-ity

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-ity in ME. -it(i)e, repr. (O)F. -ité, L. -itās, -itāt-, the form in which -tās, -tāt- -TY usu. appears (cf. -I-), as in suāvitās suavity, f. suāvis, pūritās purity, f. pūrus, auctōritās authority, f. auctor; after i the suffix became -etās, as in pietās, varietās, f. pius, varius; it was added to many adj. suffixes, whence the Eng. forms -acity, -ality, -anity, -arity, -bility, -idity, -ility, -ivity, -ocity, -osity, -uity.

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