Creates anagent noun, often from a verb, indicating a person or object (often machines or parts of them) that do the verb or part of speech with which they are formed.
(electrical science)Appended to the names of members of classes of components, especially those that have anextensive property name of the sameroot suffixed with-ance
In Latin-derived words, English generally appends this suffix where Latin would do it—to the root of a perfect passive participle (i.e. past participle). For other words, English tends to use the suffix-er. Occasionally both are used (protester vs.protestor).
Theō from the nominative case was made common to all cases originally with non-ablautingo (the three exceptions werearbor,mulier andCerēs). Afterwards nom.sg.-ōr >-or, byLatin sound laws. Thus paradoxically, as in otherr-stems (soror,-tor), in the resulting paradigm the one form with a short stem vowel is the only form whose stem was etymologically long.[1]
Almost always attached to verb bases, most frequently verbs of the second conjugation.[2] A parallel derived adjective in-idus often exists. A small number of formations built on nouns or adjectives exist in early and late Latin; a number of Romance languages show extended use of the suffix as a means of forming abstract nouns from adjectives.[2]
A plural marker. This marker is the regular plural for common gender nouns ending with an unstressed-a. Such an-a disappears when-or is added. The marker is used, however, with a few other nouns as well.
R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke,et al., editors (1950–present), “-or”, inGeiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
