-ent

Etymology

From Middle English -ent, also -ant, -aunt, etc., from Old French -ent and its source Latin -ēns (accusative singular -entem), suffix of present participles of verbs in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th conjugations.^[1]

Suffix

-ent

1. Causing, doing, or promoting a certain action.

   absorbent, efficient

2. One that causes, does, or promotes a certain action.

   agent, deterrent

See also

• -ant, -ance, -ancy

References

Further reading

• William Dwight Whitney and Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1914), “-ent”, in The Century Dictionary: An Encyclopedic Lexicon of the English Language, revised edition, volume II, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC, page 1944, column 3.

Anagrams

• .NET, NET, Net, TEN, net, ten

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛnt/

Suffix

-ent

1. -ent (Latinate suffix forming nouns and adjectives)

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin -entem. Mostly confined to learned formations; inherited words tend to use the spelling -ant.

Etymology 2

Inherited from Latin -ant, -ent, -iunt.

Etymology

From -e- (linking vowel) +‎ -n (instantaneous suffix) +‎ -t (causative suffix).^[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɛnt]
• Rhymes: -ɛnt

Suffix

-ent

1. (instantaneous suffix) Added to a stem - often an onomatopoeia - to form a verb expressing an instantaneous action.

   tüsszent (“to sneeze”)

References

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ent/, [ɛn̪t̪]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ent/, [ɛn̪t̪]

Suffix

-ent

1. third-person plural present active subjunctive of -ō (first conjugation)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛnt/

Suffix

-ent

1. (literary) verb suffix for the third-person plural imperfect/conditional
2. (literary) verb suffix for the third-person plural imperative