-ense

-ense

1. Neuter of -ensis

Learned borrowing from Latin -ēnsis (“originating in”), whence also the inherited Italian doublet -ese.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛn.se/^[1]
• Rhymes: -ɛnse
• Hyphenation: -èn‧se

-ense m or f by sense (adjective-forming suffix, plural -ensi) or
-ense m or f by sense (noun-forming suffix, plural -ensi)

1. used to create adjectives and nouns that denote ethnonyms, like parmense, from Parma or statunitense, from Stati Uniti

• -ese

• -sene, sene

-ēnse

1. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter singular of -ēnsis

Learned borrowing from Latin -ēnsis (“originating in”). Compare the inherited doublet -ês.

-ense m or f (adjective-forming suffix, plural -enses) or
-ense m or f by sense (noun-forming suffix, plural -enses)

1. forms the names of residents or inhabitants of a place

   Synonyms: -ês, -ão, -eiro, -ista, -enho

   ‎Berlim (“Berlin”) + ‎-ense → ‎berlinense (“Berliner”)

2. forms adjectives meaning “of or relating to [the suffixed place]”

   ‎Berlim (“Berlin”) + ‎-ense → ‎berlinense (“of or relating to Berlin”)

The following ending(s) change(s) in words appended with this suffix:

• ⟨-ição⟩ (being part of a hiatus in feminine nouns, including plurals) → ⟨-(i)cion-⟩
• ⟨-ção⟩, ⟨-são⟩ (in feminine nouns, including plurals) → ⟨-cion-⟩, ⟨-sion-⟩
• ⟨-ão⟩ (as a non-verb suffix, including plurals) → ⟨-on-⟩
• ⟨-ã(o)-⟩ (including plurals) → ⟨-(i)an-⟩, ⟨-am-⟩, or ⟨-(i)on-⟩, depending on the base word's etymology
• ⟨-m⟩ (including plurals) → ⟨-n-⟩
• ⟨-z⟩ (in some nouns from Latin, including plurals) → ⟨-c(i)-⟩
• ⟨-vel⟩ (unstressed and adjectival, including plurals) → ⟨-bili-⟩
• ⟨-z⟩ (adjectival, including plurals) → ⟨-ci-⟩
• ⟨-dade⟩ (as a noun suffix, including plurals) → ⟨-t-⟩

• “-ense”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “-ense”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Learned borrowing from Latin -ēnsis (“originating in”). Compare the inherited doublet -és.

• IPA^(key): /ˈense/ [ˈẽn.se]
• Rhymes: -ense
• Syllabification: -en‧se

-ense m or f (adjective-forming suffix, masculine and feminine plural -enses)
-ense m or f by sense (noun-forming suffix, plural -enses)

1. forms adjectives and nouns that denote ethnonyms, like estadounidense, from Estados Unidos

• “-ense”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025