-er

¹

1. a suffix used in forming nouns designating persons from the object of their occupation or labor ( hatter; tiler; tinner; moonshiner ), or from their place of origin or abode ( Icelander; southerner; villager ), or designating either persons or things from some special characteristic or circumstance ( six-footer; three-master; teetotaler; fiver; tenner ).
2. a suffix serving as the regular English formative of agent nouns, being attached to verbs of any origin ( bearer; creeper; employer; harvester; teacher; theorizer ).

E.R.

²

abbreviation for

1. King Edward.

-er

³

1. a noun suffix occurring in loanwords from French in the Middle English period, most often names of occupations ( archer; butcher; butler; carpenter; grocer; mariner; officer ), but also other nouns ( corner; danger; primer ). Some historical instances of this suffix, as in banker or gardener, where the base is a recognizable modern English word, are now indistinguishable from denominal formations with -er1, as miller or potter.

E.R.

⁴

abbreviation for

1. Queen Elizabeth.

-er

⁵

1. a termination of nouns denoting action or process: dinner; rejoinder; remainder; trover .

E.R.

⁶

abbreviation for

1. East Riding (Yorkshire).
2. East River (New York City).
3. emergency room.

-er

⁷

1. a suffix regularly used in forming the comparative degree of adjectives: harder; smaller .

-er

⁸

1. a suffix regularly used in forming the comparative degree of adverbs: faster .

-er

⁹

1. a formal element appearing in verbs having frequentative meaning: flicker; flutter; shiver; shudder .

-er

¹⁰

1. a suffix that creates informal or jocular mutations of more neutral words, which are typically clipped to a single syllable if polysyllabic, before application of the suffix, and which sometimes undergo other phonetic alterations: bed-sitter; footer; fresher; rugger . Most words formed thus have been limited to English public-school and university slang; few, if any, have become current in North America, with the exception of soccer, which has also lost its earlier informal character.

er

¹¹

[ uh, er ]

interjection

1. (used to express or represent a pause, hesitation, uncertainty, etc.)

Er

¹²

Symbol, Chemistry.

1. erbium.

ER

¹³

abbreviation for

1. Baseball. earned run ( def ).
2. efficiency report.
3. emergency room ( def ).

-er

¹

suffix

1. forming the comparative degree of adjectives ( deeper, freer, sunnier, etc) and adverbs ( faster, slower, etc)

er

²

the internet domain name for

1. Eritrea

ER

³

abbreviation for

1. (in the US) Emergency Room (in hospitals)
2. Elizabeth Regina
3. Eduardus Rex

er

⁴

/ ə; ɜː /

interjection

1. a sound made when hesitating in speech

Er

⁵

the chemical symbol for

1. erbium

-er

⁶

suffix forming nouns

1. a person or thing that performs a specified action

   decanter

   reader

   lighter

2. a person engaged in a profession, occupation, etc

   bootlegger

   baker

   writer

3. a native or inhabitant of

   Londoner

   villager

   islander

4. a person or thing having a certain characteristic

   fiver

   newcomer

   double-decker

Word History and Origins

Origin of -er¹

Middle English -er(e), a coalescence of Old English -ere agentive suffix (cognate with Old High German -āri, Gothic -areis, from unattested Germanic -arjaz, from unattested Slavic -arĭ, from Latin -ārius ) and Old English -ware suffix forming nouns of ethnic or residential origin (e.g., Rōmware “Romans”), cognate with Old High German -āri, from unattested Germanic -warioz “people”; -ary

Origin of -er²

From New Latin Edwardus Rex

Origin of -er³

Middle English < Anglo-French -er, equivalent to Old French -er, -ier < Latin -ārius, -ārium. -ary, -eer, -ier ²

Origin of -er⁴

From New Latin Elizabeth Regina

Origin of -er⁵

< French, originally infinitive suffix -er, -re

Origin of -er⁶

Middle English -er ( e ), -re, Old English -ra, -re; cognate with German -er

Origin of -er⁷

Middle English -er ( e ), -re, Old English -or; cognate with Old High German -or, German -er

Origin of -er⁸

Middle English; Old English -r-; cognate with German - ( e ) r-

Origin of -er⁹

Probably modeled on nonagentive uses of -er ¹; said to have first become current in University College, Oxford, 1875–80

Word History and Origins

Origin of -er¹

Old English -rd, -re (adj), -or (adv)

Origin of -er²

Latin: Queen Elizabeth

Origin of -er³

Old English -ere; related to German -er, Latin -ārius

Example Sentences

“Hong Kong has become much more inclusive for mainlanders,” said Zheng Huiwen, the manager at one of the Hong Kong branches of Tai Er Pickled Fish, a Sichuan fish restaurant from mainland China.

From New York Times

“Big ones. They are the daughters of ’Er Majesty, Queen Victoria, Queen of England and Empress of India.”

From Literature

Er, try telling that to some supporters as perspective went out the window and they picked apart where it all went wrong.

From BBC

“With other kids. Er, with whatnots? Because when I was running, I saw something—someone?—no, something. Just ahead of me. I saw Ivy.”

From Literature

"Er—we have to go," Nancy said quickly.

From Literature

Related Words

• cry
• exclamation
• expletive
• insertion
• interpolation
• interposition
• shout