English

-s-

Genitival interfix used to link elements in some compounds, equivalent to the possessive clitic -'s.

    Etymology graph

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    Origin

    From Middle English -s, -es, from Old English -es (“-'s”, masculine and neuter genitive singular ending), which survives in many old compounds. In more recent coinage, from contraction of the derived clitic -'s in compounds. For more, see -'s.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle English-s, -es
      • inheritedOld English-es “-'s”
        • inheritedProto-West Germanic*-as
        • inheritedOld English-eþ
        • inheritedProto-Germanic*-as

    Sources