-nīčė

Samogitian

Etymology

Most likely from Old East Slavic -ница (-nica). Compare Latvian -nīca, and also phonologically the -nyčia component of Lithuanian bažnyčia. Alternatively, formed from -nīks analogously to the formation of Latvian -niece.

Suffix

-nīčė (masculine -nīks)

1. female equivalent of -nīks: agent noun-forming suffix

   ‎paps (“chest; teat”) + ‎-nīčė → ‎papinīčė (“bra, brassiere”)

   ‎spaviednė (“confession”) + ‎-nīčė → ‎spaviednīčė (“listening room, confessional”)

Derived terms

Samogitian terms suffixed with -nīčė