# -ón
## Galician
### Alternative forms

* -om (reintegrationist)
* -ão (reintegrationist)

### Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese -on, probably from the ending of Latin words belonging to the Third Declension (-ō, -ōnem), used sometimes to change the sense or usage of original term. In this case, Galician -ón would be cognate to Portuguese -ão, Spanish -ón, Italian -one and French -on, compare Romanian -oi.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈoŋ/

### Suffix

-ón m (noun-forming suffix, plural -óns, feminine -ona, feminine plural -onas)
* (added to verbs) a person or thing that does an action indicated by the root verb; used to form an agent noun
    ‎ornear (“to horn, trumpet”) + ‎-ón → ‎orneón (“drone of a bagpipe”)
    ‎pisar (“to press”) + ‎-ón → ‎pisón (“rammer”)
    ‎podar (“to prune”) + ‎-ón → ‎podón (“prunning hook”)
* forms a noun from a different (usually larger) but related or similar one
    ‎abella (“bee”) + ‎-ón → ‎abellón (“drone”)
    ‎cagalla (“dropping”) + ‎-ón → ‎cagallón (“turd”)
    ‎caixa (“box”) + ‎-ón → ‎caixón (“drawer”)
* forms the augmentative of nouns

#### Derived terms
## Ligurian
### Etymology

From Latin -ōne(m), accusative of -ō (3rd declension noun suffix).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈuŋ/

### Suffix

-ón m (plural -oìn, feminine -ónn-a)
* Emphasizes that something is large, grand, intense, important
    ‎mêgo (“physician”) + ‎-ón → ‎mêgón (“healer”)
* Used with a verb stem to form agent nouns
    ‎giastemâ (“to blaspheme”) + ‎-ón → ‎giastemón (“blasphemer”)

## Spanish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈon/ [ˈõn]
* Rhymes: -on
* Syllabification: -ón

### Etymology 1

Probably from the ending of Latin words belonging to the Third Declension (-ō, -ōnem), used sometimes to change the sense or usage of original term. In this case, Spanish -ón would be cognate to Portuguese -ão, Italian -one, French -on (whence English -oon), and Romanian -oi.

#### Suffix

-ón m (noun-forming suffix, plural -ones, feminine -ona, feminine plural -onas) -ón (adjective-forming suffix, feminine -ona, masculine plural -ones, feminine plural -onas)
* (intensive) emphasizes that something is large, grand, intense, important
    ‎problema + ‎-ón → ‎problemón (“a big trouble”)
* (intensive) indicates that someone or something has large attributes, or larger than usual
    ‎ceja + ‎-ón → ‎cejón (“having large eyebrows”)
    ‎cabeza + ‎-ón → ‎cabezón (“having large head”)
* for few cases, indicates that something is used wrong or frequently (forming adjectives and or nouns)
    ‎boca + ‎-ón → ‎bocón (“big-mouth, big-mouthed, boastful”)
* emphasizes contempt for subject
* forms a noun from a different (usually larger) but related or similar one
    ‎silla (“chair”) + ‎-ón → ‎sillón (“armchair”)
    ‎caja (“box”) + ‎-ón → ‎cajón (“drawer”)
* suffixed to verbs, doing something repeatedly or often
    ‎llorar + ‎-ón → ‎llorón (“something or someone that cries”)
    ‎mirar + ‎-ón → ‎mirón (“something or someone that watches”)
* (rare, diminutive) for very few cases, indicates small size of or a lack of something (such as an ironic augmentative)
    ‎pelo + ‎-ón → ‎pelón (“with little or no hair”)
    ‎rabo + ‎-ón → ‎rabón (“with little or no tail”)
    ‎rata (“rat”) + ‎-ón → ‎ratón (“mouse”)
    ‎tapa + ‎-ón → ‎tapón (“cork, stopper, a little cover or lid”)
    ‎monte + ‎-ón → ‎montón (“heap, pile, a "little mountain"”); although its origin may be a comparison with a little mountain of something, it also means "big amount"

##### Usage notes

* The suffix produces adjectives or nouns.
* Some Spanish words ending with this suffix have neither a Latin nor a Greek etymology, but an Arabic one:
** algodón, rincón, limón
* Many Spanish words end with -on (lacking a written accent, being always paroxytone), but most of those cases is an inflection for the third-person plural (ellos, ellas, also used with ustedes) preterite indicative form of a verb:
** amaron, hablaron, corrieron, dijeron, etc.

##### See also

* -azo
* -oso
* -ote
* -udo

### Etymology 2

Borrowed from English -on, a suffix extracted from argon, krypton and neon, the first three noble gases to be named, respectively from Ancient Greek ἀργόν (argón, “lazy, inactive”), κρυπτόν (kruptón, “hidden”) and νέον (néon, “new”); hence, ultimately from Ancient Greek -ον (-on), cognate with Latin -um.

#### Suffix

-ón m (noun-forming suffix, plural -ones)
* (chemistry) ending of every chemical element belonging only to the noble gases group, except helium (in Spanish helio)
    neón, criptón, argón, xenón, radón

##### Usage notes

* Aside from the group of noble gases, 1 element in the periodic table ends with "a" (plata), 1 with "c" (zinc), 2 with "e" (azufre, cobre), 1 with "l" (níquel), 1 with "r" (flúor), none with "ón" and the rest with "o"; boron = boro, carbon = carbono (carbón means charcoal), silicon = silicio.

### Etymology 3

Borrowed from English -on, a suffix extracted from electron, originally a blend of electric + ion, named by Irish physicist George Johnstone Stoney.

#### Suffix

-ón m (noun-forming suffix, plural -ones)
* (nuclear physics) ending of most or every subatomic particle
    protón, electrón, neutrón, bosón, hadrón

### Further reading

* “-ón”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014