DEFINITION of -ce

forms nouns: the act of (being), the state of (being); In medical terminology, endings like -ence/-ance (where -ce completes the form) derive from Latin and create nouns that describe the quality, state, or result of an action tied to the root verb.

  • Examples include continence (“ability to retain”) or impedance (“resistance to flow”), often seen in pharmacology, physiology, and diagnostics to denote measurable properties or conditions; they parallel -tion/-ation but emphasize ongoing states rather than discrete processes.

ETYMOLOGY of -ce

latin - From Latin -entia/-antia, noun-forming suffixes from present participles (e.g., dependentia “state of hanging upon”).

  • Entered English via Old French (-ance/-ence) in the 13th century, later systematized in scientific Latin for medical nouns by the Renaissance.
  • -ce itself is the phonetic/spelling vestige of Latin -tia/-tia, adapted to English pronunciation rules.

RELATED TERMS to -ce

| -ce | the act of (being) | the state of (being) | - | - | | ---------- | ------------------ | -------------------- | --------------------- | ---------------- | | -ation | YES | - | the result of (being) | something that is | | -cy | YES | YES | - | - |


DERIVATIONS of -ce

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Med roots dictionary Appendix A Prefixes Appendix B Combining Forms Appendix C Suffixes Appendix D Suffix forms