# -z
## English
### Etymology 1

An eye dialect spelling variant of -s.

#### Suffix

-z
* (urban slang, lolspeak, leetspeak) Used as a substitute for -s in marking the plural of nouns. Usually used in words in which the -s suffix is actually pronounced /z/.
    Boyz are always trouble.
    Oh hai. In teh beginnin Ceiling Cat maded teh skiez An da Urfs (Gen 1:1, LOLcat Bible)
* (urban slang) Used as a substitute for -s in marking verb inflections.
    He lovez me.

### Etymology 2

Rhotacism of /ɹ/. Attested since at least 1987.

#### Suffix

-z
* (UK, Australia, New Zealand) Forms nicknames, especially of personal names.
    ‎Barry + ‎-z → ‎Baz
    ‎Sharon + ‎-z → ‎Shaz
    ‎Jeremy + ‎-z → ‎Jez
* (UK) Forms colloquial variants of words.
    ‎sorry + ‎-z → ‎soz
    ‎tomorrow + ‎-z → ‎tomoz
    ‎apparently + ‎-z → ‎appaz

##### Usage notes

* Applied to words whose stressed syllable ends in /ɹ/, with the suffix replacing the /ɹ/ and the rest of the word.

##### Derived terms

* -zza

### References

* ↑ John Silverlight (1987) More Words, Macmillan, →ISBN, page 53: “Examples are 'Kaz', 'Shaz', 'Baz' and Waz' for Karen, Sharon, Barry, and Warwick, and the latest, 'soz' for sorry.”

## Basque
### Alternative forms

* -ez (after consonants)

### Etymology

Unknown.

### Suffix

-z
* Instrumental indefinite suffix.
    ‎autobus (“bus”) + ‎-z → ‎autobusez (“by bus”)

#### Derived terms
### References

* ↑ “-z” in Etymological Dictionary of Basque by R. L. Trask, sussex.ac.uk

## Hungarian
### Etymology

From Proto-Uralic *-ta-. The preceding vowel, if any, is from the original stem of the root word.

### Suffix

-z
* (verb-forming suffix) Added to a noun to form a verb. Less frequently, it can also be found added onto other parts of speech.
    ‎só (“salt”, noun) + ‎-z → ‎sóz (“to salt”)
    ‎tiszta (“clean, clear”, adjective) + ‎-z → ‎tisztáz (“to clarify”)
    ‎kettő (“two”, numeral) + ‎-z → ‎kettőz (“to duplicate, to double”)
    ‎maga (“you”, pronoun, formal) + ‎-z → ‎magáz (“to address someone formally”)
    ‎ide (“here, this way”, adverb) + ‎-z → ‎idéz (“to summon”)
* (obsolete noun-forming suffix) Found in igaz, száraz. See the main variant -sz.

#### Usage notes

* (verb-forming suffix) Variants:
    -z is added to words ending in a vowel. Final -a changes to -á-. Final -e changes to -é-.
    -oz is added to some back-vowel words ending in a consonant
    -az is added to other back-vowel words ending in a consonant
    -ez is added to unrounded (and some rounded) front-vowel words ending in a consonant
    -öz is added to most rounded front-vowel words ending in a consonant
    -áz is added to some back-vowel words ending in a consonant
Note: Certain words take another, synonymous suffix, -zik/-ozik/-azik/-ezik/-özik or -l/-ol/-al/-el/-öl/-ál.

#### Derived terms
### See also

* Appendix:Hungarian suffixes

### Further reading

* Csonka Csilla: A -l(ik) és a -z(ik) igeképzőkről a magyar mint idegen nyelv szempontjából (On the verb-forming suffixes -l(ik) and -z(ik) from the perspective of Hungarian as a foreign language)

## Old French
### Suffix

-z
* Replaces -ts at the end of a word.
    mort (“dead”) (oblique singular) → morz (“dead”) (oblique plural)
** c. 1100s, Marie de France, Equitan:Femme espuse ot li seneschals, Dunt puis vient el païs granz mal[s](please add an English translation of this quotation)

## Swahili
### Suffix

-z
* (Sheng) "urbanizes" a word, makes it more hip with youth

#### Usage notes

In Kenya, (-z) can be applied to nouns and verbs. In Tanzania, (-z) is usually only applied to nouns, like mtotoz.