"-ory" meaning in All languages combined

See -ory on Wiktionary

Suffix [English]

IPA: /-(ə)ɹi/
enPR: -(ə)rē Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *-tōr Proto-Italic *-tōr Latin -tor Proto-Indo-European *-yós Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -tōriusder. Middle English -orie English -ory From Middle English -orie, from the Latin adjective suffix -tōrius. By surface analysis, -or + -y. Etymology templates: {{etymon|en|:inh|enm:-orie<ety:der<la:-tōrius>>|id=adjective|tree=1}} Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *-tōr Proto-Italic *-tōr Latin -tor Proto-Indo-European *-yós Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -tōriusder. Middle English -orie English -ory, {{inh|en|enm|-orie}} Middle English -orie, {{der|en|la|-}} Latin, {{ref|<span class="cited-source">“-ory”, in <cite>The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language</cite>, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, <span class="None" lang="und">2000, <small>→ISBN</small>, page 1243, column 2.</span></span>|name=heritage}}, {{surf|en|-or|-y}} By surface analysis, -or + -y Head templates: {{en-adj|-}} -ory (adjective-forming suffix, not comparable)
  1. Added to nouns and verbs (often Latinate) to form adjectives meaning “of”, “pertaining to”, or “serving for”. Tags: morpheme, not-comparable
    Sense id: en--ory-en-suffix-DzbQuOHJ Categories (other): English entries with etymology trees, English entries with incorrect language header, English terms suffixed with -or, English terms suffixed with -y, Pages using etymon with no ID, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Pages with etymology trees Disambiguation of English entries with etymology trees: 55 45 Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 53 47 Disambiguation of English terms suffixed with -or: 54 46 Disambiguation of English terms suffixed with -y: 54 46 Disambiguation of Pages using etymon with no ID: 47 53 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 47 53 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 50 50 Disambiguation of Pages with etymology trees: 50 50 Synonyms: -al, -ar, -ary, -ese, -ic, -id, -ish, -like, -oid, -ous, -y
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 1

Suffix [English]

IPA: /-(ə)ɹi/ Forms: -ories [plural]
enPR: -(ə)rē Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *-tōr Proto-Italic *-tōr Latin -tor Proto-Indo-European *-yós Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -tōrius Latin -tōriumder. English -ory From the Latin noun suffix -tōrium. By surface analysis, -or + -y. Etymology templates: {{etymon|en|:der|la:-tōrium|id=noun|tree=1}} Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *-tōr Proto-Italic *-tōr Latin -tor Proto-Indo-European *-yós Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -tōrius Latin -tōriumder. English -ory, {{der|en|la|-}} Latin, {{ref|<span class="cited-source">“-ory, suf.”, in <cite>Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary</cite>, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, <span class="None" lang="und">1913, <small>→OCLC</small>, retrieved 05 Jun 2011.</span></span>|name=webster}}, {{surf|en|-or|-y}} By surface analysis, -or + -y Head templates: {{en-noun|+}} -ory (noun-forming suffix, plural -ories)
  1. Added to nouns and verbs (often Latinate) to form nouns meaning “that which pertains to or serves for”. Tags: morpheme Synonyms: -age, -al, -arium, -drome, -ery, -ium, -orium
    Sense id: en--ory-en-suffix-XPHqZmTQ Categories (other): English entries with etymology trees, English entries with incorrect language header, English terms suffixed with -or, English terms suffixed with -y, Pages using catfix, Pages using etymon with no ID, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Pages with etymology trees Disambiguation of English entries with etymology trees: 55 45 Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 53 47 Disambiguation of English terms suffixed with -or: 54 46 Disambiguation of English terms suffixed with -y: 54 46 Disambiguation of Pages using catfix: 31 69 Disambiguation of Pages using etymon with no ID: 47 53 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 47 53 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 50 50 Disambiguation of Pages with etymology trees: 50 50
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 2

Inflected forms

{
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:-orie<ety:der<la:-tōrius>>",
        "id": "adjective",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *-tōr\nProto-Italic *-tōr\nLatin -tor\nProto-Indo-European *-yós\nProto-Italic *-ios\nOld Latin -ios\nLatin -ius\nLatin -tōriusder.\nMiddle English -orie\nEnglish -ory",
      "name": "etymon"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "-orie"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English -orie",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "<span class=\"cited-source\">“-ory”, in <cite>The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language</cite>, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, <span class=\"None\" lang=\"und\">2000, <small>→ISBN</small>, page 1243, column 2.</span></span>",
        "name": "heritage"
      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "ref"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "-or",
        "3": "-y"
      },
      "expansion": "By surface analysis, -or + -y",
      "name": "surf"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *-tōr\nProto-Italic *-tōr\nLatin -tor\nProto-Indo-European *-yós\nProto-Italic *-ios\nOld Latin -ios\nLatin -ius\nLatin -tōriusder.\nMiddle English -orie\nEnglish -ory\nFrom Middle English -orie, from the Latin adjective suffix -tōrius. By surface analysis, -or + -y.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "-ory (adjective-forming suffix, not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenations": [
    {
      "parts": [
        "-o",
        "ry"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "suffix",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "55 45",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with etymology trees",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "53 47",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "54 46",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms suffixed with -or",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "54 46",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms suffixed with -y",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "47 53",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages using etymon with no ID",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "47 53",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "50 50",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "50 50",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with etymology trees",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "excrete + -ory → excretory",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "sense + -ory → sensory",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "statute + -ory → statutory",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Added to nouns and verbs (often Latinate) to form adjectives meaning “of”, “pertaining to”, or “serving for”."
      ],
      "id": "en--ory-en-suffix-DzbQuOHJ",
      "links": [
        [
          "noun",
          "noun#English"
        ],
        [
          "verb",
          "verb#English"
        ],
        [
          "Latinate",
          "Latinate#English"
        ],
        [
          "adjective",
          "adjective#English"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "-al"
        },
        {
          "word": "-ar"
        },
        {
          "word": "-ary"
        },
        {
          "word": "-ese"
        },
        {
          "word": "-ic"
        },
        {
          "word": "-id"
        },
        {
          "word": "-ish"
        },
        {
          "word": "-like"
        },
        {
          "word": "-oid"
        },
        {
          "word": "-ous"
        },
        {
          "word": "-y"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme",
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "enpr": "-(ə)rē"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/-(ə)ɹi/"
    }
  ],
  "word": "-ory"
}

{
  "etymology_number": 2,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":der",
        "3": "la:-tōrium",
        "id": "noun",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *-tōr\nProto-Italic *-tōr\nLatin -tor\nProto-Indo-European *-yós\nProto-Italic *-ios\nOld Latin -ios\nLatin -ius\nLatin -tōrius\nLatin -tōriumder.\nEnglish -ory",
      "name": "etymon"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "<span class=\"cited-source\">“-ory, suf.”, in <cite>Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary</cite>, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, <span class=\"None\" lang=\"und\">1913, <small>→OCLC</small>, retrieved 05 Jun 2011.</span></span>",
        "name": "webster"
      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "ref"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "-or",
        "3": "-y"
      },
      "expansion": "By surface analysis, -or + -y",
      "name": "surf"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *-tōr\nProto-Italic *-tōr\nLatin -tor\nProto-Indo-European *-yós\nProto-Italic *-ios\nOld Latin -ios\nLatin -ius\nLatin -tōrius\nLatin -tōriumder.\nEnglish -ory\nFrom the Latin noun suffix -tōrium. By surface analysis, -or + -y.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "-ories",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "+"
      },
      "expansion": "-ory (noun-forming suffix, plural -ories)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenations": [
    {
      "parts": [
        "-o",
        "ry"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "suffix",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "55 45",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with etymology trees",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "53 47",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "54 46",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms suffixed with -or",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "54 46",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms suffixed with -y",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "31 69",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages using catfix",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "47 53",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages using etymon with no ID",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "47 53",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "50 50",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "50 50",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with etymology trees",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "ambulate + -ory → ambulatory",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "incense + -ory → incensory",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "interrogate + -ory → interrogatory",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Added to nouns and verbs (often Latinate) to form nouns meaning “that which pertains to or serves for”."
      ],
      "id": "en--ory-en-suffix-XPHqZmTQ",
      "links": [
        [
          "noun",
          "noun#English"
        ],
        [
          "verb",
          "verb#English"
        ],
        [
          "Latinate",
          "Latinate#English"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "-age"
        },
        {
          "word": "-al"
        },
        {
          "word": "-arium"
        },
        {
          "word": "-drome"
        },
        {
          "word": "-ery"
        },
        {
          "word": "-ium"
        },
        {
          "word": "-orium"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "enpr": "-(ə)rē"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/-(ə)ɹi/"
    }
  ],
  "word": "-ory"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English adjective-forming suffixes",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with etymology trees",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English noun-forming suffixes",
    "English suffixes",
    "English terms derived from Latin",
    "English terms derived from Middle English",
    "English terms derived from Old Latin",
    "English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European",
    "English terms derived from Proto-Italic",
    "English terms inherited from Middle English",
    "English terms suffixed with -or",
    "English terms suffixed with -y",
    "English uncomparable adjectives",
    "Pages using catfix",
    "Pages using etymon with no ID",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Pages with etymology trees",
    "Pages with inline etymon for redlinks"
  ],
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:-orie<ety:der<la:-tōrius>>",
        "id": "adjective",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *-tōr\nProto-Italic *-tōr\nLatin -tor\nProto-Indo-European *-yós\nProto-Italic *-ios\nOld Latin -ios\nLatin -ius\nLatin -tōriusder.\nMiddle English -orie\nEnglish -ory",
      "name": "etymon"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "-orie"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English -orie",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "<span class=\"cited-source\">“-ory”, in <cite>The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language</cite>, 4th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, <span class=\"None\" lang=\"und\">2000, <small>→ISBN</small>, page 1243, column 2.</span></span>",
        "name": "heritage"
      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "ref"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "-or",
        "3": "-y"
      },
      "expansion": "By surface analysis, -or + -y",
      "name": "surf"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *-tōr\nProto-Italic *-tōr\nLatin -tor\nProto-Indo-European *-yós\nProto-Italic *-ios\nOld Latin -ios\nLatin -ius\nLatin -tōriusder.\nMiddle English -orie\nEnglish -ory\nFrom Middle English -orie, from the Latin adjective suffix -tōrius. By surface analysis, -or + -y.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "-ory (adjective-forming suffix, not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenations": [
    {
      "parts": [
        "-o",
        "ry"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "suffix",
  "senses": [
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "excrete + -ory → excretory",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "sense + -ory → sensory",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "statute + -ory → statutory",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Added to nouns and verbs (often Latinate) to form adjectives meaning “of”, “pertaining to”, or “serving for”."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "noun",
          "noun#English"
        ],
        [
          "verb",
          "verb#English"
        ],
        [
          "Latinate",
          "Latinate#English"
        ],
        [
          "adjective",
          "adjective#English"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "-al"
        },
        {
          "word": "-ar"
        },
        {
          "word": "-ary"
        },
        {
          "word": "-ese"
        },
        {
          "word": "-ic"
        },
        {
          "word": "-id"
        },
        {
          "word": "-ish"
        },
        {
          "word": "-like"
        },
        {
          "word": "-oid"
        },
        {
          "word": "-ous"
        },
        {
          "word": "-y"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme",
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "enpr": "-(ə)rē"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/-(ə)ɹi/"
    }
  ],
  "word": "-ory"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with etymology trees",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English noun-forming suffixes",
    "English suffixes",
    "English terms derived from Latin",
    "English terms derived from Old Latin",
    "English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European",
    "English terms derived from Proto-Italic",
    "English terms suffixed with -or",
    "English terms suffixed with -y",
    "Pages using catfix",
    "Pages using etymon with no ID",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Pages with etymology trees"
  ],
  "etymology_number": 2,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":der",
        "3": "la:-tōrium",
        "id": "noun",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *-tōr\nProto-Italic *-tōr\nLatin -tor\nProto-Indo-European *-yós\nProto-Italic *-ios\nOld Latin -ios\nLatin -ius\nLatin -tōrius\nLatin -tōriumder.\nEnglish -ory",
      "name": "etymon"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "<span class=\"cited-source\">“-ory, suf.”, in <cite>Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary</cite>, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, <span class=\"None\" lang=\"und\">1913, <small>→OCLC</small>, retrieved 05 Jun 2011.</span></span>",
        "name": "webster"
      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "ref"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "-or",
        "3": "-y"
      },
      "expansion": "By surface analysis, -or + -y",
      "name": "surf"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *-tōr\nProto-Italic *-tōr\nLatin -tor\nProto-Indo-European *-yós\nProto-Italic *-ios\nOld Latin -ios\nLatin -ius\nLatin -tōrius\nLatin -tōriumder.\nEnglish -ory\nFrom the Latin noun suffix -tōrium. By surface analysis, -or + -y.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "-ories",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "+"
      },
      "expansion": "-ory (noun-forming suffix, plural -ories)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenations": [
    {
      "parts": [
        "-o",
        "ry"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "suffix",
  "senses": [
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "ambulate + -ory → ambulatory",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "incense + -ory → incensory",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "interrogate + -ory → interrogatory",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Added to nouns and verbs (often Latinate) to form nouns meaning “that which pertains to or serves for”."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "noun",
          "noun#English"
        ],
        [
          "verb",
          "verb#English"
        ],
        [
          "Latinate",
          "Latinate#English"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "-age"
        },
        {
          "word": "-al"
        },
        {
          "word": "-arium"
        },
        {
          "word": "-drome"
        },
        {
          "word": "-ery"
        },
        {
          "word": "-ium"
        },
        {
          "word": "-orium"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "enpr": "-(ə)rē"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/-(ə)ɹi/"
    }
  ],
  "word": "-ory"
}

Download raw JSONL data for -ory meaning in All languages combined (5.7kB)

{
  "called_from": "form_descriptions/1698",
  "msg": "unrecognized head form: adjective-forming suffix",
  "path": [
    "-ory"
  ],
  "section": "English",
  "subsection": "suffix",
  "title": "-ory",
  "trace": ""
}

{
  "called_from": "form_descriptions/1698",
  "msg": "unrecognized head form: noun-forming suffix",
  "path": [
    "-ory"
  ],
  "section": "English",
  "subsection": "suffix",
  "title": "-ory",
  "trace": ""
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-04-26 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-04-01 using wiktextract (7de0cf9 and 9452535). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.