-itic

Forming adjectives and nouns.

French ‑itique, via Latin ‑iticus from Greek ‑itikos.

One group of adjectives derives from nouns in ‑ite (see ‑ite¹), of which a few examples are anthracitic, bauxitic, dendritic, graphitic, parasitic, Semitic, and stalagmitic. Another set comes from nouns ending in ‑itis: arthritic, bronchitic, laryngitic, meningitic. A few come from other sources, such as syphilitic, Sanskritic, or Cushitic (of a group of East African languages whose name derives from Cush, grandson of Noah). A few of these adjectives can also be nouns. See also ‑ic.