This list includes 36 Suffixes that start with P, from “-parous” to “-pterous”. These endings include productive modern forms, classical borrowings, and specialized scientific terms. You can use them to form adjectives, nouns, or technical descriptors.
Suffixes that start with P are word endings added to roots to change meaning or word class. Many derive from Latin and Greek; for example, “-pterous” appears in biology to denote winged animals.
Below you’ll find the table with Origin, Meaning, and Example words.
Origin: Tells the language or period the suffix comes from, so you judge historical usage and register.
Meaning: Gives a short, practical gloss so you quickly see how the suffix alters a word’s sense or function.
Example words: Lists two to four real words showing common and specialized uses you can model or look up for more context.
Suffixes that start with P
| Suffix | Origin | Meaning | Example words | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| –proof | Old English | resistant to; incapable of being harmed by | waterproof, bulletproof, foolproof | Productive English suffix from native adjective “proof” meaning tested or resisting; common in informal and technical compounds. OED, corpora. |
| –phobia | Greek, Classical | intense fear or aversion to something | arachnophobia, xenophobia, agoraphobia | Very productive loan suffix denoting phobias; used in clinical and popular contexts. Can be used humorously. OED, medical sources. |
| –phobe | Greek, Classical | person who fears or dislikes something | homophobe, technophobe, xenophobe | Agentive form of -phobia; common in everyday and political language. Productive in coinages. OED, corpora. |
| –phobic | Greek, Classical | having an irrational fear or aversion | claustrophobic, homophobic, xenophobic | Adjectival form of -phobia; widely used in descriptive and clinical registers. Productive and frequent in newspapers and academia. |
| –phile | Greek, Classical | lover or enthusiast of something | bibliophile, Anglophile, technophile | Noun-forming suffix for a lover/fan; common in both serious and playful coinages. Widely attested in lexicons. |
| –philia | Greek, Classical | attraction or fondness; sometimes medical condition | hemophilia, francophilia, pedophilia | Noun denoting fondness/attraction or pathological condition; can be clinical or colloquial. Handle carefully due to medical senses. |
| –philic | Greek, Classical | preferring or attracted to; adjective | hydrophilic, thermophilic, anglophilic | Adjectival counterpart to -phile/-philia; productive in scientific and descriptive vocabulary (chemistry, biology). |
| –phone | Greek, Classical | sound-related instrument, or sound unit | telephone, saxophone, microphone | Very productive combining suffix for instruments and sound sources; common from 19th century onward. OED, technology history. |
| –phony | Greek/English | related to sound or false imitation | cacophony, homophony, phony [informal spelling] | As suffix denotes “sound” (from Greek) or forms English adjective/noun meaning fake (phon y/phony). Both senses are frequent. |
| –phage | Greek, Classical | eater; organism that consumes or destroys | bacteriophage, macrophage, phytophage | Biological/medical suffix for organisms that eat or destroy; scholarly and technical usage. OED, biology texts. |
| –phagy | Greek, Classical | act of eating; ingestion | coprophagy, geophagy, hematophagy | Noun-forming suffix for eating behaviors; common in biology and anthropology. Technical register. |
| –phagous | Greek, Classical | feeding on; eating (adjective) | herbivorous (alt. herbiphagous), zoophagous, saprophagous | Adjectival form describing dietary habit; used mainly in scientific taxonomy and ecology. [rare outside science] |
| –phyll | Greek, Classical | leaf or leaf-like part | chlorophyll, microphyll, sporophyll | Botanical combining form used as suffix in plant terms; scholarly but familiar in e.g., chlorophyll. OED, botanical literature. |
| –phyte | Greek, Classical | plant or plant-like organism | epiphyte, neophyte (figurative), bryophyte | Botanical/figurative noun suffix; also used metaphorically (neophyte = beginner). Productive in science and general English. |
| –phytic | Greek, Classical | relating to plants or growth | epiphytic, lithophytic, endophytic | Adjectival form used in botanical descriptions and ecology. Mostly technical. |
| –phore | Greek, Classical | bearer or carrier (often of something) | gametophore, sporophore, electrophore [rare] | Common in biological and technical terms meaning “carrier/bearer”; attested in specialist literature. Variant -phor/-phoros occurs. |
| –phoria | Greek, Classical | a state of bearing or sensation; emotional state | euphoria, dysphoria, anaphoria | Abstract-noun suffix for states or feelings; used in psychology and literature. Established vocabulary. |
| –pathy | Greek, Classical | disorder or feeling; disease or emotion | empathy, neuropathy, sociopathy | Very productive in medicine and psychology (disease, feeling); also used figuratively. Common and well-attested. |
| –pede | Latin, Classical | footed; having feet (combining form) | centipede, millipede, biped | Latin combining form from pes ‘foot’; productive in zoological and counting compounds. Common in everyday words. |
| –pedia | Greek, Classical | education, learning, body of knowledge | encyclopedia, Wikipedia, paediapulse [rare coinages] | From Greek paideia ‘education’; productive in forming names of knowledge-collections (encyclopedia, Wikipedia). Widely known and used. |
| –polis | Greek, Classical | city or city-state; urban center | Minneapolis, cosmopolis, Acropolis (as root) | Common in place names and literary coinages; productive historically in toponyms. [toponymic] |
| –plex | Latin, Classical | fold, interweaving, or complexity; units | duplex, triplex, complex | Combining element from Latin plectere-related roots; used in terms for multiple units or complex structures. Technical and general usage. |
| –plasia | Greek, Classical | formation, growth, development | hyperplasia, aplasia, dysplasia | Medical/biological suffix indicating formation or proliferation of tissue; widely used in pathology. Clinical register. |
| –plasty | Greek, Classical | surgical repair or molding | rhinoplasty, angioplasty, mastoplasty | Surgical suffix denoting repair or reshaping; very productive in medicine and cosmetic contexts. Common in news and clinical literature. |
| –plastic | Greek/Latin | relating to molding or formation; material | bioplastic, thermoplastic, neuroplastic | Adjectival/noun-forming suffix from Greek plastikos; used in science, materials, and figurative senses (neuroplasticity). |
| –pnea | Greek, Classical | breathing or respiration | apnea, dyspnea, orthopnea | Medical combining form for breathing conditions; common in clinical terminology. OED, medical texts. |
| –pod | Greek, Classical | foot or footed organism | arthropod, gastropod, cephalopod | Combining form denoting “foot” in zoology; heavily used in taxonomy and common compound names. Well-attested. |
| –poda | Greek, Classical | footed group (plural/collective) | Insecta: Diptera, Hymenoptera (taxa ending), Crustacea: Malacostraca (some names) | Taxonomic suffix denoting groups of organisms with particular “feet”; standard in biological classification. |
| –ptera | Greek, Classical | winged (plural form in taxonomy) | Lepidoptera, Diptera, Orthoptera | Standard taxonomic suffix for insect orders meaning “wings”; technical and widely used in entomology. |
| –pterous | Greek, Classical | winged; having wings (adjective) | lepidopterous, pterodactyl? (stem forms vary), digitopterous [rare] | Adjectival form from -ptera; used chiefly in zoological/morphological descriptions. Technical register. |
| –pexy | Greek, Medieval | surgical fixation; anchoring | gastropexy, nephropexy, hysteropexy | Medical suffix for fixation procedures; found in surgical terminology and clinical literature. OED, medical journals. |
| –plegia | Greek, Classical | paralysis or stroke-like condition | paraplegia, hemiplegia, quadriplegia | Clinical suffix for types of paralysis; common in medical and everyday usage. Well-attested. |
| –plegic | Greek, Classical | relating to paralysis; paralyzed | paraplegic, hemiplegic, tetraplegic | Adjectival form used in clinical descriptions and common speech. Widely used. |
| –parous | Latin, Classical | bearing or producing (offspring) | multiparous, primiparous, viviparous [var. -parous] | Biological/obstetric suffix denoting reproductive bearing; used in scientific and medical contexts. [specialized] |
| –praxy | Greek, Classical | practice or practical application | orthopraxy, idiosyncraticpraxy [rare coinages], heteropraxy [rare] | Noun-forming suffix from praxis meaning practice; used in religious, philosophical, and sociological contexts. [specialized] |
| –phyllous | Greek, Classical | having leaves or leaf-like structures | microphyllous, macrophyllous, monophyllous | Adjectival botanical suffix describing leaf characteristics; mainly technical in botany and morphology. |
Descriptions
–proof
–phobia
–phobe
–phobic
–phile
–philia
–philic
–phone
–phony
–phage
–phagy
–phagous
–phyll
–phyte
–phytic
–phore
–phoria
–pathy
–pede
–pedia
–polis
–plex
–plasia
–plasty
–plastic
–pnea
–pod
–poda
–ptera
–pterous
–pexy
–plegia
–plegic
–parous
–praxy
–phyllous