Etymology of the Suffixes -IC and -AC
Hi, I have questions in regards to etymology. Can someone please help?
1. What does the suffix -AC mean, when used in nouns such as maniac or paranoiac?
2. What is the origin (i.e. the etymology) of the suffix -AC? Does it come from the Latin -icus?
3. What does the suffix -IC mean, when used in nouns such as egocentric? I'm confused because generally the the -ic suffix from Latin -icus is only used for adjectives (as in historic). But what does the suffix -IC mean when used in nouns such as "egocentric" (i.e. used to refer to a person and not the trait)? And what is its origin if not the Latin -icus?
Please help if you have a good understanding of etymology. Thank you so much, I would be very grateful 
Top answer
org/wiki/-ac Shay Singh But what does the suffix -IC mean when used in nouns such as "egocentric" egocentric ( from "ego" or self, and "center") pertaining to being centered on oneself.
- org/wiki/-ac Shay Singh But what does the suffix -IC mean when used in nouns such as "egocentric" egocentric ( from "ego" or self, and "center") pertaining to being centered on oneself.
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Wiktionary has a section on etymology for words or suffixes
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/-ic
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/-ac
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0Shay Singh1. What does the suffix -AC mean, when used in nouns such as maniac or paranoiac?
The Oxford English Dictionary has a succinct entry for "ac". They say it has "multiple origins". The French and classical Latin (acus) equivalents that brought it into Modern English derive from the Greek one in the same meaning, "relationshi
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