-iar

Spanish

Etymology

From -ear, following an alteration of -e- into -i- derived from a colloquial synaeresis.

Suffix

-iar

1. Alternative form of -ear
2. forms verbs from adjectives and nouns, equivalent to English -ize

Usage notes

This suffix is, in most cases, only reserved for casual conversation and while it is a variant of -ear it's still productive on its own, specially in informal speech. However, when translated into writing, most of the verbs using it are written with -ear instead of -iar. Cf. webear and webiar or luquear and luquiar. In most countries it's considered very informal, specially in writing.