-our

our 'our English Alternative forms en -or Standard American Etymology From en enm -our, from en xno -our, xno -ur, and en fro -or (modern fr -eur), from the Latin accusative suffix la -ōrem, from la -or. The spelling with u reflects the Anglo‐Norman raising of the Old French close‐mid vowel /o/ (which developed from the Latin long vowel /oː/) to a high‐back vowel /u/. In the United States, the spelling en -or—which had coexisted as a variant since Middle English—was standardized by Noah Webster to match the original Latin form. Suffix en British spelling Commonwealth spelling Used to form abstract nouns of state, quality, or action from Latin or French roots. en colour, en favour, en honour, en labour, en valour Derived terms en Middle English Etymology 1 enm :bor fro:-eor From enm fro -eor, from enm la -ātor; reinforced by fro -or and its source, la -or -or, -ōrem. enm -atour. Alternative forms enm -eor -eur -or -ore -orr -oure -owr -owre -ur -ure Pronunciation enm /-ˈuːr/ /-ur/ /-ər/ 9 41 Suffix enm suffix Forms agent nouns from other nouns or verbs, usually of Romance origin.-ǒur suf MED31080 enm non-productive Reflects a variety of other Old French deverbal formations. Usage notes This suffix is sometimes confused with enm -er agentive and enm -ere agentive, especially in Late Middle English. For forms stemming from that confusion, see those entries. Derived terms enm Descendants en -or (en -er) sco -or (en -er) References Etymology 2 Suffix enm suffix 1 enm -ure Old French Suffix fro suffix fro often late Anglo-Norman fro -or (both etymologies)