-eur

The form -eur is a suffix that marks an agent noun or, occasionally, an adjective in loanwords from French. Agent nouns are nouns that indicate a person who does an action. Broadly speaking, then, -eur means “doer.” The suffix -eur is relatively common in both everyday and technical terms.

The suffix -eur ultimately comes from the Latin -or or -ator, which was used to indicate agent nouns.

An equivalent of -eur in words from English is the suffix -er, as in singer (someone who sings).

What are variants of -eur?

When agent nouns ending in -eur are used to refer to a feminine-gendered element, -eur becomes -euse, as in chanteuse (a female singer). Although -eur is a masculine-gendered ending for agent nouns, it is often (though not always) preferred over -euse as the default in English, regardless of the subject’s gender.

Want to know more? Read our Words That Use -euse article.

One example of a word you may be familiar with that features the suffix -eur is entrepreneur, “a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk.”

The first part of the word, entrepren-, comes from the French entreprendre, meaning “to undertake,” like in the related word enterprise. Because the suffix -eur means “doer”, entrepreneur roughly translates to “someone who undertakes (some venture).”

What are some words that use the suffix -eur?

The following words are all French loanwords and therefore use the equivalent form of -eur in French.

• chauffeur
• connoisseur
• danseur
• masseur
• provocateur
• rapporteur

What are some other forms that -eur may be commonly confused with?

• -eum
• -ure

Not every word that ends with the exact letters -eur uses the suffix -eur to indicate a “doer.” Non-agent nouns with similar endings include grandeur and monseigneur. Learn why monseigneur means “my lord” at our entry for the word.

A connoisseur is a kind of expert judge or discerning enthusiast, especially in fine arts of matters of taste. Given that the connoiss- part of the word comes from the French verb for “to know,” what is a literal translation of connoisseur?