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Search Issues: Update 2026-09-16 - Repairs to some of our search pages are ongoing. Thank you for your continued patience!
Meanwhile, elements of the Advanced Search are working and the Alphabetical Listings are working, too.
derivational suffix for adding an abstract quality, forming abstract nouns; much like –ness, -hood, and -ship in English
This suffix also functions something like the suffix "-ity" (e.g. purity) in English. We find -yo added to noun stems, and it adds a meaning of:
(1) an abstract quality (like 'beauty' or 'goodness') or
(2) a group or collection (collective nouns like 'humanity') or
(3) the material manifestation of the abstract notion (like 'a beauty' meaning a 'beautiful person or thing')
This suffix represents what was originally -yōtl or -ōtl, with a long vowel and the absolutive (-tl). But in the possessed form, having dropped the -tl, the vowel becomes short.
The -yo ending can add an element of politeness: e.g. notēucyo, totēucyo, my lord, our lord. We also see totēucyōhuan, our lords (with the vowel becoming long again, as it is no longer position final with the plural ending that follows).