-ant

Riyan

Etymology

From Old Riyan -ant, a reanalysed suffix from an earlier compounding with the word skant (“man”). This term originally denoted a male agent, while -aor (from vjaor, "woman") denoted a female agent. However, the meaning began to shift after the Old Riyan period to refer to inanimate referents such as tools. Accommodating this, the -aor ending widened in scope to become amore general human agentive, losing its specific female connotation. It's thought this process was completed by around the 17th century, by which point -ant would have always been thought of as inanimate by Riyan speakers.

Pronunciation

• (Kuoma) IPA^(key): /-ant/, [-ɑnt]

Suffix

-ant

1. forms inanimate agent nouns

   șaond (“to write”) + -ant → șaonant (“typewriter”)

Derived terms

• ambínant (“broadcaster”)
• lyșpant (“camera”)
• șaonant (“typewriter”)