-else

Danish

Etymology

From Old Danish -ilse, later -ælsæ, from Old Saxon -isli, -islo. Also used to represent the Middle Low German suffix -nisse.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /-əlsə/, [-əlsə]

Suffix

-else c (singular definite -elsen, plural indefinite -elser, plural definite -elserne)

1. added to a verb to form a noun for an action or process
2. the result of, or something related to, such an action or process

Synonyms

• -ing
• -sel
• -tion

Derived terms

[+] Danish words suffixed with -else

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Low German

Etymology

From Middle Low German -else, from Old Saxon -isli, -islo.

Suffix

-else n

1. Creating, from a verb, a noun which is created by the action of this verb (not necessarily one with which the verb is supposed to be done).

   Backelse (“pastry”): that which is baked (in a wider sense anything baked like bread and cakes) — from backen (“to bake”)

   Radelse (“riddle”): that which is guessed — from raden (“to guess”); compare German Rätsel

   Rimelse (“rhyme”): that which is rhymed — from rimen (“to rhyme”)

Usage notes

• The suffix is not used for creating nouns with which verbs are supposed to be done, e.g. * drinkelse. A drink (that which one drinks) is a Drink, Driinke (cognate to English drink) or a Drank (cognate to German Trank).
• Some Low German dialects drop the e at the end of words, so that words with this suffix end in -els or -els’. Some dictionaries whose authors lack knowledge of Middle Low German or general Low German dialects and developments might mistake this as a plural -s and thus either create a pseudo-singular or mistake this for a plurale tantum.

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Norwegian

Etymology

From Old Saxon -isli, -islo. Also used to represent the Middle Low German suffix -nisse.

Suffix

-else

1. added to a verb to form a noun for an action or process
2. the result of, or something related to, such an action or process

Derived terms

[+] Norwegian words suffixed with -else

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Old English

Alternative forms

• -elle

Etymology

A metathetic form of Proto-Germanic *-isliją, from Proto-Germanic *-is-, a noun particle + Proto-Germanic *-lij-, a verbal particle. More at -sian, -lian

Suffix

-else f

1. (feminine suffix for inanimate objects) suffix creating nouns from verbs

   rǣdelse (“counsel, advise, riddle, enigma”)

   myrrelse, mierrelse (“an offense, scandal; stumblingblock”)

Declension

    Declension of -else (weak)

	Singular	Plural
nominative	-else	-elsan
accusative	-elsan	-elsan
genitive	-elsan	-elsena
dative	-elsan	-elsum

Synonyms

• -els

Descendants

• English -le

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Swedish

Etymology

From Old Saxon -isli, -islo. Also used to represent the Middle Low German suffix -nisse.

Suffix

-else

1. creating nouns from verbs

Derived terms

[+] Swedish words suffixed with -else