Words Ending in TY

Words Ending in TY: Qualities, Quantities, and Multiples of Ten

The -TY ending does two very different jobs in English. First, it forms abstract nouns from adjectives: HONEST becomes HONESTY, SAFE becomes SAFETY, CERTAIN becomes CERTAINTY. This usage comes from Latin -tas through French -te, and it's been churning out English words since the Middle Ages. Second, -TY marks multiples of ten: TWENTY, THIRTY, FORTY, FIFTY, SIXTY, SEVENTY, EIGHTY, NINETY. These number words come from Old English and have nothing to do with the Latin suffix — they just happen to end the same way. That overlap means crossword clues for -TY answers could point to either abstract qualities or specific numbers.

The abstract -TY/-ITY words are everywhere in English and in word games. ABILITY, QUALITY, REALITY, SECURITY, GRAVITY, VELOCITY, ELECTRICITY — these are long words, often 7+ letters, which makes them bingo candidates in Scrabble. The trick is recognizing that most -ITY words are just adjective-to-noun conversions: ABLE→ABILITY, EQUAL→EQUALITY, ORIGINAL→ORIGINALITY. If you know the adjective, you know the -ITY noun.

Game tip: In Scrabble, the -TY ending is excellent for extending words already on the board. If SAFE is played, adding -TY gives you SAFETY for extra points. THIRSTY, FROSTY, and CRAFTY are common plays that put the Y tile (4 points) to work. For related suffix patterns, explore words ending in OR for agent nouns, and words starting with H for HONESTY, HUMIDITY, and HOSTILITY. The words ending in R page covers -ER words that often pair with -TY nouns (BAKER/BAKERY follows a parallel pattern).

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