-ent

See also: ent, Ent, ENT, ént, ënt, ent-, and ent.

English

Etymology

From Middle English -ent, also -ant, -aunt, etc., from Old French -ent and its source Latin -ēns (accusative singular -entem), suffix of present participles of verbs in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th conjugations.

Suffix

-ent

1. Causing, promoting, or doing a certain action

   absorbent, efficient

2. One that causes, promotes, or does a certain action

   agent, deterrent

Usage notes

• Adjectives terminating in -ent are usually accompanied by derived nouns having -ence or -ency, as cadence and ardency.

Derived terms

English terms suffixed with -ent

See also

• -ant, -ance, -ancy

Further reading

• William Dwight Whitney and Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1914), “-ent”, in The Century Dictionary: An Encyclopedic Lexicon of the English Language, volume II, revised edition, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC, page 1944, column 3.

Anagrams

• .NET, NET, Net, TEN, net, ten

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛnt/

Suffix

-ent

1. -ent (Latinate suffix forming nouns and adjectives)

Dutch terms suffixed with -ent

French

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin -entem. Mostly confined to learned formations; inherited words tend to use the spelling -ant.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑ̃/
• Homophone: -ant

Suffix

-ent (feminine -ente, masculine plural -ents, feminine plural -entes)

1. adjectival and nominal suffix

   content, inconvénient, spinescent

Etymology 2

Inherited from Latin -ant, -ent, -iunt.

Pronunciation

• Generally silent. Before a vowel optionally IPA^(key): /t‿/.

Suffix

-ent

1. forms the third-person plural present indicative form of a verb

   Elles marchent. ― They walk.

2. forms the third-person plural present subjunctive form of a verb

Hungarian

Etymology

-e- (“linking vowel”) + -n (“instantaneous suffix”) + -t (“causative suffix”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɛnt]
• Rhymes: -ɛnt

Suffix

-ent

1. (instantaneous suffix) Added to a stem - often an onomatopoeia - to form a verb expressing an instantaneous action.

   tüsszent (“to sneeze”)

Usage notes

• (instantaneous suffix) Harmonic variants:

  -ant is added to back vowel words

  -ent is added to front vowel words

Derived terms

Hungarian verbs suffixed with -ent

See also

• -int
• Appendix:Hungarian suffixes

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ent/, [ɛn̪t̪]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ent/, [ɛn̪t̪]

Suffix

-ent

1. third-person plural present active subjunctive of -ō (first conjugation)

Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛnt/

Suffix

-ent

1. (literary) verb suffix for the third-person plural imperfect/conditional
2. (literary) verb suffix for the third-person plural imperative

Derived terms

Welsh terms suffixed with -ent