-escence

The suffix -escence denotes nouns of action, process, change, state, or condition. It is often used in technical and everyday terms.

The form -escence comes from the Latin noun-forming suffix -ŧ������Գپ���, meaning “state” or “process,” and is based on the verbal suffix -ŧ���������, which is an inchoative (also known as inceptive) element meaning “to become, begin to be.”

������ are variants of -ŧ������Գپ���?

While -escence doesn’t have any variants, it is related to the forms -esce in verbs and -escent in adjectives. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles on -esce and -escent.

An example of a word you may have encountered that features -escence ������iridescence, “iridescent quality; a play of lustrous, changing colors.”

The first portion of the word, irid-, means “rainbow,” from Greek î������. As we have seen, -escence indicates a state or condition. Iridescence translates to “the state of [being] a rainbow.”

������ are some words that use the combining form -escence?

• candescence
• convalescence (using the equivalent form of -escence in Latin)
• efflorescence (using the equivalent form of -escence in Latin)
• luminescence
• phosphorescence
• tumescence

������ are some other forms that -escence may be commonly confused with?

• -ence
• -ese
• -esque
• -ess

The word lumen (stem lumin-) in Latin means “light.” With this in mind, what does luminescence mean?