ität
ität is a productive German noun suffix used to form abstract nouns from adjectives or participles, indicating a quality, property, or state. Nouns ending in -ität are feminine (die Realität, die Aktivität, die Identität). The suffix is common in modern German and is cognate with the English -ity and the Latin -itas, having entered German through Latin and French.
- The suffix attaches to many adjectives to yield terms such as Realität (reality), Aktivität (activity), Kreativität
- It also appears in some Latin-derived loanwords via French, for example Universität (university).
- -ität is often used in scientific, philosophical, and cultural vocabulary, where abstract concepts, properties, or generalized
- The choice among -ität, -heit, -keit, and other suffixes depends on historical development and word origin.
- Realität, Aktivität, Kreativität, Stabilität, Identität, Universität.
- Not every adjective yields -ität; other suffixes such as -ung or -keit create related nouns (e.g.,
- The suffix derives from Latin -itas, adopted into German via Latin and French influence. It is
- -ität serves to lexicalize abstract qualities and states, contributing to the formal, technical, and conceptual registers