-இ

Tamil

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /-ɪ/, [-i]

Etymology 1

Compare இயங்கு (iyaṅku, “to work, to perform”).

Suffix

-இ • (-i)

1. -ator, -ed, -machine; suffix added to a verb to produce agent nouns (names of machines that corresponds to its respective root verb.)

   Examples:

   • ‎வழி (vaḻi, “way”) + ‎காட்டு (kāṭṭu, “show”) + ‎-இ (-i) → ‎வழிகாட்டி (vaḻikāṭṭi, “compass, GPS”)
   • ‎நால் (nāl, “four”) + ‎கால் (kāl, “leg”) + ‎-இ (-i) → ‎நாற்காலி (nāṟkāli, “chair”)

Etymology 2

Cognate with Kannada -ಇಸು (-isu), Malayalam -ഇക്കുക (-ikkuka), Telugu -ఇంచు (-iñcu).

Suffix

-இ • (-i)

1. forms verbs from nouns

   Example:

   • ‎ஆரம்பம் (ārampam, “beginning”) + ‎-இ (-i) → ‎ஆரம்பி (ārampi, “to begin”)

2. forms verbs from loanwords

   Examples:

   • Sanskrit शपति (śapati, “to curse”) +‎ -இ (-i) = சபி (capi, “to curse”)
   • Sanskrit पठति (paṭhati, “to read”) +‎ -இ (-i) = படி (paṭi, “to read”)

3. causative suffix

Etymology 3

Suffix

-இ • (-i)

1. forms feminine words

   Synonym: -அள் (-aḷ)

Derived terms

Tamil terms suffixed with -இ