Ments

Ments

Suffix (Noun-forming) · /mənts/

Definition

The plural form of the English suffix -ment, which forms nouns from verbs, typically indicating an action, process, state, or result. Common -ment nouns include: government, movement, treatment, judgment, agreement, achievement, development, environment, arrangement, and payment.

Origin

From Old French -ment, from Latin -mentum (a suffix forming nouns indicating the result of or instrument for an action, from the verb root). Examples: documentum (from docere, to teach), instrumentum (from instruere, to build or equip), fragmentum (from frangere, to break). The suffix was enormously productive in Old French and entered English in large quantities via the Norman Conquest. Nearly every Latin -mentum noun produced a French -ment noun and then an English -ment noun.