-eur

See also: eur, EUR, eür, eur-, eur., and Eur.

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle French -eur, from Old French -eor, -or, from Latin -ator, -tor. In some senses, from Latin -or.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈøːr/
Audio: (file)

Suffix

-eur

Used to form agent nouns from verbs.

Derived terms

Dutch terms suffixed with -eur

French

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /œʁ/
Audio (France (Vosges)): (file)
Audio (France (Lyon)): (file)
Rhymes: -œʁ
Homophones: -eure, -eurs, -eures

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *-tōr

Proto-Italic *-tōr

Latin -(ā)tōrem

Old French -or

Middle French -eur

French -eur

Inherited from Middle French -eur, from Old French -or / -eor / -eur, from Latin -tōrem and -ātōrem, from Proto-Italic *-tōr, from Proto-Indo-European *-tōr. Doublet of -ateur.

Suffix

-eur m (noun-forming suffix, plural -eurs, feminine -euse or -rice or -eure or -eresse or -oresse)

forms masculine agent nouns from verbs (some of which are also used as adjectives)

Usage notes

The stem used is that of the verb’s present participle:
faire, ‎fais(ant) + ‎-eur → ‎faiseur

marcher, ‎march(ant) + ‎-eur → ‎marcheur

finir, ‎finiss(ant) + ‎-eur → ‎finisseur

cuire, ‎cuis(ant) + ‎-eur → ‎cuiseur

prendre, ‎pren(ant) + ‎-eur → ‎preneur

connaître, ‎connaiss(ant) + ‎-eur → ‎connaisseur

voir, ‎voy(ant) + ‎-eur → ‎voyeur

In neologisms, this suffix can occasionally form agent nouns directly from nouns when no corresponding verb exists, though this is less productive than the usual verb-based formation.

As a rule of thumb, the feminine is -rice after -t- (acteur > actrice), otherwise -euse. There are occasional exceptions (e.g. chanteur > chanteuse). The other three endings are infrequent.

Derived terms

French terms suffixed with -eur (agent suffix)

Descendants

> Haitian Creole: -è (inherited)
→ German: -eur
→ Hungarian: -őr
→ Russian: -ёр (-jór)
→ Swedish: -ör
→ Turkish: -ör

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *-os

Proto-Indo-European *-s

Proto-Indo-European *-ōs

Proto-Italic *-ōs

Latin -ōrem

Old French -or

Middle French -eur

French -eur

Inherited from Middle French -eur, from Old French -or, from Latin -ōrem, from Proto-Italic *-ōs, from Proto-Indo-European *-ōs.

Suffix

-eur f (noun-forming suffix, plural -eurs)

forms abstract nouns from adjectives: -ness, -o(u)r

Usage notes

The stem used is that of the adjective's feminine form: e.g.
blanc, ‎blanche + ‎-eur → ‎blancheur

doux, ‎douce + ‎-eur → ‎douceur

frais, ‎fraîche + ‎-eur → ‎fraîcheur