-ive

suffix

Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Indo-European *-iHwósder. Latin -īvus Old French -ifbor. Middle English -yf English -ive From Middle English -yf, from Anglo-Norman -if from Latin -īvus. Until the fourteenth century, all Middle English loanwords from Anglo-Norman ended in -if (compare actif, natif, sensitif, pensif etc.). Under the influence of literary Neo-Latin, both languages introduced the form -ive. Those forms that have not been replaced were subsequently changed to end in -y (compare hasty, from hastif, jolly, from jolif etc.). Like the Latin suffix -iō (genitive -iōnis), the Latin suffix -ivus is appended to the perfect passive participle to form an adjective of action.

1. An adjective suffix signifying relating or belonging to, of the nature of, tending to, or serving to; as: affirmative, active, conclusive, corrective, diminutive.