Suffix · forms nouns
From Germanic "-hard" (persistently excessive): forms pejorative nouns for a person who takes a negative trait to excess. Drunkard, braggart, dullard, dotard, laggard.
Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated
-ard (and the variant -art) comes from Germanic "-hard" (hard, excessively persistent) and forms nouns designating people who carry a negative trait to an extreme. drunkard = a habitual, excessive drinker. dullard = a dull, intellectually slow person (dull + ard). laggard = the one who always falls behind (lag + ard). dotard = an old person who has lost mental faculties (dote = to be senile + ard). braggart = a braggart, one who boasts constantly.
In September 2017, Kim Jong-un called Donald Trump a "dotard" and the word surged in dictionary searches within hours. "dotard" = an old person who has lost mental faculties through age (dote = to be senile + ard). Shakespeare uses it in The Merchant of Venice. "braggart" = one who boasts constantly. Shakespeare uses it in Much Ado About Nothing, The Merchant of Venice and other plays. One of the most frequent -ard words in Elizabethan literature.
"coward" = a coward. From French "couard" (from Latin "cauda" = tail: one who hides the tail between the legs). The pejorative -ard connotation survives here. "wizard" = a magician or person with extraordinary skill. From "wise" + ard. Has completely lost its original negative connotation (the excessively wise/cunning one). Today it is positive: financial wizard, wizard programmer. "standard" (from French "estandarte") appears to carry -ard but has a different etymology — it is not a productive suffix use here.
Adjective or verb + ard/-art. Produces pejorative person nouns.
The suffix -ard is no longer productive in modern English: you cannot freely create new words with it. Existing -ard words are fixed vocabulary to be learned directly.
-ard / -art/ərd/ · rhymes with heard
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"a financial wizard" = a genius of finance. "a wizard programmer" = an exceptional programmer. The original negative connotation has disappeared; today it is pure praise.
"dotard" is not a synonym for "elderly person" or "old man." It is specifically pejorative: it implies cognitive decline due to age. "senile old man" is the more common modern equivalent.
No connection to the animal. From French "couard" (from Latin "cauda" = tail): the image is of an animal fleeing with its tail between its legs.
A trick to remember it
-ard/-art = a person who takes a fault to excess (pejorative). Key words: drunkard, braggart (boaster), dullard (slow person), laggard (one who falls behind), dotard (senile elder). Positive exception: wizard (genius). The suffix is no longer productive.
Exercise 1 · Form the word
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
"Dotard" means...
Exercise 3 · Pick the right one
"A financial wizard" is...
The suffix -ard / -art from Germanic "-hard" (persistently excessive): forms pejorative nouns for a person who takes a negative trait to excess. Drunkard, braggart, dullard, dotard, laggard. In Spanish it usually maps to -ardo / pejorative noun.
The ending -ard / -art is pronounced /ərd/ · rhymes with heard. For example, "drunkard".
"drunk" becomes "drunkard". It is a typical example of the -ard / -art suffix.
From French "-ier": forms nouns for a person who works with something or carries out an activity. Pioneer, privateer, profiteer, buccaneer, engineer.
From Old English "-ling": forms diminutives of young creatures, small beings or subordinate persons. Duckling, fledgling, sibling, underling, changeling.
From Old English "-estre": forms person nouns associated with an activity or group. Trickster, gangster, prankster, youngster, spinster, mobster, hipster.
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