Beautifiers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Items or substances that enhance appearance or beauty in various contexts
2. Tools or agents used in cosmetic applications to improve aesthetic appeal
3. Elements designed to beautify surroundings or individuals, ranging from makeup to decorative features

Etymology: "Beautifiers" is the plural of "beautifier," a straightforward formation: the verb "beautify" with the agent suffix "-er," meaning something that makes a thing beautiful. The verb "beautify" was built from "beauty" plus the suffix "-ify," a route that brought the Old French ending "-ifier" into English, and "beauty" itself came into English from Old French "beauté," which traces back to Latin "bellus" through the same family of forms. The "-ify" in "beautify" is a Latin-derived verb-making ending, so the word is layered: a Latin-rooted verb with an English agent suffix on top. The "-er" ending has its own long history. It descends from the Latin "-arius," which passed into Old French as "-ier" and into Middle English as "-er," and it was already in Old English as "-ere" in words for people who did a job. That is why the same ending appears in "baker," "writer," and, here, a noun for something that does the beautifying.