26 జనవరి, 2026

Those wonderful "-id" adjectives.

A few posts down, I used the word "fervid," which I like, and have even blogged about before, and a couple commenters took notice.

I like it, not just for the meaning but visually, the letters. Something about that "-id" ending, which seems a bit unusual for an adjective. And yet, if you go looking, you'll find a lot.

Some of my favorites: fetid, flaccid, florid, gelid, horrid, insipid, intrepid, languid, limpid, livid, lucid, lurid, morbid, pallid, placid, putrid, sordid, stolid, stupid, torrid, trepid, turbid, vivid.

I looked up the "-id" ending in the OED and I got this strange response:
Scarcely a living formative! That sounded odd, but I do get it. It means you can't use it anymore to form an adjective. It's not like, say, "-ful" or "-able." 

And, in fact, "-id" was never a living formative in English. The "-id" adjectives arrived into English with that ending already attached. 

I could make up the word "grokable" or "grokful" — this post raised a grokable question, and it's admittedly grokful (and grokky and grokish) — but I can't foist "grokid" on you. That would be stupid. Because "-id" is not a living formative.

49 కామెంట్‌లు:

rhhardin చెప్పారు...

Chambermaid

Ann Althouse చెప్పారు...

That's a noun.

Aggie చెప్పారు...

torpid, vapid....

Ficta చెప్పారు...

Rabid. Yes, wonderful words. They all seem to carry an extra oomph to them.

Saint Croix చెప్పారు...

Weird how so many of the -id words are negative and disgusting!

Saint Croix చెప్పారు...

You forgot "rancid."

(Rancid is a great punk band, by the way, very similar to the Clash, at least vocally).

Saint Croix చెప్పారు...

I don't like that word "flaccid" at all. Although, if I went around rock hard all the time, that would really suck.

Maybe flaccid is underrated. So to speak.

bagoh20 చెప్పారు...

When I was young, I'd often look in the mirror and chant "grokid, grokid, grokid".

Saint Croix చెప్పారు...

Ooh, I found a vocabulary page.

I know what you're going to say.

Rapid! Splendid!

Dr Weevil చెప్పారు...

Also acid, acrid, and tepid. All common Latin adjectives with their inflectional endings removed, as you will see if you look up ‘acidus’, ‘acridus’, and so on on Logeion - I’ve typed in the URL four times, but the fucking software has ‘corrected’ it every time, so you’ll have to Bing it.

Saint Croix చెప్పారు...

Are you flaccid, rigid, or hybrid?

Joe Bar చెప్పారు...

Turgid.

Joe Bar చెప్పారు...

Vapid

Saint Croix చెప్పారు...

Did we do squalid?

Also, eek, frigid. I hate frigid! Big fan of torrid.

"We started off torrid and ended up squalid, frigid, and flaccid."

Saint Croix చెప్పారు...

I think we're diving into my Id with these damn -id words.

Lem Vibe Bandit చెప్పారు...

Asked AI for a more tepid sounding list...

Arid
Fluid
Gelid
Humid
Hybrid
Lucid
Rapid
Solid
Stolid
Tepid
Torpid
Valid
Vivid

Enigma చెప్పారు...

@SaintCroix: Can we convert "id" into "idid"?

Dr Weevil చెప్పారు...

‘hybrid’, though Latin, is an exception: it comes from a noun (‘hybrida’) that originally meant a cross between a wild boar and a domesticated swine, and was then used by analogy of other cross-breeds, human and animal.

Lem Vibe Bandit చెప్పారు...

Merriam Webster: "Don't be afraid to use trepid. After all, it has been in the English language for more than 350 years—longer, by 30 years, than its antonym intrepid. Trepid (from Latin trepidus, meaning "alarmed" or "agitated") isn't used as much as intrepid, but it can be a good word at times.

Writer Bill Kaufman, for example, found a use for it in a Newsday article, in which an aquarium volunteer is "asked if she is perhaps a little trepid about swimming with sharks in a 12-foot deep, 120,000 gallon tank." (Her fearless reply: "Not really.") The more intrepid among you might even consider using trepidate for "to tremble with fear" and trepidant, meaning "timid" or "trembling." These are uncommon words, granted, but they haven't breathed their last."

Curious George చెప్పారు...

"Ann Althouse said... Some of my favorites: ...flaccid..."

Poor Meade

Ann Althouse చెప్పారు...

You can like a word without liking what it connotes. Many of the most exciting words refer to something bad.

Lem Vibe Bandit చెప్పారు...

Intrepid Peter carried a sword.

"Peter's sword was not a weapon for personal protection but rather a symbol of his role as one of Jesus' closest disciples. The sword was used during the arrest of Jesus, and Peter's action was a response to the situation, reflecting his understanding of Jesus' mission and the nature of His kingdom. The sword symbolizes the temptation to resort to violence in the face of conflict, as seen in the incident where Peter struck the servant of the high priest. Jesus' rebuke of Peter serves as a profound teaching moment, emphasizing the principle of non-violence and the fulfillment of divine purpose. The sword also highlights the contrast between worldly and divine approaches to power and authority, as well as the call for trust in God's plan and rejection of worldly methods of achieving justice."

tcrosse చెప్పారు...

I kid you not.

Robert Marshall చెప్పారు...

Many of these are things which are bad, like "stupid" or "horrid." How about "gravid," ordinarily considered a good thing, especially in our reproductively-deficient societies.

boatbuilder చెప్పారు...

An idiotic discussion.

boatbuilder చెప్పారు...

That was a joke...

Jupiter చెప్పారు...

rancor, liquor, fervor, rigor, stupor, vapor ...

Immanuel Rant చెప్పారు...

Jupiter at 1:17 is interesting. Rancor/Rancid; Liquor/Liquid; Fervor/Fervid; Rigor/Rigid; Stupor/Stupid; Vapor/Vapid.

I would not have made the connection - thanks!

Lazarus చెప్పారు...

I see your "fervid" and raise you "perfervid."

It's "fervid" but more perferse.

MadTownGuy చెప్పారు...

From the American Heritage Dictionary:

"-id, suff.


1. One belonging to a specified dynastic line: Abbasid.
2.
a. Meteor associated with or appearing to radiate from a specified constellation or comet: Perseid.
b. Member of a class of stars typified by a certain star in a specified constellation: Cepheid.
3. Organism belonging to a specified taxonomic group, often a family having a name ending in -idae according to taxonomic principles or a class or other taxon having a name ending in -idae: cichlid, magnoliid.
[Latin -idēs, from Greek[ιδησ], patronymic suffix. Senses 2 and 3, from New Latin -idae, from plural of Latin -idēs.]"

rhhardin చెప్పారు...

"Chambermaid"

"That's a noun."

Think of it as an -id adjective, meaning chambermaid-like.

R C Belaire చెప్పారు...

"Flaccid" has such ugly connotations. Best to avoid it.

Leora చెప్పారు...

The id ending is useful in Scrabble.

Kai Akker చెప్పారు...

Borid.

Jupiter చెప్పారు...

"Borid."
Close. Horror.

Ice Nine చెప్పారు...

>Because "-id" is not a living formative.<

Words that have the suffix "-id" are common, useful, and definitely living in medical vernacular.

Grundoon చెప్పారు...

Living Formative is going to be the name of my next rock band.

Grundoon చెప్పారు...
ఈ కామెంట్‌ను రచయిత తీసివేశారు.
wsw చెప్పారు...

Covid

Kevin చెప్పారు...

Ibid.

Kevin చెప్పారు...

It's the End of the Word as We Know It.

LibertarianLeisure చెప్పారు...

Parsing language, words, and here word endings with id, the best of the best to me, on Althouse.

Ann Althouse చెప్పారు...

"Jupiter at 1:17 is interesting. Rancor/Rancid; Liquor/Liquid; Fervor/Fervid; Rigor/Rigid; Stupor/Stupid; Vapor/Vapid. I would not have made the connection - thanks!"

Great observation. But these things happened in French/Latin. The words came into English already formed. It remains true that "-id" is not a living formative. You can't make a new word with "-id" the way you can with things like "-ful," "-able," "-y," and "-ish."

Gerda Sprinchorn చెప్పారు...

Great post.

Saint Croix చెప్పారు...

Squid is not an adjective. But it could be! "Get that squid woman off me."

I'd like two tickets for Squid People, please.

MadTownGuy చెప్పారు...

Isn't 'hominid' of recent coinage? I suppose you could call an orangutan a 'hominish,' but it sounds rather unscientific.

Saint Croix చెప్పారు...

Tim Walz has tentacles and he's a Squid Man.

Odi చెప్పారు...

To echo Monty Python, they're very nice woody words.

CT Ginger చెప్పారు...

Well, Freud gave us “Id” some I guess we make the mot of it

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