-ón
Galician
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Old Galician-Portuguese -on, probably from the ending of Latin words belonging to the Third Declension (-ō, -ōnem), used sometimes to change the sense or usage of original term. In this case, Galician -ón would be cognate to Portuguese -ão, Spanish -ón, Italian -one and French -on, compare Romanian -oi.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈoŋ/
Suffix
-ón m (noun-forming suffix, plural -óns, feminine -ona, feminine plural -onas)
- (added to verbs) a person or thing that does an action indicated by the root verb; used to form an agent noun
- forms a noun from a different (usually larger) but related or similar one
- forms the augmentative of nouns
Derived terms
Ligurian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈuŋ/
Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈon/ [ˈõn]
- Rhymes: -on
- Syllabification: -ón
Etymology 1
Probably from the ending of Latin words belonging to the Third Declension (-ō, -ōnem), used sometimes to change the sense or usage of original term. In this case, Spanish -ón would be cognate to Portuguese -ão, Italian -one, French -on (whence English -oon), and Romanian -oi.
Suffix
-ón m (noun-forming suffix, plural -ones, feminine -ona, feminine plural -onas)
-ón (adjective-forming suffix, feminine -ona, masculine plural -ones, feminine plural -onas)
- emphasizes that something is large, grand, intense, important
- indicates that someone or something has large attributes, or larger than usual
- for few cases, indicates that something is used wrong or frequently (forming adjectives and or nouns)
- boca + -ón → bocón (“big-mouth, big-mouthed, boastful”)
- emphasizes contempt for subject
- forms a noun from a different (usually larger) but related or similar one
- suffixed to verbs, doing something repeatedly or often
- (rare) for very few cases, indicates small size of or a lack of something (such as an ironic augmentative)
- pelo + -ón → pelón (“with little or no hair”)
- rabo + -ón → rabón (“with little or no tail”)
- rata (“rat”) + -ón → ratón (“mouse”)
- tapa + -ón → tapón (“cork, stopper, a little cover or lid”)
- monte + -ón → montón (“heap, pile, a "little mountain"”); although its origin may be a comparison with a little mountain of something, it also means "big amount"
Usage notes
- The suffix produces adjectives or nouns.
- Some Spanish words ending with this suffix have neither a Latin nor a Greek etymology, but an Arabic one:
- Many Spanish words end with -on (lacking a written accent, being always paroxytone), but most of those cases is an inflection for the third-person plural (ellos, ellas, also used with ustedes) preterite indicative form of a verb:
Etymology 2
Borrowed from English -on, a suffix extracted from argon, krypton and neon, the first three noble gases to be named, respectively from Ancient Greek ἀργόν (argón, “lazy, inactive”), κρυπτόν (kruptón, “hidden”) and νέον (néon, “new”); hence, ultimately from Ancient Greek -ον (-on), cognate with Latin -um.
Suffix
-ón m (noun-forming suffix, plural -ones)
- (chemistry) ending of every chemical element belonging only to the noble gases group, except helium (in Spanish helio)
Usage notes
Etymology 3
Borrowed from English -on, a suffix extracted from electron, originally a blend of electric + ion, named by Irish physicist George Johnstone Stoney.
Suffix
-ón m (noun-forming suffix, plural -ones)
- (nuclear physics) ending of most or every subatomic particle
Further reading
- “-ón”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014