-ii
See also: Appendix:Variations of "ii"
English
Etymology
From rebracketing of plural forms like radii (plural of radius), borrowed from Latin. Latin forms the nominative plural of second-declension nouns by replacing -us with -ī, which results in plural forms that end in -iī for nouns with singulars ending in -ius. Some English speakers occasionally extend -ii to form nonstandard plural forms of English nouns that end simply with the letters -us or with other letter sequences with a similar pronunciation (such as -is /ɪs/).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): (variously) /aɪ/, /i.aɪ/, /iː/
Suffix
-ii
Usage notes
- All such forms are nonstandard, and therefore may be proscribed.
- For certain forms, such as cactii, a standard spelling with -i (cacti) exists; in this case, the -ii spelling may be simply a misspelling of the -i form.
- Other innovative plurals in -ii, such as stewardii, bear no resemblance to any standard plural form of the word; these may be used as intentionally nonstandard forms, often for the sake of humor. Compare the (often humorous) intentional use of nonstandard plural forms in -en.
Italian
Suffix
-ii (non-lemma form of verb-forming suffix)
- used with a stem to form the first-person singular past historic of regular -ire verbs
References
- Patota, Giuseppe (2002) Lineamenti di grammatica storica dell'italiano (in Italian), Bologna: il Mulino, →ISBN, page 145
Latin
Suffix
-iī
- inflection of -ius:
- nominative/vocative masculine plural
- genitive masculine/neuter singular
Navajo
Suffix
-ii
Usage notes
Example: from the verb hataał (“he sings”) + -ii, we can make a noun for hataałii (“singer”)
Derived terms
Navajo terms suffixed with -ii
Phalura
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /-ii, -i/
Suffix
-ii
- Genitive suffix
Alternative forms
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