zero suffix

English

Etymology

From zero +‎ suffix.

Noun

zero suffix (plural zero suffixes)

1. (linguistic morphology) A suffix which is a null morpheme, used in models of linguistic analysis to represent the lack of a suffix where one might otherwise be expected (for example, as one of several inflections that a stem can take, or the reduction of a historically vocalised suffix to the point that it is inaudible).

   Synonym: null suffix

   Coordinate term: zero prefix

See also

• -∅ (representation of the zero suffix)