Ities

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A suffix forming nouns that denote quality, condition, or state, often derived from adjectives to express abstract ideas or characteristics
2. An ending added to base words to create nouns indicating a particular attribute, condition, or domain of being, typically abstract and intangible
3. A morphological element used at the end of words to produce nouns signifying a specific quality, condition, or collective state usually abstract in nature

Etymology: "Ities" is the plural of "itie," a word that is rarely met on its own. The form most people encounter is a plural such as "ities," which turns up in English as a suffix sequence rather than a standalone term. Its most famous appearance is in the Latin-derived suffix "-ity," used to form abstract nouns from adjectives, as in "possibility" from "possible" or "civility" from "civil." The source does not give a separate history for "ities" beyond identifying it as the plural of "itie," so anything more would be guesswork. Readers wanting the deeper story are better served by looking at the suffix "-ity" itself, which came into English through Old French from Latin "-itas," a noun-forming ending attached to adjectives.