in singer (someone who sings).

What are variants of -eur?

When agent nouns ending in -eur are used to refer to a feminine-gendered element, -eur becomes -euse, as in chanteuse (a female singer). Although -eur is a masculine-gendered ending for agent nouns, it is often (though not always) preferred over -euse as the default in English, regardless of the subject’s gender.

Want to know more? Read our Words That Use -euse article.

Examples of -eur

One example of a word you may be familiar with that features the suffix -eur is entrepreneur, “a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk.”

The first part of the word, entrepren-, comes from the French entreprendre, meaning “to undertake,” like in the related word enterprise. Because the suffix -eur means “doer”, entrepreneur roughly translates to “someone who undertakes (some venture).”

What are some words that use the suffix -eur?

The following words are all French loanwords and therefore use the equivalent form of -eur in French.

• chauffeur
• connoisseur
• danseur
• masseur
• provocateur
• rapporteur

What are some other forms that -eur may be commonly confused with?

• -eum
• -ure

Not every word that ends with the exact letters -eur uses the suffix -eur to indicate a “doer.” Non-agent nouns with similar endings include grandeur and monseigneur. Learn why monseigneur means “my lord” at our entry for the word.

Break it down!

A connoisseur is a kind of expert judge or discerning enthusiast, especially in fine arts of matters of taste. Given that the connoiss- part of the word comes from the French verb for “to know,” what is a literal translation of connoisseur?