sufiksile

Sufiksile is a term used in Estonian linguistics to denote the dative singular form of the noun sufiks, which means suffix. In descriptive grammar, sufiksile is employed when the suffix itself is the indirect object or the topic of discussion. The base word sufiks stems from the concept of affixation in morphology, namely the addition of a bound morpheme to the end of a word to modify its meaning or grammatical category.

Formation and syntax: Like other Estonian nouns, sufiks is declined across cases. The dative singular is formed by adding the ending -ile, yielding sufiksile. This form is not a separate productive morpheme attached to every word; rather, it is a case-marked noun used to discuss the suffix as an entity, for example in grammatical descriptions or glossaries.

Usage: In scholarly writing, sufiksile appears when describing how a suffix is applied to a stem or when distinguishing mentions of the suffix from the suffix’s actual function in word formation. It serves as a convenient referent for discussions about morphology, grammatical agreement, and related phenomena in Estonian linguistics.

See also: Suffix, Estonian grammar, noun inflection.