English Explanatory Dictionary

-our

English dictionary entry

Meanings

suffix
  1. Used to form abstract nouns of state, quality, or action from Latin or French roots.

Word forms

-our -or

Etymology

From Middle English -our, from Anglo-Norman -our, -ur, and Old French -or (modern -eur), from the Latin accusative suffix -ōrem, from -or. The spelling with u reflects the Anglo‐Norman raising of the Old French close‐mid vowel /o/ (which developed from the Latin long vowel /oː/) to a high‐back vowel /u/. In the United States, the spelling -or—which had coexisted as a variant since Middle English—was standardized by Noah Webster to match the original Latin form.

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