-ment

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English -ment,^[2][3] borrowed from Anglo-Norman -ment and Old French -ment, and their source borrowed from Latin -mentum.^[4][5][6][3] The Latin suffix is an extension in -t- of the Indo-European base of -men,^[4][7] which is related to Ancient Greek -μα (-ma).^[4][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Latin the suffix went on verb stems and named the result of an action, as in fragmentum (“a broken piece”), or its means, as in ōrnāmentum.^[4][5][6] It also occurs on adjectives, as in ātrāmentum.^[4]

Semantic evolution

In Vulgar Latin and French it was extended to nouns of action, replacing -tiō there;^[6] English then borrowed many such words, as abridgement, commencement and government.^[6][5][4] Because the verb was usually borrowed along with the noun, speakers took -ment as an English suffix.^[3] From the late 14th century it appears on Germanic verbs.^[4] From the 16th it was freely used on both Romance and native verbs.^[4][3][5] From the 17th century it was also common with the prefixes en-, em- and be-, as in entanglement and bewilderment.^[4] Formations on adjectives such as oddment stayed sporadic.^[4][6] Fowler called oddment and funniment freaks based on a misreading of merriment, which he took from an obsolete verb merry.^[5]

Timeline

• late 14th and 15th centuries – first on verbs of Germanic origin: eggment, hangment, onement.^[4]
• 16th century – on verbs both of Romance origin (banishment, enhancement) and of Germanic origin (acknowledgement, atonement, wonderment).^[4]
• 16th century on – sporadically on adjectives: foolishment, merriment.^[4]
• 17th century on – ailment, betterment, fulfilment, shipment, embankment.^[4]
• 20th century – bemusement, encirclement, upliftment.^[4]

Meanings

Suffix

1. Forming nouns of action or process from verbs: recruitment, management.^[8][9][3]
2. Forming nouns for the result or product of an action: pavement, embankment.^[8][9][3]
3. Forming nouns for a means or instrument: ornament, inducement.^[8][3]
4. Forming nouns for a state or condition: amazement, enjoyment.^[9][3]

Word family

• achievement
• agreement
• development
• government
• settlement

Related words

• -ation
• -age
• -ance

Usage notes

A final -y after a consonant becomes i before the suffix, as in accompaniment.^[4] The matching adjectives end in -mental.^[6] In verbs that match such nouns, such as compliment and implement, the ending has a fuller vowel, /ˌment/.^[8]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e f Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins