释义 |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024-ic, suffix. - -ic is attached to nouns to form adjectives with the meaning "of or relating to:''metal + -ic → metallic;poet + -ic → poetic.This suffix is also attached to nouns to form adjectives with the meaning "having some characteristics of;
in the style of:'' ballet + -ic → balletic; sophomore + -ic → sophomoric; Byron + -ic → Byronic (= in the style of Byron).
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024-ic, - a suffix forming adjectives from other parts of speech, occurring originally in Greek and Latin loanwords (metallic;
poetic; archaic; public) and, on this model, used as an adjective-forming suffix with the particular senses "having some characteristics of '' (opposed to the simple attributive use of the base noun) (balletic; sophomoric); "in the style of '' (Byronic; Miltonic); "pertaining to a family of peoples or languages'' (Finnic; Semitic; Turkic). - [Chem.]a suffix, specialized in opposition to -ous, used to show the higher of two valences:ferric chloride.
- a noun suffix occurring chiefly in loanwords from Greek, where such words were originally adjectival (critic;
magic; music).
- Latin -icus
- French
- Latin -icus; in many words representing the cognate Greek -ikos (directly or through Latin); in some words replacing -ique
- Middle English -ic, -ik
IC, - Grammarpl. ICs. See immediate constituent.
- Electronicsintegrated circuit.
- intensive care.
I.C., - ReligionJesus Christ.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: -ic suffix forming adjectives - of, relating to, or resembling: allergic, Germanic, periodic
See also -ical - (in chemistry) indicating that an element is chemically combined in the higher of two possible valence states: ferric, stannic
Compare -ous Etymology: from Latin -icus or Greek -ikos; -ic also occurs in nouns that represent a substantive use of adjectives (magic) and in nouns borrowed directly from Latin or Greek (critic, music) |