-u

Suffixed definite article attached on nouns ending with g, k, h. From the ending Proto-Indo-European *-osyo. cognate to Messapic -aihi.^[1][2][3]

Related to Albanian -i (“of the, etc.”), Albanian i (“of, the, to”).

• IPA^(key): [u]

-u m

1. masculine singular nominative and accusative suffixed definite article: the

   ‎zog (“bird”) + ‎-u → ‎zogu (“the bird”)

   ‎treg (“market”) + ‎-u → ‎tregu (“the market”)

   ‎flok (“hair”) + ‎-u → ‎floku (“the hair”)

   ‎plak (“old man”) + ‎-u → ‎plaku (“the old man”)

   ‎gjynah (“sin”) + ‎-u → ‎gjynahu (“the sin”)

   ‎jeh (“echo”) + ‎-u → ‎jehu (“the echo”)

   (note: -u shifts towards -i among some Gheg dialects; zogi instead of zogu)

• (suffixed article, suffix): -a, -e, -ë, -i, -o, -ia, -ja, -je, -jë, -at, -et, -ët, -it, -ot, -ut, -të, -ri, -ishte, -ishtja
• (article, preposition): e, i, së, të

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

-u

1. out, outwards; used to modify verb direction

Etymology unclear. Perhaps from the Greek -ou imperative (pronounced [u]) of deponent verbs such as dekhou “receive!”, or from the Hebrew imperative -û. It may instead—or also—be connected to the vowel of the Esperanto conditional suffix -us, minus the s of the indicative inflections.

-u

1. volitive inflection of verbs, indicating that an action or state is desired, requested, ordered, or aimed for.

   Donu ĝin al mi.

   Give it to me. (expresses a request or command)

   Ni faru tion.

   Let's do that. (expresses a desire or aim)

   Mi iru dormi.

   I ought to go to sleep. (expresses desirability of the action)

   Via infano sukcesu en la vivo.

   May your child be successful in life. (wish or desire)

   Mi volas, ke vi helpu min.

   I want you to help me. (desire)

   Ŝi petas, ke mi silentu.

   She asks that I be silent. (request)

Apparently connected to the u at the end of unu (“one, a certain”).

-u

1. -one. (Ending of the individual correlatives.)

   kiu (“what individual, who”)

   tiu (“that individual, that one”)

   ĉiu (“all individuals, everyone”)

   iu (“some individual, someone”)

   neniu (“no individual, nobody”)

   (unofficial) aliu (“another individual, someone else”)

From Proto-Uralic *-w (as applied to stems ending in -e). Cognate with Finnish -u.

-u (genitive -u, partitive -u)

1. Derives nouns from verbs or prefixes

   jagama "to divide" → jagu "a part, a share"

   kaduma "to disappear" → kadu "loss, losing"

   sise- "inside" → sisu "content"

   pesema "to wash" → pesu "wash, washing"

From Proto-Finnic *-u, from Proto-Uralic *-w (originally as applied to stems ending in -e or -ä). Cognate with Estonian -u.

-u (front vowel harmony variant -y, linguistic notation -U)

1. Forms nouns from verbs. Most common with e- and i-stem verbs.

   ‎hyppiä (“to be jumping”) + ‎-u → ‎hyppy (“jump”)

   ‎itkeä (“to cry”) + ‎-u → ‎itku (“cry(ing)”)

   ‎pestä (“to wash”) + ‎-u → ‎pesu (“wash(ing)”)

   ‎potkia (“to kick”) + ‎-u → ‎potku (“kick”)

   ‎urheilla (“to practice sport”) + ‎-u → ‎urheilu (“sport”)

2. Derives a number of nouns from other nouns.

   ‎silmä (“eye”) + ‎-u → ‎silmu (“bud”)

   ‎sisä- (“inside”) + ‎-u → ‎sisu (“determination, perseverance”)

• Somewhat unusually, in words with few syllables, the front-vowel form -y is used only with stems that contain what is considered a front vowel under harmony, i.e. -ä-, -ö- or -y-; if it only contains neutral vowels (e, i), the back-vocalic form -u is used, even though such words or stems have front vowel harmony by default. However, polysyllabic words containing only neutral vowels (e, i) still tend to use -y.

Note that if the stem has gradation, it is (almost always) preserved.

• -o
• -uu

Inherited from Latin -ūtus.^[1]

• IPA^(key): /y/

-u (adjective-forming suffix, feminine -ue, masculine plural -us, feminine plural -ues)

1. forms adjectives having the sense of ‘having quality of, being provided with’ (the root word)

   ‎barbe (“beard”) + ‎-u → ‎barbu (“bearded”)

   ‎ventre (“belly”) + ‎-u → ‎ventru (“pot-bellied, rounded”)

-u

1. romanization of -𐌿

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

• (Nuuk) IPA^(key): /-u/, [-ʊ]

-u (n-v^?, truncative^?, uses -j- as interfix^?)

1. be

   ilinniartitsisoq (“teacher”) -> ilinniartitsisiuuvugut (“we are teachers”) .

   Ukiuuvoq.

   It is winter.

   • 1998 May 7, “Tasiilami efterskoleqalernissaa Jakob Sivertsen-ip sulissutigaa”, in Atuagagdliutit / Grønlandsposten:

     Inatsisartunut ilaasortaq Jakob Sivertsen Atassummeersoq ilungersornertuujuvoq.

     MP Jakob Sivertsen, of Atassut, is diligent.

   • 1992, “Meeqqakka”, in Atuagagdliutit/Grønlandsposten:

     Ernerput anguteqatiminoortartunngorsimavoq (19-inik ukioqarluni paasineqarpoq), niviarsiararlu nukarleq arnaqatiminoortartunngorsimalluni. Akulleq pissusissamisoortuuvoq.

     Our son has become gay (it was discovered when he was 19 years old), and the youngest girl has become a lesbian. The middle [child] is as she should be [i.e. heterosexual].

May become additive after a strong q base.

• Bjørnum, S.: Grønlandsk Grammatik, p. 275. Atuagkat 2003.
• Vestgrønlands Grammatik, p. 81, F.A.J. Nielsen, 2014
• -u in Katersat

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

• IPA^(key): [u]

-u

2. (diminutive suffix) Added to a noun or a proper noun to form a diminutive.

   apa (“father”) → apu (“dad”)

• Appendix:Hungarian suffixes

From Old Norse -u (oblique ending of feminine on-stem nouns).

-u (triggers u-mutation of a preceding a)

1. indefinite accusative/dative/genitive singular of -a f (most weak feminine nouns)

   ‎kona (“woman”) + ‎-u → ‎konu

   ‎taska (“bag”) + ‎-u → ‎tösku

From Old Norse -u (adjective ending).

-u (triggers u-mutation of a preceding a)

1. inflection of -ur (most adjectives):
   1. dative singular neuter strong
   2. accusative/dative/genitive singular feminine weak
   3. plural weak

   ‎góður (“good”) + ‎-u → ‎góðu

   ‎latur (“lazy”) + ‎-u → ‎lötu

From Old Norse -u (third person plural).

-u

1. third-person plural past indicative/subjunctive of -a (strong verbs)

   ‎fara (“to go”) + ‎-u → ‎fóru (“(they) went”, past indicative)

   ‎fara (“to go”) + ‎-u → ‎færu (“(they) would go”, past subjunctive; with i-mutation)

From Old Norse -u (infinitive).

-u (triggers u-mutation of a preceding a)

1. infinitive ending of two (preterite-present) modal verbs:

   ‎mun- (“will”, stem) + ‎-u → ‎munu (infinitive)

   ‎skal- (“shall”, stem) + ‎-u → ‎skulu (infinitive)

From Old Norse -u (ō-stem dative)

-u (triggers u-mutation of a preceding a)

1. indefinite accusative and dative singular ending of some strong feminine nouns, especially those that end in -ing and female personal names

   ‎kerling (“old woman”) + ‎-u → ‎kerlingu

   ‎Elísabet + ‎-u → ‎Elísabetu

   ‎Danmörk (“Denmark”) + ‎-u → ‎Danmörku

   ‎sundrung (“discord”) + ‎-u → ‎sundrungu (optional form)

   1. ‎nótt (“night”) + ‎-u → ‎nóttu (petrified dative form of regular nótt)

      að nóttu til ― at night

      í nóttunni ― at night

      fram eftir nóttu ― (deep) into the night

   2. ‎sól (“sun”) + ‎-u → ‎sólu (rare)

      eins og dögg fyrir sólu ― like snow in the sun (literally, “like dew before the sun”)

From Old Norse -u (masculine plural of u-stem nouns).

-u (triggers u-mutation of a preceding a)

1. (archaic, literary or in petrified phrases) indefinite accusative plural of -ur m (some strong masculine nouns); alternative form of (regular) -i
   1. ‎sonur (“son”) + ‎-u → ‎sonu (“sons”) (archaic or literary form of regular syni)

      1875-80, Friðrik Eggerz, Úr fylgsnum fyrri aldar. I. Bjarni Pétursson á Skarði og getið niðja hans. Ævisaga Eggerts prests Jónssonar. II. Ævisaga Friðriks prests Eggerz., published 1950-52:

      Kallaði hann þá á sonu sína.

      He then called to his sons.

      2004, “Kristinn heimur miðalda og Hrafn Sveinbjarnarson”, in Læknablaðið‎^[1], number 90, archived from the original on 10 August 2024, page 169:

      Þau Steinunn Þórðardóttir og Sveinbjörn Bárðarson áttu fimm dætur og tvo sonu.

      Steinunn Þórðardóttir and Sveinbjörn Bárðarson had five daughters and two sons.

   2. ‎vegur (“road, way”) + ‎-u → ‎vegu (“roads, ways”) (petrified form of regular vegi)

      á tvo/marga/ýmsa vegu ― in two/many/various ways

      á þrjá vegu ― on three sides

   3. ‎skjöldur (“shield”) + ‎-u → ‎skjöldu (“shields”) (petrified form of regular skildi)

      ganga fram fyrir skjöldu ― to take control (literally, “to step forward before shields”)

      koma (einhverjum) í opna skjöldu ― to take by surprise (literally, “to get (someone) in open shields”)

   4. ‎stigur (“path”) + ‎-u → ‎stigu (“paths”) (alternative forms of regular stígur and accusative plural stíga)

      kanna ókunna stigu ― to tread new paths (literally, “to explore unknown paths”)

      stemma stigu við (einhverju) ― to put a stop to (something) (literally, “to stem paths against (something)”)

Common vowel found in pronouns in Romance languages: French tu, Italian tu and Spanish tú, also in French vous and as an o in Italian voi and Spanish vos, etc. (Compare tu and vu)

-u

1. suffix used to form pronouns indicating a person

   ‎omna (“all, every”) + ‎-u → ‎omnu (“everyone”)

As it is used to form pronouns, you cannot use it to create nouns. Instead, to form an agent from an adjective like felica (“happy”), you just make it a noun: felico (“a happy person”).

From Proto-Finnic *-u. Cognates include Finnish -u and Estonian -u.

• (Ala-Laukaa) IPA^(key): /-u/, [-u]
• (Soikkola) IPA^(key): /-u/, [-u]

-u (front vowel variant -y)

1. Used to form nouns from verbs.

Declension of -u (type 4/koivu, no gradation)
	singular	plural
nominative	-u	-ut
genitive	-un	-uin, -uloin
partitive	-ua	-uja, -uloja
illative	-uu	-ui, -uloihe
inessive	-us	-uis, -ulois
elative	-ust	-uist, -uloist
allative	-ulle	-uille, -uloille
adessive	-ul	-uil, -uloil
ablative	-ult	-uilt, -uloilt
translative	-uks	-uiks, -uloiks
essive	-unna, -uun	-uinna, -uloinna, -uin, -uloin
exessive1)	-unt	-uint, -uloint
1) obsolete *) the accusative corresponds with either the genitive (sg) or nominative (pl) **) the comitative is formed by adding the suffix -ka? or -kä? to the genitive.

• -ngu (used after double-vowel or long vowel)
• -iu (used after word-final /t/)

-u (Syllabics -ᐅ)

1. to be (copula)

   angunasuktiujuq.

   He is a hunter.

When used on words ending with /k/ or /q/ the affix deletes the final consonant.

-u

1. Rōmaji transcription of う

-u

1. used to form nouns denoting action or result of action

-ū

1. ablative/locative singular of -us for fourth-declension nouns.

This ending is used for all singular forms of neuter fourth-declension nouns except the genitive (which still uses -ūs). It even replaces -uī in the dative, something that does not occur in the other declension patterns.

• -h (after a vowel)

From Arabic ـهُ (-hu).

-u

2. 3rd-person masculine singular pronominal suffix: his, him

   Synonym: tiegħu (only in possessive use)

   ‎sħab (“friends”) + ‎-u → ‎sħabu (“his friends”)

   ‎taħt (“under”) + ‎-u → ‎taħtu (“under him”)

   ‎jinsa (“he forgets”) + ‎-u → ‎jinsieh (“he forgets him”)

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

-u

1. Used in contractions with particles of possession to mean you

From Proto-Samic *-ō. Cognate with Finnish -o.

-u

1. Forms result or action nouns from verbs.

• This suffix triggers the strong grade on a preceding stressed syllable.

Even u-stem, no gradation
Nominative	-u
Genitive	-u -ọ
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	-u	-ut
Accusative	-u	-ūid
Genitive	-u -ọ	-ūid
Illative	-ui	-ūide
Locative	-us	-ūin
Comitative	-ūin	-ūiguin
Essive	-un
Possessive forms Singular Dual Plural 1st person -on -ome -omet 2nd person -ot -ode -odet 3rd person -us -uska -uset

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

-u

1. Form of the suffix -i used with verbs in -ut.

• This suffix triggers the strongest grade on a preceding stressed syllable.

Even u-stem, no gradation
Nominative	-u
Genitive	-u -ọ
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	-u	-ut
Accusative	-u	-ūid
Genitive	-u -ọ	-ūid
Illative	-ui	-ūide
Locative	-us	-ūin
Comitative	-ūin	-ūiguin
Essive	-un
Possessive forms Singular Dual Plural 1st person -on -ome -omet 2nd person -ot -ode -odet 3rd person -us -uska -uset

• -o

• IPA^(key): /u/

From suppletive fusion of ō-stem feminine singular nominative ending -u and Proto-Germanic *-į̄ (“feminine abstract ending”). Akin to Gothic feminine abstracts in -𐌴𐌹 (-ei) (compare 𐌼𐌹𐌺𐌹𐌻𐌴𐌹 (mikilei, “greatness”); 𐌳𐌹𐌿𐍀𐌴𐌹 (diupei, “depth”)).

-u f

1. ending used to form abstract nouns from adjectives (compare Modern English -ness), normally causing i-mutation, and remaining even when preceded by a long syllable

   ‎eald (“old”) + ‎-u → ‎ieldu (“age”)

   ‎hāliġ (“holy, sacred; pious”) + ‎-u → ‎hāliġu (“holiness”)

   ‎hāl (“sound, healthy, intact”) + ‎-u → ‎hǣlu (“wholeness, health”)

   ‎hāt (“hot”) + ‎-u → ‎hǣtu (“heat, warmth”)

   ‎mennisċ (“human, natural, humane”) + ‎-u → ‎mennisċu (“humanity”)

   ‎miċel (“big, large; great”) + ‎-u → ‎miċelu (“greatness, size”)

According to Ringe and Taylor[2], this suffix began as indeclinable *-i in the singular and nominative/accusative plural, before the ō-stem feminine nominative singular was borrowed. In Anglian, the new ending was then extended to the rest of these forms. This same extension was not complete in Early West Saxon, but eventually won out in Late West Saxon. Spellings of these forms with -o, and rarely -a, reflect the merger of unstressed back vowels in later Old English

Strong īn-stem:

From Proto-West Germanic *-u, from Proto-Germanic *-ō. Apocope should have caused the loss of this ending after heavy stems, but the Anglian dialects generally retained it by analogy with short stems, or for its morphological significance. In West Saxon, this apocope led to replacement with the subjunctive singular -e, which was then extended to short stem verbs as well.

-u (Anglian)

1. Used to form the first person singular present indicative of strong verbs and class I weak verbs

   ‎beran (“bear”) + ‎-u → ‎beru (“I bear”)

   ‎drīfan (“drive out”) + ‎-u → ‎drīfu (“I drive out”)

   ‎sellan (“give”) + ‎-u → ‎sellu (“I give”)

From Proto-West Germanic *-u, from Proto-Germanic *-ō

-u f

1. Used to form the nominative singular of short ō-stem nouns

   ġiefu (“gift”)

   lufu (“love”)

From Proto-West Germanic *-u, from Proto-Germanic *-uz

-u

1. Used to form the nominative and accusative singular of short u-stem nouns

   sunu (“son”)

   wudu (“forest”)

From Proto-West Germanic *-u, from Proto-Germanic *-ō

-u n

1. Used to form the nominative and accusative plural of short a-stem and all ija-stem neuter nouns

   ‎clif (“cliff”) + ‎-u → ‎clifu (“cliffs”)

   ‎sċip (“ship”) + ‎-u → ‎sċipu (“ships”)

   ‎rīċe (“kingdom”) + ‎-u → ‎rīċu (“kingdoms”)

-u

1. Forms the strong nominative feminine singular and strong nominative/accusative neuter plural of adjectives

   ‎unārīmedlīċ + ‎-u → ‎unārīmedlīċu

From Latin -ūtus.

-u

1. suffixed used to form adjectives (oblique masculine singular) from nouns

• boçu
• foillu

• Middle French: -u
  • French: -u

-u

1. alternative form of -iu (when the preceding consonant (cluster) isn't palatalised)

Inherited from Proto-Germanic *-unz (u-stem accusative plural), from Proto-Indo-European *-ums (u-stem accusative plural), from *-us (u-stem suffix) +‎ *-ms (accusative plural suffix).

-u

1. Forms the indefinite accusative plural of masculine u-stem nouns.

   ‎sunr (“son”) + ‎-u → ‎sunu (“sons”)

• Icelandic: -u (archaic)

Unclear; there are multiple possibilities:

• From Proto-Germanic *-ōi (ō-stem dative singular), from Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂ey, from *-eh₂ (eh₂-stem suffix) +‎ *-ey (dative singular suffix), either directly or by analogical restitution of the long diphthong from other case forms it was shortened; parallels to the proposed sound change are lacking, but there are no clear counterexamples either.
• From a supposed Proto-Germanic ō-stem instrumental singular *-ōmi, from late Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂mi, from *-eh₂ (eh₂-stem suffix) +‎ *-mi (instrumental singular suffix), but the posited form has no parallels within Germanic and few elsewhere; furthermore, it could be expected to become *-um, not *-u (compare the Proto-Germanic ō-stem dative plural *-ōmiz).
• From the generally reconstructed Proto-Germanic u-stem instrumental singular *-ō; two explanations have been developed for the failure of this ending to undergo expected apocope:
  • After it had been shortened to -u, it was relengthened by analogy with the other oblique cases, thus rendering it ineligible for apocope.
  • When apocope occured in heavy-stemmed nouns, it was analogically restored on the basis of light-stemmed nouns; in turn, it was restored on the basis of the heavy-stemmed nouns when it was lost in light-stemmed nouns, though the failure of such analogical restoration to operate in other noun paradigms is suspicious.
• From a late analogical extension from the ōn-stem oblique singular, but the ō-stem and ōn-stem paradigms do not particularly resemble each other.

If the ending is inherited, the endingless indefinite dative singular usual to ō-stems would be by analogy with the i-stems.

-u

1. Forms the indefinite dative singular of some ō-stem nouns and a few feminine consonant-stem and i-stem nouns, sometimes optionally.

   ‎laug (“bath”) + ‎-u → ‎laugu (“to the bath”)

2. Forms the indefinite accusative singular of a few ō-stem nouns, mainly personal names

• Icelandic: -u
• Middle Norwegian: -u, -o
• Old Swedish: -o

• Myrvoll, Klaus Johan (7 November 2015), “Zum Ursprung des Dativs Singular auf -u der altwestnordischen ō-Stämme”, in Indogermanische Forschungen, volume 120, Berlin: De Gruyter, →DOI, →OCLC, pages 153-175
• Þórhallsdóttir, Guðrún (2007), “The Dative Singular of ō-Stems in Old Norse”, in Alan J. Nussbaum, editor, Verba Docenti: Studies in historical and Indo-European linguistics presented to Jay H. Jasanoff […] , Ann Arbor, New York: Beech Stave Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, pages 329-341

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

• IPA^(key): /-u, -o/

-u

1. Masculine singular agreement suffix

• Henrik Liljegren; Naseem Haider (2011), “-u”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎^[3], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

• IPA^(key): /-u, -o/

-u

1. Masculine nominative/singular agreement suffix

• Henrik Liljegren; Naseem Haider (2011), “-u”, in Palula Vocabulary (FLI Language and Culture Series; 7)‎^[4], Islamabad, Pakistan: Forum for Language Initiatives, →ISBN

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

• IPA^(key): /u/
• Rhymes: -u
• Syllabification: -u
• Homophones: ó, u, u-, -u-

-u

1. (sometimes archaic) forms the masculine dative singular, now used to create adverbs, always used in conjunction with po

   ‎polski + ‎-u → ‎po polsku

2. forms the inanimate masculine genitive singular after soft or historically soft stems

   ‎kowal + ‎-u → ‎kowalu

3. (rare) forms the masculine dative singular in certain words

   ‎chłopiec + ‎-u → ‎chłopcu

4. forms the masculine locative singular

   ‎kowal + ‎-u → ‎kowalu

5. forms the masculine vocative singular

   ‎kowal + ‎-u → ‎kowalu

6. forms the feminine vocative singular after -ś and -ź

   ‎mamusia + ‎-u → ‎mamusiu

7. forms the neuter dative singular in soft and velar stems

   ‎pole + ‎-u → ‎polu

   ‎stoisko + ‎-u → ‎stoisku

8. forms the neuter locative singular in soft and velar stems

   ‎pole + ‎-u → ‎polu

   ‎stoisko + ‎-u → ‎stoisku

• -u in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Accusative suffix.

-u

1. Form of -i after the vowels O / U.

   ‎doktor (“doctor”) + ‎-u → ‎doktoru

Possessive suffix.

-u

1. Form of -i after the vowels O / U.

   ‎pantolon (“pants”) + ‎-u → ‎pantolonu (“his/her pants”)

Derivative suffix.

-u

1. Form of -i after the vowels O / U.
   1. Derives nouns from verbs.

      ‎duy- (“to feel, to sense”) + ‎-u → ‎duyu (“sense”)

From Middle Welsh -u, from Proto-Brythonic *-oβ̃.

• (North Wales) IPA^(key): /ɨ̞/
• (South Wales) IPA^(key): /i/

-u

1. Forms verbnouns from verb stems.

   Synonyms: -a, -ed, -eg, -i, -o, -io

This suffix is mostly used where the vowel in the last syllable is a, ae, e, or y.^[1]