-ón

See also: Appendix:Variations of "on"

Galician

Alternative forms

• -om (reintegrationist)
• -ão (reintegrationist)

Etymology

From Old Galician-Portuguese -on, probably from the ending of Latin words belonging to the Third Declension (-ō, -ōnem), used sometimes to change the sense or usage of original term. In this case, Galician -ón would be cognate to Portuguese -ão, Spanish -ón, Italian -one and French -on, compare Romanian -oi.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈoŋ/

Suffix

-ón m (noun-forming suffix, plural -óns, feminine -ona, feminine plural -onas)

2. (added to verbs) a person or thing that does an action indicated by the root verb; used to form an agent noun

   ‎ornear (“to horn, trumpet”) + ‎-ón → ‎orneón (“drone of a bagpipe”)

   ‎pisar (“to press”) + ‎-ón → ‎pisón (“rammer”)

   ‎podar (“to prune”) + ‎-ón → ‎podón (“prunning hook”)

3. forms a noun from a different (usually larger) but related or similar one

   ‎abella (“bee”) + ‎-ón → ‎abellón (“drone”)

   ‎cagalla (“dropping”) + ‎-ón → ‎cagallón (“turd”)

   ‎caixa (“box”) + ‎-ón → ‎caixón (“drawer”)

4. forms the augmentative of nouns

Derived terms

Galician terms suffixed with -ón

Ligurian

Etymology

From Latin -ōne(m), accusative of -ō (3^rd declension noun suffix).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈuŋ/

Suffix

-ón m (plural -oìn, feminine -ónn-a)

1. Emphasizes that something is large, grand, intense, important

   ‎mêgo (“physician”) + ‎-ón → ‎mêgón (“healer”)

2. Used with a verb stem to form agent nouns

   ‎giastemâ (“to blaspheme”) + ‎-ón → ‎giastemón (“blasphemer”)

Ligurian terms suffixed with -ón

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈon/ [ˈõn]
• Rhymes: -on
• Syllabification: -ón

Etymology 1

Probably from the ending of Latin words belonging to the Third Declension (-ō, -ōnem), used sometimes to change the sense or usage of original term. In this case, Spanish -ón would be cognate to Portuguese -ão, Italian -one, French -on (whence English -oon), and Romanian -oi.

Suffix

-ón m (noun-forming suffix, plural -ones, feminine -ona, feminine plural -onas)
-ón (adjective-forming suffix, feminine -ona, masculine plural -ones, feminine plural -onas)

1. (intensive) emphasizes that something is large, grand, intense, important

   ‎problema + ‎-ón → ‎problemón (“a big trouble”)

2. (intensive) indicates that someone or something has large attributes, or larger than usual

   ‎ceja + ‎-ón → ‎cejón (“having large eyebrows”)

   ‎cabeza + ‎-ón → ‎cabezón (“having large head”)

3. for few cases, indicates that something is used wrong or frequently (forming adjectives and or nouns)

   ‎boca + ‎-ón → ‎bocón (“big-mouth, big-mouthed, boastful”)

4. emphasizes contempt for subject
5. forms a noun from a different (usually larger) but related or similar one

   ‎silla (“chair”) + ‎-ón → ‎sillón (“armchair”)

   ‎caja (“box”) + ‎-ón → ‎cajón (“drawer”)

6. suffixed to verbs, doing something repeatedly or often

   ‎llorar + ‎-ón → ‎llorón (“something or someone that cries”)

   ‎mirar + ‎-ón → ‎mirón (“something or someone that watches”)

8. (rare, diminutive) for very few cases, indicates small size of or a lack of something (such as an ironic augmentative)

   ‎pelo + ‎-ón → ‎pelón (“with little or no hair”)

   ‎rabo + ‎-ón → ‎rabón (“with little or no tail”)

   ‎rata (“rat”) + ‎-ón → ‎ratón (“mouse”)

   ‎tapa + ‎-ón → ‎tapón (“cork, stopper, a little cover or lid”)

   ‎monte + ‎-ón → ‎montón (“heap, pile, a "little mountain"”); although its origin may be a comparison with a little mountain of something, it also means "big amount"

Usage notes

• The suffix produces adjectives or nouns.
• Some Spanish words ending with this suffix have neither a Latin nor a Greek etymology, but an Arabic one:
  • algodón, rincón, limón
• Many Spanish words end with -on (lacking a written accent, being always paroxytone), but most of those cases is an inflection for the third-person plural (ellos, ellas, also used with ustedes) preterite indicative form of a verb:
  • amaron, hablaron, corrieron, dijeron, etc.

See also

• -azo
• -oso
• -ote
• -udo

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English -on, a suffix extracted from argon, krypton and neon, the first three noble gases to be named, respectively from Ancient Greek ἀργόν (argón, “lazy, inactive”), κρυπτόν (kruptón, “hidden”) and νέον (néon, “new”); hence, ultimately from Ancient Greek -ον (-on), cognate with Latin -um.

Suffix

-ón m (noun-forming suffix, plural -ones)

1. (chemistry) ending of every chemical element belonging only to the noble gases group, except helium (in Spanish helio)

   neón, criptón, argón, xenón, radón

Usage notes

• Aside from the group of noble gases, 1 element in the periodic table ends with "a" (plata), 1 with "c" (zinc), 2 with "e" (azufre, cobre), 1 with "l" (níquel), 1 with "r" (flúor), none with "ón" and the rest with "o"; boron = boro, carbon = carbono (carbón means charcoal), silicon = silicio.

Etymology 3

Borrowed from English -on, a suffix extracted from electron, originally a blend of electric + ion, named by Irish physicist George Johnstone Stoney.

Suffix

-ón m (noun-forming suffix, plural -ones)

1. (nuclear physics) ending of most or every subatomic particle

   protón, electrón, neutrón, bosón, hadrón

Further reading

• “-ón”, in Diccionario de la lengua española (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy, 2023 November 28