-ēdō

Meaning

1. morphemesuffixed to the roots of adjectives and verbs, chiefly forms abstract nouns
   absūmō (“to consume”) + -ēdō → absūmēdō (“consumption”)
   dulcis (“sweet; kind”) + -ēdō → dulcēdō (“sweetness; kindness”)

Origins

See Proto-Indo-European *-Hō. Compare also -tūdō. Leumann 1977 compares Greek ἀλγηδών (algēdṓn) and argues the suffix developed by rebracketing of formations in -dō built on verbs with stems ending in -ē-, such as torpēdō from torpeō (whose ending is derived from the PIE stative suffix *-éh₁yeti). Gary Miller 2006 expresses doubt about the overall etymology (including whether it is related to -ē- verbs), but suggests -ēdō, -īdō and -tūdō share a common element *-Hdon- which might go back to earlier *-(e)t-h₃onh₂-.