Where does “-ance” come from?

-ance (Old French) comes from Latin -ia, from Latin -ius, from Proto-Italic -jōs, from Proto-Indo-European -yós — Creates adjectives from noun or verb stems.

-ance (Old French): ance (suffix used to form nouns)

Definitions

  1. ance (suffix used to form nouns)

Ancestry of “-ance”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latin-iaUsed to form a feminine abstract noun, usually...
2Latin-iusforming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter...
3Proto-Italic-jōsForms comparative adjectives
4Proto-Indo-European-yósCreates adjectives from noun or verb stems

Words derived from “-ance”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yós →Every word from Latin -ia →Every word from Latin -ius →