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-ow

German, suffix/o/

-ow is a German suffix meaning “A place name suffix found in parts of former East Germany (or along the former border, as in Lüchow)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “Ortsnamenendung”.

What does -ow mean in English?

suffix

  1. 1

    A place name suffix found in parts of former East Germany (or along the former border, as in Lüchow).

  2. 2

    A surname suffix.

suffix

  1. 1

    A surname suffix found in names borrowed from Polish or Russian.

  2. 2

    Romanisation of Russian -ов (-ov) in place names.

Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How German dictionaries define it

suffix: 1. Ortsnamenendung 2. Nachnamenendung

The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.

Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.

How do you pronounce -ow?

  • /o/
  • /ɔf/
  • [oː]

Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.