Sufixal

Sufixal is an adjective used in linguistics to describe things related to suffixes or formed by suffixes. It designates morphological phenomena that involve attaching a morpheme at the end of a word or stem in order to modify meaning, grammatical category, or other linguistic properties. Sufixal forms, sufixed processes, and sufixed derivation or inflection fall under this broad designation, contrasting with prefixal or infixal morphology.

Etymology and spelling: The term is built from the word suffix plus the adjectival suffix -al. In English, the more common form is suffixal, but sufixel variants such as sufikzal or sufixal appear in some languages and scholarly traditions due to transliteration or orthographic conventions.

Usage in linguistic analysis: Sufixal phenomena are central to the study of word formation and grammatical marking in many languages. A suffixal derivation or suffixal inflection attaches morphemes at the end of a base to create new lexical items or to express grammatical information such as tense, number, case, or mood. In typological descriptions, suffixal strategies are often contrasted with prefixal and infixal strategies to classify how languages build words and convey syntax.

Cross-linguistic relevance: Numerous language families rely heavily on suffixation as a primary mechanism of morphology. Sufixal analysis helps linguists describe patterns of affixation, identify productive suffixes, and understand how words change form in different grammatical contexts.

See also: suffix, morpheme, inflection, derivation, morphology.