§115. Some Noun-forming Suffixes in Greek

Though the topic doesn’t logically belong in a chapter on the 3rd declension noun, this may be a convenient place to introduce a few casual comments on noun-forming suffixes in Greek—in this case, suffixes that turn nouns of all three declensions into other nouns.

The 2nd declension neuter suffixes -ειον and -αιον (-eion, –aion) were regularly used in Greek to create derived nouns that meant “a place for.” They correspond in this sense with the Latin nouns in –arium that we met in Part I, §38. Even though Latin had a way of expressing this concept in its native vocabulary, that language sometimes borrowed Greek forms in -ειον and -αιον, adapting them in a predictable fashion as Latin forms in –eum and –aeum. This may be illustrated as follows:

There is no need to devote much space to the topic of Greek DIMINUTIVES, as we did in Latin (Part I, Chapter 7). That is not because the diminutive was unimportant in Greek; on the contrary, ancient Greek was very rich in suffixes that could connote smallness or endearment. The reason why the question can be summarily treated is because Greek diminutives have had a very minor effect on English vocabulary. One such suffix was -ιον (-ion), which appears in G ποδ-ιον (“little foot”), regularly adapted as L podium, our English podium. If you are interested in musical theory, look up the etymology of the Italian term appoggiatura (< Vulgar Latin *appodiare), which involves a little step. Another Greek diminutive suffix was -ισκος, the origin of the -isk in asterisk (ἀστηρ, ἀστερος, star; ἀστερ-ισκος, “little star”). This suffix explains the etymology of obelisk (“little spit”), which today is either a tapered pillar or a reference mark (†).