| desinence |
| Definition: A suffix or other type of word ending; especially one that carries inflectional information. |
| Example: The -ed in wanted and the -ly in slowly are desinences. |
| Etymology: The word derives from the Latin desinere, to leave off or close. |
| Oxford English Dictionary: Its first citation is from 1599: "Fettering together the series of the verses, with the bondes of like cadence or desinence of rime." (Bp. Hall Sat. Postcr.) |