"-x" meaning in French

See -x in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Suffix

Etymology: From a medieval ligature for -us, which looked similar to the letter x and was ultimately treated as identical to it. Thus Old French voyeus (“vowel”) was also spelt voyex, for instance. Later on, the u was reinserted before the -x and this latter thus became an alternative spelling of -s in said position. This use of -x and particularly the irregularities in its application, which developed over time, have been criticized by grammarians for centuries, but no reform has ever been enacted. The most recent spelling reform of 1990 did not touch the matter either. Etymology templates: {{inh|fr|fro|voyeul|voyeus|t=vowel}} Old French voyeus (“vowel”) Head templates: {{head|fr|suffix|||||g=|g2=|head=|sort=}} -x, {{fr-suffix}} -x
  1. Used to form the regular plurals of nouns and adjectives in -au and -eu. Tags: morpheme
    Sense id: en--x-fr-suffix-liuz9AHn Categories (other): Pages with 6 entries, French entries with incorrect language header, Pages using catfix Disambiguation of Pages with 6 entries: 9 23 1 6 11 11 5 26 7 Disambiguation of French entries with incorrect language header: 39 44 17 Disambiguation of Pages using catfix: 42 41 17
  2. Used to form the irregular plurals of a few nouns in -ou (which regularly add -s). Tags: morpheme
    Sense id: en--x-fr-suffix-GK-9afHy Categories (other): Pages with 6 entries, French entries with incorrect language header, French suffixes with multiple plurals, Pages using catfix Disambiguation of Pages with 6 entries: 9 23 1 6 11 11 5 26 7 Disambiguation of French entries with incorrect language header: 39 44 17 Disambiguation of French suffixes with multiple plurals: 40 50 9 Disambiguation of Pages using catfix: 42 41 17
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Related terms: -s
Etymology number: 1

Suffix

IPA: /ks/, /s/ Forms: -x gender-neutral [canonical], -x [plural], -xs [plural], -z [plural]
Head templates: {{fr-noun|gneut|#,#s,-z}} -x gender-neutral (noun-forming suffix, plural -x or -xs or -z)
  1. (neologism, gender-neutral, nonstandard) forms the gender-neutral of adjectives and nouns Tags: gender-neutral, morpheme, neologism, nonstandard
    Sense id: en--x-fr-suffix-pAaJJ0rM Categories (other): French neologisms, French entries with incorrect language header, Pages using catfix Disambiguation of French entries with incorrect language header: 39 44 17 Disambiguation of Pages using catfix: 42 41 17
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 2
{
  "etymology_number": "1",
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "voyeul",
        "4": "voyeus",
        "t": "vowel"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French voyeus (“vowel”)",
      "name": "inh"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From a medieval ligature for -us, which looked similar to the letter x and was ultimately treated as identical to it. Thus Old French voyeus (“vowel”) was also spelt voyex, for instance. Later on, the u was reinserted before the -x and this latter thus became an alternative spelling of -s in said position.\nThis use of -x and particularly the irregularities in its application, which developed over time, have been criticized by grammarians for centuries, but no reform has ever been enacted. The most recent spelling reform of 1990 did not touch the matter either.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "suffix",
        "3": "",
        "4": "",
        "5": "",
        "6": "",
        "g": "",
        "g2": "",
        "head": "",
        "sort": ""
      },
      "expansion": "-x",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "-x",
      "name": "fr-suffix"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "French",
  "lang_code": "fr",
  "pos": "suffix",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "-s"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "9 23 1 6 11 11 5 26 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 6 entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "39 44 17",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "French entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "42 41 17",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages using catfix",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              11,
              12
            ]
          ],
          "bold_translation_offsets": [
            [
              9,
              10
            ]
          ],
          "english": "god → gods",
          "text": "dieu → dieux",
          "translation": "god → gods",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              13,
              14
            ]
          ],
          "bold_translation_offsets": [
            [
              11,
              12
            ]
          ],
          "english": "core → cores",
          "text": "noyau → noyaux",
          "translation": "core → cores",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              15,
              16
            ]
          ],
          "bold_translation_offsets": [
            [
              15,
              16
            ]
          ],
          "english": "Hebrew → Hebrews",
          "text": "hébreu → hébreux",
          "translation": "Hebrew → Hebrews",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used to form the regular plurals of nouns and adjectives in -au and -eu."
      ],
      "id": "en--x-fr-suffix-liuz9AHn",
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "9 23 1 6 11 11 5 26 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 6 entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "39 44 17",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "French entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "40 50 9",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "French suffixes with multiple plurals",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "42 41 17",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages using catfix",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              9,
              10
            ]
          ],
          "english": "louse → lice",
          "text": "pou → poux",
          "translation": "louse → lice",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used to form the irregular plurals of a few nouns in -ou (which regularly add -s)."
      ],
      "id": "en--x-fr-suffix-GK-9afHy",
      "links": [
        [
          "-s",
          "-s#French"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "other": "/z‿/"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Reforms of French orthography#Rectifications of 1990"
  ],
  "word": "-x"
}

{
  "etymology_number": "2",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "-x gender-neutral",
      "tags": [
        "canonical"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "-x",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "-xs",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "-z",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "gneut",
        "2": "#,#s,-z"
      },
      "expansion": "-x gender-neutral (noun-forming suffix, plural -x or -xs or -z)",
      "name": "fr-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "French",
  "lang_code": "fr",
  "pos": "suffix",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "French neologisms",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "39 44 17",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "French entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "42 41 17",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages using catfix",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "étudiant + -x → étudianx"
        },
        {
          "text": "ami + -x → amix"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "forms the gender-neutral of adjectives and nouns"
      ],
      "id": "en--x-fr-suffix-pAaJJ0rM",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(neologism, gender-neutral, nonstandard) forms the gender-neutral of adjectives and nouns"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "gender-neutral",
        "morpheme",
        "neologism",
        "nonstandard"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ks/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/s/"
    }
  ],
  "word": "-x"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "French countable suffixes",
    "French entries with incorrect language header",
    "French gender-neutral suffixes",
    "French lemmas",
    "French noun-forming suffixes",
    "French suffixes",
    "French suffixes with multiple plurals",
    "French terms derived from Old French",
    "French terms inherited from Old French",
    "Pages using catfix",
    "Pages with 6 entries",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "etymology_number": "1",
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "voyeul",
        "4": "voyeus",
        "t": "vowel"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French voyeus (“vowel”)",
      "name": "inh"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From a medieval ligature for -us, which looked similar to the letter x and was ultimately treated as identical to it. Thus Old French voyeus (“vowel”) was also spelt voyex, for instance. Later on, the u was reinserted before the -x and this latter thus became an alternative spelling of -s in said position.\nThis use of -x and particularly the irregularities in its application, which developed over time, have been criticized by grammarians for centuries, but no reform has ever been enacted. The most recent spelling reform of 1990 did not touch the matter either.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "suffix",
        "3": "",
        "4": "",
        "5": "",
        "6": "",
        "g": "",
        "g2": "",
        "head": "",
        "sort": ""
      },
      "expansion": "-x",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "-x",
      "name": "fr-suffix"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "French",
  "lang_code": "fr",
  "pos": "suffix",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "-s"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "French terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              11,
              12
            ]
          ],
          "bold_translation_offsets": [
            [
              9,
              10
            ]
          ],
          "english": "god → gods",
          "text": "dieu → dieux",
          "translation": "god → gods",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              13,
              14
            ]
          ],
          "bold_translation_offsets": [
            [
              11,
              12
            ]
          ],
          "english": "core → cores",
          "text": "noyau → noyaux",
          "translation": "core → cores",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              15,
              16
            ]
          ],
          "bold_translation_offsets": [
            [
              15,
              16
            ]
          ],
          "english": "Hebrew → Hebrews",
          "text": "hébreu → hébreux",
          "translation": "Hebrew → Hebrews",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used to form the regular plurals of nouns and adjectives in -au and -eu."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "French terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              9,
              10
            ]
          ],
          "english": "louse → lice",
          "text": "pou → poux",
          "translation": "louse → lice",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Used to form the irregular plurals of a few nouns in -ou (which regularly add -s)."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "-s",
          "-s#French"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "other": "/z‿/"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Reforms of French orthography#Rectifications of 1990"
  ],
  "word": "-x"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "French countable suffixes",
    "French entries with incorrect language header",
    "French gender-neutral suffixes",
    "French lemmas",
    "French noun-forming suffixes",
    "French suffixes",
    "French suffixes with multiple plurals",
    "Pages using catfix",
    "Pages with 6 entries",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "etymology_number": "2",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "-x gender-neutral",
      "tags": [
        "canonical"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "-x",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "-xs",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "-z",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "gneut",
        "2": "#,#s,-z"
      },
      "expansion": "-x gender-neutral (noun-forming suffix, plural -x or -xs or -z)",
      "name": "fr-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "French",
  "lang_code": "fr",
  "pos": "suffix",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "French gender-neutral terms",
        "French neologisms",
        "French nonstandard terms"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "étudiant + -x → étudianx"
        },
        {
          "text": "ami + -x → amix"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "forms the gender-neutral of adjectives and nouns"
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(neologism, gender-neutral, nonstandard) forms the gender-neutral of adjectives and nouns"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "gender-neutral",
        "morpheme",
        "neologism",
        "nonstandard"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ks/"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/s/"
    }
  ],
  "word": "-x"
}

Download raw JSONL data for -x meaning in French (3.8kB)

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

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable French dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-09-20 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-09-02 using wiktextract (d6fca27 and 65e1673). 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.