-lich

== German == === Alternative forms === -licht (now uncommon) === Etymology === Adjective: From Middle High German -lich, -līch, from Old High German -līh, from Proto-West Germanic *-līk. Cognate with English -ly and Dutch -lijk. Adverb: From Middle High German -līche, from Old High German -līhho. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /lɪç/ === Suffix === -lich Used to form adjectives from verbs, to express that "something can be done with the person or thing described". ‎verstehen (“to understand”) + ‎-lich → ‎verständlich (“that can be understood, understandable”) Used to form adjectives from verbs, to express that "that the person or thing described does something". ‎sterben (“to die”) + ‎-lich → ‎sterblich (“that dies, mortal”) Used to form adjectives from nouns, indicating a likening to that noun. ‎Abenteuer (“adventure”) + ‎-lich → ‎abenteuerlich (“adventurous, risky”) ‎Kind (“child”) + ‎-lich → ‎kindlich (“childlike”) Used to form adjectives from nouns describing timespans, to indicate regular repetition after each such time. The noun can optionally be qualified by a numeral. ‎Jahr (“year”) + ‎-lich → ‎jährlich (“repeated every year, yearly”) ‎zwei (“two”) + ‎Woche (“week”) + ‎-lich → ‎zweiwöchentlich (“biweekly, every two weeks”) Used to form adjectives from nouns describing acts or properties ascribed to a certain entity, often acting as relational adjectives. ‎Betrieb (“company, operations”) + ‎-lich → ‎betrieblich (“pertaining to or performed by the company”) ‎Pflanze (“plant”) + ‎-lich → ‎pflanzlich (“botanical, pertaining to or produced by plants”) Used to form adjectives from certain adjectives to express a lesser or degree of their quality. ‎rot (“red”) + ‎-lich → ‎rötlich (“reddish, red-tinged”) Used to form adverbs from adjectives. ‎bekannt (“known”) + ‎-lich → ‎bekanntlich (“publicly, as it is known”) ==== Usage notes ==== When attached to words ending with an unstressed -en, an excrescent -t- has typically been inserted between it and the suffix: ‎eigen + ‎-lich → ‎eigentlich. This form has been standardized for all lexicalized words of that type, however, ad-hoc derivations, especially in the sense of relational adjectives, are likely to not feature it. ==== Derived terms ==== === See also === -ig -isch === References === === Further reading === “-lich” in Duden online “-lich”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎[1] (in German) == Middle English == === Etymology 1 === ==== Suffix ==== -lich alternative form of -ly (“adjectival suffix”) === Etymology 2 === ==== Suffix ==== -lich alternative form of -ly (“adverbial suffix”)