-oir
French, suffix/waʁ/
-oir is spelled O-I-R (3 letters). -oir is a French masculine suffix meaning “A suffix used on verbs to form masculine words for objects or tools used to do something” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) defines it as “Suffixe nominal permettant de créer un mot désignant un instrument, un lieu, etc., permettant d’effectuer…”.
What does -oir mean in English?
suffix
- 1
masculineA suffix used on verbs to form masculine words for objects or tools used to do something.
accouder + -oir → accoudoir (“armrest”)
- 2
masculineA suffix used on verbs to form masculine words for places where something is done.
dormir + -oir → dortoir (“dormitory”)
suffix
- 1
A suffix forming infinitives of some verbs.
Source: English Wiktionary, French section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How French dictionaries define it
suffix: 1. Suffixe nominal permettant de créer un mot désignant un instrument, un lieu, etc., permettant d’effectuer l’action contenue dans le verbe utilisé pour former le nom.
The definition in the French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), in French.
Source: French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of -oir
- avoir + past participle infinitive multiword-construction
- ayant + past participle gerund multiword-construction participle
- present indicative of avoir + past participle indicative multiword-construction perfect
- imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle indicative multiword-construction pluperfect
- past historic of avoir + past participle anterior indicative multiword-construction
- future of avoir + past participle future indicative multiword-construction
- conditional of avoir + past participle conditional multiword-construction perfect
- present subjunctive of avoir + past participle multiword-construction past subjunctive
- imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle multiword-construction pluperfect subjunctive
Source: English Wiktionary and French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce -oir?
- /waʁ/
- \waʁ\
Sources: English Wiktionary, French Wiktionary (Wiktionnaire) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.