-itus

Latin

Etymology 1

From Proto-Indo-European *-tós, suffix forming possessive adjectives from nouns (compare -ātus), combined with preceding material of uncertain origin (different words may have different sources of -ī-). According to one hypothesis, some words ending in -ītus are "decasuative" formations derived from former inflected noun forms that ended in -ī, such as the instrumental singular form of i-stem nouns or the genitive singular of o-stem nouns. For example, in crīnītus (“long-haired”), the ending -ītus may be from instrumental *-ih₁ + *-to-. But this type of derivation is disputed. Other words may have been formed by analogy. It is often difficult to distinguish the adjectival ending from the fourth-conjugation participial ending, and in some cases fourth-conjugation verbs may have been derived from original adjectives by back-formation; for example, the occurrence of the finite verb form crīnītur in Statius is presumably based on reinterpretation of crīnītus as a participle.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈiː.tus/, [ˈiːt̪ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈi.tus/, [ˈiːt̪us]

Suffix

-ītus (feminine -īta, neuter -ītum); first/second-declension suffix

1. Used to form adjectives.

See also

Latin terms suffixed with -itus

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /i.tus/, [ɪt̪ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /i.tus/, [it̪us]

Suffix

-itus (not comparable)

1. Alternative form of -tus

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈiː.tus/, [ˈiːt̪ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈi.tus/, [ˈiːt̪us]

Suffix

-ītus

1. perfect passive participle of -iō (fourth conjugation)