Where does “-ец” come from?

-ец (Bulgarian) comes from Old Church Slavonic -ьць, from Proto-Slavic -ьcь, from Lithuanian -ikas, from Proto-Indo-European -iḱos — -y, -ic.

-ец (Bulgarian): Forms diminutives of masculine nouns

Definitions

  1. Forms diminutives of masculine nouns

Ancestry of “-ец”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Church Slavonic-ьцьdiminutive, small
2Proto-Slavic-ьcьForms diminutives from nouns; Forms nouns from...
3Lithuanian-ikas—
4Proto-Indo-European-iḱos-y, -ic

Words derived from “-ец”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European -iḱos →Every word from Proto-Slavic -ьcь →Every word from Lithuanian -ikas →