# -er
## English
### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ə/
* (General American) enPR: ər, IPA: /ɚ/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Homophones: -or; -a (non-rhotic)

### Etymology 1

Inherited from Middle English -ere, -er, from Old English -ere, from Proto-West Germanic *-ārī, from Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz, usually thought to have been borrowed from Latin -ārius. However, Gąsiorowski suggests that *-ārijaz is a native formation; he derives it from earlier *-azrijaz, which he etymologises as a zero-grade form of *-sōr suffixed with *-ih₂, creating a suffix *-sr-ih₂ for forming feminine agent nouns, which was then masculinised by attaching *-ós.
Cognate with Saterland Frisian -er, West Frisian -er, Dutch -er, German Low German -er, German -er, Danish -er, Swedish -are and Icelandic -ari.
Compare the synonymous but unrelated Old French -or, -eor (Anglo-Norman variant -our), from Latin -(ā)tor, from Proto-Indo-European *-tōr.

#### Alternative forms

* -'er (following an abbreviation, or sometimes following a number)

#### Suffix

-er
* (added to verbs) A person or thing that does an action indicated by the root verb; used to form an agent noun.
    Antonym: -ee
    ‎read + ‎-er → ‎reader
    ‎cook + ‎-er → ‎cooker
    ‎compute + ‎-er → ‎computer
    ‎run + ‎-er → ‎runner
    ‎toast + ‎-er → ‎toaster
    ‎swim + ‎-er → ‎swimmer
    ‎do good + ‎-er → ‎do-gooder
* (added to verbs, informal) A person or thing to which the root verb is done or can be done satisfactorily.
    ‎look + ‎-er → ‎looker (“an attractive person”)
    ‎keep + ‎-er → ‎keeper (“a person or thing worth keeping”)
* (added to nouns, chiefly denoting occupations) A person whose occupation is the root noun; (more broadly, occasionally with adjectives) a person characterized by the root.
    ‎astrology + ‎-er → ‎astrologer
    ‎baby boom + ‎-er → ‎baby boomer
    ‎conlang + ‎-er → ‎conlanger
    ‎cricket + ‎-er → ‎cricketer
    ‎trumpet + ‎-er → ‎trumpeter
    ‎zine + ‎-er → ‎ziner
* (added to numbers, measurements or nouns denoting quantified sets) A person or thing to which a certain number or measurement applies.
    ‎six + ‎-er → ‎sixer
    ‎six foot + ‎-er → ‎six-footer
    ‎three-wheel + ‎-er → ‎three-wheeler
    ‎first grade + ‎-er → ‎first grader
* (slang, chiefly entertainment, with few limitations) Used to form nouns shorter than more formal synonyms.
    ‎percent + ‎-er → ‎percenter (“commission agent”)
    ‎one hand + ‎-er → ‎one-hander (“one-man show”)
    ‎oat + ‎-er → ‎oater (“a Western-themed movie”)
* (added to nouns) A person who is associated with, or supports a particular theory, doctrine, or political movement.
    ‎birth + ‎-er → ‎birther
    ‎flat earth + ‎-er → ‎flat-earther
    ‎truth + ‎-er → ‎truther
    ‎woke + ‎-er → ‎woker
* (added to nouns or occasionally adjectives, generally) A thing that is related in some way to the root, such as by location or purpose.
    ‎bacon + ‎-er → ‎baconer (“pig raised for bacon”)
    ‎chocolate chip + ‎-er → ‎chocolate chipper (“cookie containing chocolate chips”)
    ‎sternwheel + ‎-er → ‎sternwheeler (“vessel driven by a sternwheel”)
* (slang, added in slang speech to verbs or adjectives, generally) Indicates a correspondence or coincidence between the action or condition indicated by the root and the noun being described.
    ‎piss + ‎-er → ‎pisser (“a hilariously funny happenstance or situation”)

##### Usage notes

* The suffix may be used to form an agent noun of many verbs. In compound or phrasal verbs, the suffix usually follows the verb component (as in passerby and runner-up) but is sometimes added at the end, irrespective of the position of the verb component (do-gooder) or is added to both components, often with humorous effect (washer-upper). Rarely, it may even appear three times, as in picker-upperer.
* The occupational sense is often applied generally to members of a group, as in crewer (“a member of a crew”) and Z-lister (“one on the Z-list”); fans and hobbyists, as in K-popper (“a fan of K-pop”), and those who use a particular tool or instrument, as in JavaScripter (“a programmer who uses JavaScript”).
* The entertainment slang sense is sometimes referred to as the Variety -er.

##### Translations

The translations below are a guide only. For more precise translations, see specific words ending with this suffix.

#### See also

* -eer

### Etymology 2

From Middle English -ere, from Old English -ware (suffix denoting residency or meaning "inhabitant of"), from Proto-West Germanic *-wari, from Proto-Germanic *warjaz (“defender, inhabitant”), from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to close, cover, protect, save, defend”).

#### Suffix

-er
* (added to a proper noun) Suffix denoting a resident or inhabitant of (the place denoted by the proper noun); used to form a demonym.
    ‎New York + ‎-er → ‎New Yorker
    ‎London + ‎-er → ‎Londoner
    ‎Dublin + ‎-er → ‎Dubliner
    ‎New England + ‎-er → ‎New Englander
* Suffix denoting residency in or around a place, district, area, or region.
    ‎island + ‎-er → ‎islander
    ‎highland + ‎-er → ‎highlander
    ‎eastend + ‎-er → ‎eastender

##### Translations
### Etymology 3

From Middle English -re, -er, from Old English -ru (plural suffix), from Proto-Germanic *-izō (plural suffix). Cognate with Dutch -er (plural ending), German -er (plural ending). See also -ren.

#### Suffix

-er
* (obsolete, no longer productive) Suffix used to form the plural of a small number of English nouns.
    childer, calver, lamber, linder ("loins")

##### Derived terms

* -ren

### Etymology 4

From Middle English -er, representing various noun-suffixes in Old French and Anglo-Norman, variously -er, -ier and -ieur, from Latin -aris, -arius, -atorium. As a productive suffix, now merged with the occupational sense of Etymology 1.

#### Suffix

-er
* Person or thing connected with.
    ‎bottle + ‎-er → ‎butler

#### See also

* -eer

### Etymology 5

From Middle English -ere, from Old English -ra, from Proto-West Germanic *iʀō, *-ōʀō, from Proto-Germanic *-izô or Proto-Germanic *-ōzô (a derivative of Etymology 6, below); related to superlative -est.

#### Suffix

-er
* (added to certain adjectives and adverbs, now especially short ones) More; used to form the comparative.
    ‎hard + ‎-er → ‎harder
    ‎wet + ‎-er → ‎wetter
    ‎motley + ‎-er → ‎motlier
    ‎eerie + ‎-er → ‎eerier
    ‎clayey + ‎-er → ‎clayier

##### Usage notes

* (more; used to form the comparative): Most adjectives whose comparatives are formed using the suffix -er also form their superlatives using the suffix -est.
** Final -y preceded by a consonant becomes -i- when the suffix -er or -est is added.
    easy → easier → easiest; gray → grayer → grayest
** When the stress is on the final (or only) syllable of the adjective, and this syllable ends in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, the final consonant is doubled when the suffix is added.
    dim → dimmer → dimmest
** The suffixes -er and -est may be used to form the comparative and superlative of most adjectives and adverbs that have one syllable and some that have two or more syllables.
    hot → hotter → hottest; fast → faster → fastest; funny → funnier → funniest; sugary → sugarier → sugariest
** Some adjectives and adverbs form their comparatives and superlatives irregularly:
    good → better → best; far → farther → farthest, or far → further → furthest, depending on the meaning
** The comparatives and superlatives of other adverbs and adjectives that have two or more syllables, and adjectives that are participles are formed with more and most.
    rigid → more rigid → most rigid; enormous → more enormous → most enormous; burnt → more burnt → most burnt; freezing → more freezing → most freezing
** If in doubt, use more to form the comparative and most to form the superlative; for example, thirsty may become thirstier and thirstiest, but more thirsty and most thirsty are also acceptable.
* Words ending with -ng are pronounced /ŋ/ by most dialects instead of /ŋɡ/. However, when -er or -est is added to an adjective, the /ɡ/ appears in most dialects (but not in wrong)
    long (/lɒŋ/) → longer (/ˈlɒŋ.ɡə(ɹ)/); young (/jʌŋ/) → youngest (/ˈjʌŋ.ɡɪst/)

##### Translations
### Etymology 6

From Middle English -er, from Old English -or, from Proto-West Germanic *-ōʀ, Proto-Germanic *-ōz.

#### Suffix

-er
* (added to certain adverbs) More; used to form the comparative.

##### Translations
### Etymology 7

From Middle English -eren, -ren, -rien, from Old English -erian, -rian, from Proto-West Germanic *-rōn, *-iʀōn, from Proto-Germanic *-rōną or *-izōną. Cognate with West Frisian -erje, Dutch -eren, German -eren, -ern, Danish -re, Swedish -ra.

#### Suffix

-er
* (added to a verb or imitative sound) Frequently; used to form frequentative verbs.
    twitter, clamber, bicker, mutter, wander, flutter, flicker, slither, smother, sputter

##### Synonyms

* (used to form frequentative): -le

##### See also

* Frequentative on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

### Etymology 8

From Middle English -er, from Anglo-Norman -er, Old French -er, the infinitive verbal ending.

#### Suffix

-er
* (chiefly law, added to a verb) Instance of (the verbal action); used to form nouns from verbs.
    ‎disclaim + ‎-er → ‎disclaimer
    ‎remit + ‎-er → ‎remitter
    ‎misname + ‎-er → ‎misnomer
    ‎rebut + ‎-er → ‎rebutter
    ‎attain + ‎-er → ‎attainder

##### Derived terms
### Etymology 9

From Middle English -er, -ere (diminutive suffix). Compare -el.

#### Suffix

-er
* (added to a verb or noun) Used to form diminutives.
    ‎shive + ‎-er → ‎shiver
    ‎slive + ‎-er → ‎sliver
    ‎splint + ‎-er → ‎splinter

### Etymology 10

Attested in the UK since the 19th century. Originally Rugby School slang. Later adopted by Oxford University and then wider British society.

#### Suffix

-er
* (originally school slang) Used to form slang or colloquial equivalents of words.
    ‎association + ‎-er → ‎soccer (“association football”)
    ‎football + ‎-er → ‎footer (“association football”)
    ‎rugby + ‎-er → ‎rugger
    ‎Radcliffe + ‎-er → ‎Radder (“a building at Oxford University”)

##### Derived terms

* -zza

##### Related terms

* -ers

##### Translations
### Etymology 11

From Middle English -er, from Old English -er, -or, from Proto-Germanic *-raz. Compare -le.

#### Suffix

-er
* (now chiefly dialectal) A suffix creating adjectives from verbs, indicating aptitude, proneness, or tendency toward a specified action:
    ‎clive + ‎-er → ‎cliver (“apt to cleave or adhere to, tenacious, expert as seizing”)
    ‎slip + ‎-er → ‎slipper (“tending to make slip, slippery”)
    ‎wake + ‎-er → ‎waker (“tending to wake, watchful”)

##### Synonyms

* -le

### Etymology 12

From Mandarin -兒 / -儿 (-ér).

#### Suffix

-er
* (Chinese literature) Junior, child, younger person. (Attached to a name, usually one syllable of the given name.)
    Li’er said hello to his father.
** 1979, Women of China‎, page 44:Yue’er began to laugh again and her tears shimmered like dew on a lotus leaf disturbed by a breeze. Then we heard a sound. It was Man’er.
** 2002 [1934], Xiao Hong, “The Field of Life and Death”, in Howard Goldblatt, transl., The Field of Life and Death & Tales of Hulan River, →ISBN, page 32:The fish was laid out on the table, but Ping’er had not come back, nor had his father.
** 2014 [1959], Zhong Lihe, “The Little Ridge”, in T. M. McClellan, transl., From the Old Country: Stories and Sketches of China and Taiwan, →ISBN, page 202:Ying’er was not yet three years old. Li’er had always been the one to play with her or to carry her places on his back.

##### Usage notes

* Especially in Mandarin Chinese literature that has been translated into English, the suffix is often left untranslated in unaccented pinyin. This practice is similar to the use of -kun / -chan / -san or sensei in English-language Japanese fiction.
* Often, an apostrophe (used to mark syllable boundaries in pinyin) is inserted before the hyphen (as in Li'er), though it can also be omitted (Yinger).

##### Coordinate terms

* -chan

#### See also

* -ed (verb to adjective)
* -eer
* -ee (subject of action)
* -ess, -ress, -trix (feminine noun extension form)
* -est (comparative)
* -ing (verb to noun)
* more (comparative)
* -or

### References

* “-er”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
* Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “-er”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

### Anagrams

* 're, RE, Re, Ré, r.e., re, re-

## Afrikaans
### Etymology

From Dutch -er.

### Pronunciation

* Audio:(file)

### Suffix

-er
* -er

## Bavarian
### Etymology

From Middle High German -er, from Old High German -ari, from Proto-West Germanic *-ārī. Cognates include German -er and Luxembourgish -er.

### Pronunciation

* (Vienna) IPA: /-a/

### Suffix

-er
* Used to form agent nouns from verbs; -er

#### Derived terms
## Breton
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ɛʁ/

### Suffix

-er
* person or thing that (does the action indicated by the root); used to form an agent noun.
    ‎brezhoneg (“Breton (language)”) + ‎-er → ‎brezhoneger (“Breton-speaker”)
    ‎c'hoari (“game; to play”) + ‎-er → ‎c'hoarier (“player, actor”)
    ‎tredan (“electricity”) + ‎-er → ‎tredaner (“electrician”)

#### Derived terms
## Catalan
### Etymology

Inherited from Latin -ārius. Compare the borrowed doublet -ari.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic) [ˈe]
* IPA: (Valencia) [ˈeɾ]

### Suffix

-er m (noun-forming suffix, plural -ers)
* forms nouns meaning the location or object where something is usually found
    ‎vespa (“wasp”) + ‎-er → ‎vesper (“wasp nest”)
* forms nouns meaning a plant which is cultivated to produce something
    ‎garrofa (“carob”) + ‎-er → ‎garrofer (“carob tree”)
* forms nouns meaning the purpose of something or an object used for that purpose
    ‎tovallola (“towel”) + ‎-er → ‎tovalloler (“towel rail”)

#### Usage notes

* The equivalent suffix -era can be used to form feminine nouns with these meanings, but usually only the masculine or feminine form will be found in Catalan.

### Suffix

-er (adjective-forming suffix, feminine -era, masculine plural -ers, feminine plural -eres)
* forms nouns and adjectives referring to an inhabitant of somewhere
    ‎Brasil (“Brazil”) + ‎-er → ‎brasiler (“Brazilian”)
* forms nouns and adjectives referring to engaging in a profession
    ‎camió (“truck”) + ‎-er → ‎camioner (“truck driver”)
* forms nouns and adjectives referring to being prone to some activity or characteristic
    ‎mentida (“lie”) + ‎-er → ‎mentider (“liar, deceptive”)
* forms relational adjectives
    ‎llet (“milk”) + ‎-er → ‎lleter (“milk [relational adjective], dairy”)
    ‎pel·lícula (“film”) + ‎-er → ‎pel·liculer (“film [relational adjective], filmic, cinematic”)

#### Usage notes

* Because these senses are used to form adjectives of two forms or nouns referring to animate objects, both the masculine and feminine forms will be found in Catalan, with the lemma entry found at the masculine form.

#### See also

* -dor

### References

* “-er”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
* “-er” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.

## Chuukese
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈɛɾ/

### Suffix

-er
* (added to possessive nouns) their
* (added to verbs as an indirect object) them

#### Related terms
## Danish
### Etymology

From Old Norse -ari

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [-ʌ]

### Suffix

-er
* Forms agent nouns from verbs, with the sense "someone or something that verbs".
* Forms plural forms of many nouns.
* Forms the present tense of many verbs.
* Forms demonyms.
    ‎Berlin + ‎-er → ‎berliner
    ‎Paris + ‎-er → ‎pariser
* Forms informal action nouns from verbs.
* (especially definite) Forms informal abbreviations of nouns, with elision.
    ‎hotdog + ‎-er → ‎hotter
    ‎fjernsyn (“television”) + ‎-er → ‎fjerner
* Forms a piece of currency from numbers.
    ‎fem (“five”) + ‎-er → ‎femmer (“fiver, five pounds/dollars/kroner/etc.”)
* Forms a die throw result from numbers.
    Du skal slå mindst en treer for at komme videre.You must throw at least a three to move on.

#### Usage notes

Senses 1 and 3 often lead to heteronymic pairs. For example, from løbe (“run”) [ˈløːb̥ə] comes løber (“runs”) [ˈløːˀb̥ɐ] (verb form) and løber (“runner”) [ˈløːb̥ɐ] (noun), distinguished by stød.

#### Derived terms
## Dutch
### Alternative forms

* -der

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ər/

### Etymology 1

From Old Dutch *-āri, -ere, from Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz, borrowed from Latin -ārius. Cognate with Dutch -aar.

#### Suffix

-er m (plural -ers, feminine -ster)
* Forms agent nouns from verbs.
    Synonym: -aar
    ‎hoeden + ‎-er → ‎hoeder
    ‎spelen + ‎-er → ‎speler
* Forms nouns for a person associated with something.
    ‎schip + ‎-er → ‎schipper

##### Descendants

* Afrikaans: -er

### Etymology 2

From Old Dutch *-āri, -ere, from Proto-Germanic *warjaz.

#### Suffix

-er
* Forms nouns denoting male inhabitants or residents of a place.
    Een Amsterdammer
       A (male) inhabitant of Amsterdam
    Synonym: -aar
* Formings adjectives denoting something originating from a place.
    Het Groninger museum
       The museum of Groningen
    Synonym: -s

##### Antonyms

* (antonym(s) of “male inhabitant”): -se (“female inhabitant”)

##### Derived terms
### Etymology 3

From Old Dutch -iro, -oro, from Proto-Germanic *-izô, *-ōzô.

#### Suffix

-er
* Forms the comparative form of adjectives.

##### Derived terms
### Etymology 4

From Middle Dutch -er, from Old Dutch -ro, from Proto-West Germanic *-eʀā, from Proto-Germanic *-aizōz.

#### Suffix

-er
* (archaic, except in fixed expressions) Used to form the (strong) feminine singular genitive.
    onverrichter zake ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)
    de schoonheid ener vrouw ― the beauty of a woman
* (archaic, except in fixed expressions) Used to form the (strong) feminine singular dative.
    te goeder trouw ― in good faith

##### Usage notes

* Mostly encountered vestigially, such as in fixed expressions; see for example the descendants at -wijs.

### References

* ↑ A. van Loey, "Schönfeld's Historische Grammatica van het Nederlands", Zutphen, 8. druk, 1970, →ISBN; § 175

## French
### Pronunciation

* This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready.
* IPA: /e/

### Etymology 1

Inherited from Middle French -er, from Old French -ier, from Latin -āre, from Proto-Italic *-āzi.

#### Suffix

-er
* forms infinitives of first-conjugation verbs
    aimer ― to love

##### Usage notes

* In newly formed verbs, this suffix may be preceded by a euphonic consonant /t/ after a base ending in an oral vowel to avoid hiatus. In verbs formed from bases ending in nasal vowels, /n/ is inserted and the nasal vowel is denasalized:
    ‎agio (“agio”) + ‎-er → ‎agioter (“to speculate”)
    ‎blabla (“chit-chat”) + ‎-er → ‎blablater (“to chit-chat”)
    ‎bourdon (“bumblebee; drone”) + ‎-er → ‎bourdonner (“to buzz, drone”)

##### Conjugation
### Etymology 2

Inherited from Middle French -er, from Old French -ier, from Latin -ārius.

#### Suffix

-er m (plural -ers)
* forms nouns indicating the person who exercises a particular activity
    Synonym: (female equivalent) -ère
    boulanger ― baker

##### Derived terms
## Gagauz
### Alternative forms

* -ii, -iy (Cioc-Maidan, Avdarma, Vulcănești, Etulia, Cișmichioi)

### Etymology

Inherited from Old Anatolian Turkish [script needed] (-yorır, -yörir), [script needed] (-yor, -yör), ultimately from Proto-Turkic *yorï-. Irregular evolution is explained as ıyor > *ıor > *ıar > êr, with contamination from the suffix -ar. Compare Turkish -yor, Azerbaijani -yür, Turkmen -yar, and the doublet örümää.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /eˑɾ/

### Suffix

-er (back vowel variant -êr)
* marks the present imperfective tense
    ‎olmaa (“to happen”) + ‎-er → ‎olêr (“is happening”)
    ‎yaşamaa (“to live”) + ‎-er → ‎yaşêêr (“is living”)
    ‎görmää (“to see”) + ‎-er → ‎görer (“s/he sees”)
    ‎istemää (“to want”) + ‎-er → ‎isteer (“s/he wants”)

### References

* ↑ Dinçaslan, M.F. (2023). Gagavuz Türkçesi Ana Ağız Alanları ile Alt Ağız Gruplarının Şimdiki Zaman Ekinin Varyantlarına Göre Tasnifi. Uluslararası Türk Lehçe Araştırmaları Dergisi / International Journal of Turkic Dialects (TÜRKLAD). 7. Cilt, 2. Sayı, 369-38

### Further reading

* N. A Baskakov, editor (1972), “-er”, in Gagauzsko-Russko-Moldavskij Slovarʹ [Gagauz-Russian-Moldovan Dictionary], Moskva: Izdatelʹstvo Sovetskaja Enciklopedija, →ISBN, page 641

## German
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ɐ]

### Etymology 1

From Middle High German -ære, -er, from Old High German -āri, from Proto-West Germanic *-ārī, from Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz, further etymology unknown but possibly from Latin -ārius.

#### Suffix

-er m (strong, genitive -ers, plural -er)
* Forms agent nouns etc. from verbs, suffixed to the verb stem.
    ‎arbeiten (“to work”) + ‎-er → ‎Arbeiter (“worker”)
    ‎bohren (“to drill”) + ‎-er → ‎Bohrer (“drill”)
* Forms instance nouns from verbs.
    ‎husten (“to cough”) + ‎-er → ‎Huster (“single cough, instance of coughing”)
    ‎hüpfen (“to hop”) + ‎-er → ‎Hüpfer (“hop, instance of hopping”)
* Indicates something defined by a number; in the plural often all numbers with the same first digits
    ‎16 + ‎-er → ‎16er (“the 16, the 16er, e.g. a bus, a football player, etc.”)
    ‎200 + ‎-er → ‎200er (“a 200, the 200s, e.g. a 200-euro note, or the list items 200 to 299, etc.”)
    ‎1990 + ‎-er → ‎1990er (“1990s, the years 1990 to 1999”)

##### Related terms

* -ler, -ner

### Etymology 2

From Middle High German -er, a plural ending for some neuter nouns.

#### Suffix

-er
* Used to form the plurals of some nouns.

##### Usage notes

* The plural ending -er is used in a fairly large number of neuters (including all those in -tum) and a small number of masculines.

### Etymology 3

From Middle High German -ære, -er, from Old High German -āri, from Proto-Germanic *warjaz.

#### Suffix

-er m (strong, genitive -ers, plural -er)
* Forms nouns indicating an inhabitant of a place, or a person originating from a place.

##### Derived terms
### Etymology 4

Probably originated from the prepositioned genitive plural of etymology 3 above, e.g.: der Berliner Pfannkuchen = "the Berliners’ pancake", and then "the Berlin(er) pancake", reanalysed as an adjective instead of a noun and seen as being in the nominative singular (due to the ambiguity of the definite article der, which is both masculine nominative and plural genitive).

#### Suffix

-er
* Forms invariable adjectives from place names, with a genitival meaning, indicating origin from or association with that place.

##### Usage notes

* In contemporary German, words formed with this suffix -er are written with a capital letter (§ 61 of the official reform spelling rules as of 2018), e.g. ein Berliner Pfannkuchen. In the past, they were sometimes written with a lowercase letter like most other adjectives, e.g. ein berliner Pfannkuchen.
* In case of placenames which are written with a space, the derived word can be written with a space or with a hyphen (§ 49 of the official reform spelling rules as of 2011), e.g. Bad Schandau → Bad Schandauer or Bad-Schandauer.
* Since adjectives in -er are undeclined, they cannot normally support genitives by themselves. However, in the feminine and plural the ending -er happens to be same as that of a declined (strong) adjective and according pseudo-genitives may be encountered, such as Meldungen Berliner Zeitungen (“reports of Berlin newspapers”) instead of more proper Meldungen von Berliner Zeitungen. Such usage has been discouraged, but is no longer considered an error.

##### Derived terms
### Etymology 5

From Middle High German -er.

#### Suffix

-er
* Forms the comparative form of adjectives.
    ‎lang + ‎-er → ‎länger
    ‎schön + ‎-er → ‎schöner
    ‎exakt + ‎-er → ‎exakter

### References

* ↑ A. van Loey, "Schönfeld's Historische Grammatica van het Nederlands", Zutphen, 8. druk, 1970, →ISBN; § 175
* ↑ Johann Christoph Adelung, Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart, vol. 1 (Leipzig, 1793), pages 1848-1852, sub verbo 4. -Er
* ↑ Hermann Möller, Ahd. frôno (nhd. fron-) als elliptischer Plural, in the Zeitschrift für deutsche Wortforschung, volume 4 (editor Friedrich Kluge; Straßburg, 1903), page 95
* ↑ The current official spelling rules prescribe the capital letter without further explanation and without indicating the part of speech of the words formed with the suffix (compare -isch/-sch, derivatives of which are labelled adjectives in § 62).

## Hungarian
### Etymology

Possibly from English -er, by analogy of word pairs like blog and blogger (whose doubled final consonant is consistently pronounced long in Hungarian, as opposed to English) and/or perhaps earlier borrowed word pairs like stop and stoppol. Other existing slang terms ending in -er, like vaker, haver, sóder, might have played some role. (Can this etymology be sourced?)

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ɛr]

### Suffix

-er
* (slang, slightly derogatory) Added to a shortened form of a noun, lengthening the first consonant following its first vowel, to derive a noun.
    kalauz (“ticket inspector”) → kaller
    nyugdíjas (“pensioner”) → nyugger
    mami (“mommy; elderly woman”) → mammer
    jobboldali (“rightist”) → jobber

#### Derived terms
### See also

* -esz (as in alkesz, pálesz; slang terms)
* Appendix:Hungarian suffixes

### Further reading

* A szavak megoszlása az élő nyelvhasználathoz viszonyítva. Section: Formai neologizmusok (Judit Szépe, linguist)

## Latin
### Pronunciation

* (Classical Latin) IPA: /ˈer/, [ˈɛr]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /ˈer/, [ˈɛr]

### Suffix

-er
* first-person singular present passive subjunctive of -ō (first conjugation)

## Luxembourgish
### Etymology

From a Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz, from Latin -ārius.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /eʀ/, [ɐ]

### Suffix

-er
* -er (suffix used to form agent nouns from verbs)

#### Derived terms
## Middle Dutch
### Etymology

From Old Dutch -iro, -oro, from Proto-Germanic *-izô, *-ōzô.

### Suffix

-er
* -er. Forms the comparative of adjectives.

#### Alternative forms

* -re

#### Derived terms

See Category:Middle Dutch comparative adjectives.

#### Related terms

* -st

#### Descendants

* Dutch: -er

## Middle English
### Alternative forms

* -are, -ere

### Etymology 1

Inherited from Old English -ere, from Proto-West Germanic *-ārī, from Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz.

#### Suffix

-er
* forms agent nouns from nouns and verbs
    ‎spinnen + ‎-er → ‎spynner

##### Descendants

* English: -er
* Scots: -ar

### Etymology 2

Inherited from Old English -ware, from Proto-Germanic *warjaz (“dwellers of”). Cognate with Old High German -āri (“inhabitants of”).

#### Suffix

-er
* inhabitant forms demonyms from place names
    ‎London + ‎-er → ‎Londoner

##### Descendants

* English: -er
* Scots: -ar, -er

### References

* “-ē̆r(e, suf.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

## Middle French
### Etymology 1

Inherited from Old French -ier / -er, from Latin -āre.

#### Alternative forms

* -ier (typically early Middle French)

#### Suffix

-er
* Forms infinitives of first-conjugation verbs

##### Usage notes

* Many of these verbs are directly descended from Latin, rather than from stem + suffix

##### Descendants

* French: -er

### Etymology 2

From Old French -ier, from Latin -ārius.

#### Alternative forms

* -ier (typically early Middle French)

#### Suffix

-er
* Forms nouns, often denoting professions
    ‎bouc + ‎-er → ‎boucher (“butcher”)

##### Descendants

* French: -ier, -er
* → English: -eer, -er

## Norman
### Suffix

-er
* This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

#### Derived terms
## Northern Kurdish
### Etymology

Most probably not a cognate of English -er or Latin -ōr or -tōr, and instead a back-formation from -ker (a variant of -ger (“-ist”)) understood as "k-" (present stem of kirin) + "-er". Natively only exists with the most basic verbs such as kirin (-ker), birin (-ber), xistin (-xer or -xîner or -êxer), dan (-der), anîn/înan (-îner)... Later also conflated with -kar (“suffix indicating a job or duty”) and -dar (“suffix indicating a possessor”). Popularized in the 20th century under the influence of similar suffixes in European languages. Before that (and now natively) diminutives such as -ok, -oke, -ek, -ik was used to form agent nouns; which are also present participle suffixes.
Despite being less likely, can still be from Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr, but the -r- is lost in Northwestern Iranic and that would have given *-it, *-id or lost entirely depending on the position, compare Persian برادر and Northern Kurdish bira.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈɛɾ/
* Rhymes: -ɛɾ
* Hyphenation: -er

### Suffix

-er f
* used to form nouns referring to doer or who works on something
    ‎bû (“to be”) + ‎-er → ‎bûyer (“event”)
    ‎destpêkirin (“to start”) + ‎-er → ‎destpêker (“starter”)

#### Derived terms
## Norwegian Bokmål
### Pronunciation

* This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

### Etymology 1

From Danish -er.

#### Suffix

-er
* (added to numbers) order, position, value or similar indicated by the numeral

### Etymology 2

From Danish -er, from Old Norse -ari, from Medieval Latin and Middle Low German words, both from Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz, from Latin -ārius.

#### Suffix

-er
* (added to verbs) person or thing that does an action indicated by the root verb
* (added to place names) person or thing that originates in the place indicated by the place name

### Etymology 3

From Danish -er.

#### Suffix

-er
* suffix added to most of indefinite plural nouns, usually identical to Danish, but unlike Nynorsk and Swedish

##### Derived terms
### References

* “-er” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

## Norwegian Nynorsk
### Suffix

-er
* Used to form indefinite plurals for most feminine nouns.
* Used to form indefinite plurals for some masculine nouns.
* Used to form present tense for one class of weak verbs.
* (obsolete) Used to form present tense for strong verbs.

### Suffix

-er
* imperative of -era

## Old English
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /er/

### Suffix

-er
* Alternative form of -or

## Old French
### Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin -āre.

#### Suffix

-er
* Alternative form of -ier, verbal suffix

##### Usage notes

* All varieties of Old French use -er but it's more common in Anglo-Norman than in France, specifically before certain consonants such as c and g.

### Etymology 2

From Latin -ārius.

#### Suffix

-er
* (chiefly Anglo-Norman) Alternative form of -ier, suffix indicating a profession
    falconer, fauconerfalconer

## Old Frisian
### Alternative forms

* -ere

### Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *iʀ, from Proto-Germanic *iz, from Proto-Indo-European *ís. Cognates include Old High German er, Old Norse er and Gothic 𐌹𐍃 (is).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈer/

### Pronoun

-er
* enclitic nominative of hī

#### Descendants

* Saterland Frisian: er
* West Frisian: er

## Old Swedish
### Etymology

From Old Norse -r.

### Suffix

-er
* denotes the nominative singular of adjectives, masculine a-stem, i-stem, u-stem, and an-stem, as well as feminine ijo-stem nouns
* denotes the nominative and accusative plurals of r- and consonant stem nouns
    fiskerfish
    dø̄verdeaf

## Polish
### Etymology

Borrowed from English -er.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ɛr/
* Rhymes: -ɛr
* Syllabification: [please specify syllabification manually]

### Suffix

-er m
* -er, creates an agent noun
    ‎aport + ‎-er → ‎aporter

#### Declension

Animate:
Animal:
Inanimate:

#### Derived terms
### Further reading

* -er in Polish dictionaries at PWN

## Portuguese
### Etymology

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese -er, from Latin -ēre. The short -ere of some Latin verbs was reinterpreted as either -er or -ir.

### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /ˈe(ʁ)/ [ˈe(h)]
* (Brazil) IPA: /ˈe(ʁ)/ [ˈe(h)]
** (São Paulo) IPA: /ˈe(ɾ)/
** (Rio de Janeiro) IPA: /ˈe(ʁ)/ [ˈe(χ)]
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /ˈe(ɻ)/
* (Portugal) IPA: /ˈeɾ/
* (Portugal) IPA: /ˈeɾ/
** (Southern Portugal) IPA: /ˈe.ɾi/
* Rhymes: (Portugal, São Paulo) -eɾ, (Brazil) -eʁ, (Brazil, with r-dropping) -e

### Suffix

-er (verb-forming suffix, first-person singular present -o, first-person singular preterite -i, past participle -ido)
* forms the infinitive of the second-conjugation verbs

#### Conjugation
## Saterland Frisian
### Etymology

From Old Frisian -ere, from Proto-West Germanic *-ārī. Cognates include West Frisian -er and German -er.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /-ər/

### Suffix

-er
* Forms agent nouns from verbs; -er

#### Declension
## Scots
### Etymology

From Middle English -ere, from Old English -ere.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /-ər/

### Suffix

-er
* Forms agent nouns from verbs; -er

## Spanish
### Etymology

Inherited from Latin -ēre.

### Suffix

-er (verb-forming suffix, first-person singular present -o, first-person singular preterite -í, past participle -ido)
* the infinitive suffix for many verbs

#### Conjugation

$^1$Mostly obsolete, now mainly used in legal language. $^2$Argentine and Uruguayan voseo prefers the tú form for the present subjunctive.

### See also

* -ar
* -ir
* Appendix:Spanish verbs in -er

## Swedish
### Suffix

-er
* One of two suffixes for indefinite plural for nouns of the third declension (common and neuter); the second one is -r
* Suffix for present tense, active voice, indicative mood for one of the groups of Swedish verbs
* Agent noun suffix, often for loan words ending with -ik.
    ‎matematik (“mathematics”) + ‎-er → ‎matematiker (“mathematician”)
    ‎fysik (“physics”) + ‎-er → ‎fysiker (“physicist”)
    ‎slarv (“sloppiness, carelessness”) + ‎-er → ‎slarver (“someone sloppy or careless”)

#### Usage notes

See the usage notes for -r.

#### See also
##### plural suffix

* -or
* -ar
* -r
* -n

##### present tense suffix

* -r (-ar)
* -as

##### agent noun suffix

* -are
* -erska
* -inna

### Anagrams

* -re, re-

## Turkish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈær/

### Etymology 1

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish ـر (-r, -er), from Proto-Turkic *-ür. Cognate with Old Turkic 𐰼 (r² /⁠-(e)r⁠/). Negative -mez are from Proto-Turkic *-meŕ, from Proto-Turkic *-me + *-er or *-ür (Azerbaijani -ər (“indefinite future suffix”) — -məz, but -ir (“simple present suffix”) — -mir).

#### Suffix

-er
* Simple present and aorist tense marker

#### Suffix

-er -mez
* as soon as
    Eve gelir gelmez duş alırım.As soon as I get home, I take a shower.

##### Usage notes

* Can change to -ir (almak → alır, but içmek → içer). There are some rules governing the usage of -er/ir, the former is used in case of monosyllabic stems, while the latter is used elsewhere; with the exceptions of 14 verbs below which uses -ir on the aorist
* almak — alır
* bilmek — bilir
* bulmak — bulur
* denmek — denir
* durmak — durur
* gelmek — gelir
* görmek — görür
* kalmak — kalır
* olmak — olur
* ölmek — ölür
* sanmak — sanır
* varmak — varır
* vermek — verir
* vurmak — vurur
The suffix -r is used after verb stems ending in a vowel. Unlike most negations of tense suffixes which regularly uses the suffix -me, negative aorist suffix is -mez instead of *-mer.

##### Related terms

* -r
* -ar
* -ir
* -mez

### Etymology 2
#### Suffix

-er
* Makes adjectives out of verbs
* Makes nouns out of verbs
    ‎kes- (“to cut”) + ‎-er → ‎keser (“adze”)
    Yağmur diner gibi oldu. ― The rain seems to be stopping.

### Etymology 3

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish ـر (-er), from Proto-Turkic [Term?].

#### Suffix

-er
* suffix for distributive numbers
    ‎bir + ‎-er → ‎birer
    ‎iki + ‎-er → ‎ikişer
    ‎dört + ‎-er → ‎dörder
    ‎beş + ‎-er → ‎beşer

##### Derived terms
## Walloon
### Etymology

Inherited from Old French -ier, from Latin -āre.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /e/

### Suffix

-er
* forms infinitives of first conjugation verbs.
    inmer ― to love

#### Conjugation

| infinitive | simple | -er |
| infinitive | compound | aveur + past participle | aveur + past participle | aveur + past participle |
| gerund$^1$ | simple | -ant |
| gerund$^1$ | compound | åyant + past participle | åyant + past participle | åyant + past participle |
| past participle | past participle | | | masculine | masculine | feminine | feminine |
| past participle | past participle | singular | -é | -é | -êye | -êye |
| past participle | past participle | plural | -és | -és | -êyes | -êyes |
| | singular | plural |
| | first | second | third | first | second | third |
| indicative | indicative | dji (dj') | ti (t') | i (il) / ele | dji (dj') / nos$^2$ | vos | i (il) |
| (simple tenses) | present | -e | -es | -e | -ans | -ez | -èt or -nut$^3$ |
| (simple tenses) | imperfect | -éve | -éves | -éve | -éns | -îz | -ént |
| (simple tenses) | preterite | -a | -as | -a | -îs | -îz | -ît |
| (simple tenses) | future | -rè | -rès | -rè | -rans | -roz | -ront |
| (simple tenses) | conditional | -reu | -reus | -reut | -réns | -rîz | -rént |
| (compound tenses) | present perfect | present indicative of aveur + past participle |
| (compound tenses) | pluperfect | imperfect indicative of aveur + past participle | imperfect indicative of aveur + past participle | imperfect indicative of aveur + past participle |
| (compound tenses) | past anterior | preterite indicative of aveur + past participle | preterite indicative of aveur + past participle | preterite indicative of aveur + past participle |
| (compound tenses) | future perfect | future of aveur + past participle | future of aveur + past participle | future of aveur + past participle |
| (compound tenses) | conditional perfect | conditional of aveur + past participle | conditional of aveur + past participle | conditional of aveur + past participle |
| subjunctive | subjunctive | ki dj' | ki t' | k' i (il) / k' ele | ki dj' / ki nos$^2$ | ki vos | k' i (il) |
| (simple tenses) | present | -e | -es | -e | -anxhe | -oxhe | -èxhe or -nuxhe$^3$ |
| (simple tenses) | imperfect | -axhe | -axhes | -axhe | -énxhe | -îxhe | -énxhe |
| (compound tenses) | past | present subjunctive of aveur + past participle |
| (compound tenses) | pluperfect | imperfect subjunctive of aveur + past participle | imperfect subjunctive of aveur + past participle | imperfect subjunctive of aveur + past participle |
| imperative | imperative | – | ti | – | dji / nos | vos | – |
| simple | simple | — | -e! | — | -ans! | -ez! | — |
| compound | compound | — | simple imperative of aveur + past participle | — | simple imperative of aveur + past participle | simple imperative of aveur + past participle | — |
| $^1$ The Walloon gerund is usable only with the preposition tot (Eastern, Southern) or e (Central, Western). |||
| $^2$ The second person plural dji is used in Central and Southern dialects |||
| $^3$ The form -èt/-exhe is used in Eastern and Southern dialects, the form -nut/-nuxhe is used in Central and Western dialects. |||

## Welsh
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ɛr/

### Etymology 1
#### Suffix

-er
* (literary) verb suffix for the impersonal present subjunctive
* (literary) verb suffix for the impersonal imperative

### Etymology 2

Borrowed from English -er.

#### Suffix

-er m
* suffix forming nouns
    ‎brig (“branches, sprigs, shoots”) + ‎-er → ‎briger (“stamens”)
    ‎tafl (“sling, catapult”) + ‎-er → ‎tafler (“sling, catapult”)
    ‎col (“awn”) + ‎-er → ‎colier (“awner, chobber”)

### References

* ↑ R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “-er”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies