-idinsuffix
Primary stress is usually attracted to the syllable immediately preceding this suffix and vowels may be reduced accordingly.
Origin: Either (i) formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Or (ii) a borrowing from German. Etymons: cyanidin n.; German Cyanidin.
Etymology: < -idin (in cyanidin n. or its etymon German Cyanidin). Compare German -idin (formations in which are found from the early 20th cent., apparently earliest in Cyanidin ). Compare -idine suffix.Recorded from the early 20th cent. in a small group of chemical terms, all borrowings or adaptations of German words: cyanidin n., delphinidin n., pelargonidin n., and peonidin n.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
suffix