Todayโs fun English suffix is โ-ageโ, a very flexible nounifier.
โ-ageโ can be stuck on a verb to mean โthe thing that is verbedโ. Luggage, coverage, appendage, wreckage.
It can be stuck on a verb to mean โthe place where verb happensโ. Storage, carriage, anchorage.
It can be stuck on an adjective or even another noun to abstract the wordโs core concept. Shortage, postage, percentage, roughage, leverage.
It can go on a concrete noun to refer to the nounโs quality collectively. Peerage, sewerage (all the pipes), footage (length of film), mileage.
Then there are words which look like they might have an โ-ageโ suffix but itโs just a coincidence. Sausage, message, advantage.
#etymology #english #language