Alternative Spelling guide

-in'

suffix · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

This record is a supporting form or spelling variant of -ing. Use the canonical entry for the main definition and word-family path.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

suffix

Meaning 1

Pronunciation spelling of -ing.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: alt-of, colloquial, morpheme, pronunciation-spelling

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

G‐dropped pronunciation of -ing with /n/ instead of /ŋ/. It is inherited from Middle English -ynge, -inge, -yng, -ing, from two sources: * the Old English present participle suffix -ende; * the Old English verbal noun suffix -ung/-ing. The two Old English suffixes became confused in Middle English; although the exact mechanism of this confusion is disputed, -in' is probably derived from -ung/-ing with loss of /ɡ/ under low stress rather than from -ende.