-ster

See also: ster, stêr, and Stèr

English

Etymology

From Middle English -estere, -ester, from Old English -estre (“-ster”, feminine agent suffix), from Proto-West Germanic *-astrijā, of disputed origin. Cognate with Middle Low German -ester, Dutch -ster.

Suffix

-ster

1. Someone who is, or who is associated with, or who does something specified.
2. (humorous, sometimes offensive) A diminutive appended to a person's name.
   • 1992, Russell Baker, "Observer; Pretty Good Read" (review of What It Takes by Richard Ben Cramer), New York Times, 25 Jul.,

     Cramer's exploration of the hearts, minds and souls of America's ambition-crazed Presidential candidates moves ahead at a pace that feels childishly frantic . . . . This is not just because it keeps referring to Senator Robert Dole as "the Bobster."

Usage notes

• Relatively uncommon for agent nouns, compared to more usual -er and -or; primarily used for single-syllable words. Also informal, particularly in contemporary productive use – compare hipster, scenester, bankster; older terms such as barrister do not have this casual connotation, however.
• Sometimes used in proper names, e.g. Napster (file-sharing software), Blockster (Brandon Block, disc jockey)
• In older words, used as a suffix for jobs that were held by women, e.g., webster (a female webber, or weaver), baxter (a female baker), spinster (a female spinner), brewster (a female brewer).

Synonyms

• -er
• -or

Derived terms

English terms suffixed with -ster

• Baxter
• dumpster
• huckster
• spinster
• teamster
• youngster

Anagrams

• 'rest, -estr-, ERTs, REST, Rest., SERT, TERs, erst, estr-, rest, rest., rets, tres

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Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch -ster, from Old Dutch *-istra, from Proto-West Germanic *-astrijā; cognate with Middle Low German -ester, Old English -estre. Perhaps also merging with Vulgar Latin -istria, borrowed from Ancient Greek -ιστρια (-istria).

Suffix

-ster f

1. female equivalent of -er

Derived terms

Dutch terms suffixed with -ster

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Middle English

Suffix

-ster

1. Alternative form of -estere