-ine
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-ine 1
suff.
1. Of or relating to: Benedictine.
2. Made of; resembling: opaline.
[Middle English -in, -ine, from Old French, from Latin -īnus, -īna, adj. suff., and from Latin -inus, adj. suff. (from Greek -inos).]
-ine 2
suff.
1. also -in A chemical substance, especially:
a. Halogen: bromine.
b. Basic compound: amine.
c. Alkaloid: quinine.
2. Amino acid: glycine.
3. A mixture of compounds: gasoline.
4. Commercial material: glassine.
[Ultimately from Latin -īnus and -inus, adj. suffixes; see -ine1.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
-ine
suffix forming adjectives
1. of, relating to, or belonging to: saturnine.
2. consisting of or resembling: crystalline.
[from Latin -īnus, from Greek -inos]
-ine
suffix forming nouns
1. (Chemistry) indicating a halogen: chlorine.
2. (Chemistry) indicating a nitrogenous organic compound, including amino acids, alkaloids, and certain other bases: alanine; nicotine; purine.
3. (Chemistry) Also: -in indicating a chemical substance in certain nonsystematic names: glycerine.
4. (Chemistry) indicating a mixture of hydrocarbons: benzine.
5. indicating a feminine form: heroine.
6. (Chemistry) an obsolete equivalent of -yne
[via French from Latin -ina (from -inus) and Greek -inē]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
-ine1
, an adjective-forming suffix meaning “of, pertaining to, or characteristic of,” “of the nature of,” “made of”: Alpine; crystalline; equine; marine.
[< Latin -īnus; in some cases (< Latin -inus) < Greek -inos]
-ine2
, a noun suffix used in the names of many organic compounds, esp. basic substances (amine; caffeine), and several elements (bromine; chlorine). Compare -in 1 .
[< French; orig. identical with -ine3]
-ine3
, a noun-forming suffix found in a diverse group of words primarily of Latin and Romance origin, including abstract nouns ( doctrine; famine; rapine), agent nouns ( concubine; inquiline), names of artifacts or workplaces ( fascine), and diminutives ( figurine; tambourine); in more recent coinages, this suffix occurs in names of prepared substances or commercial products ( brilliantine; gabardine; glassine; saltine).
[(< French -in, -ine) < Latin -īnus (agentive), -īna place, thing, or abstraction]
-ine4
, a suffix of distinctively feminine nouns ( chorine; heroine), given names ( Josephine; Pauline), and feminine titles ( margravine).
[< French -ine < Latin -īna < Greek -īnē]
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