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-ory2

Also ‑atory, ‑sory, ‑tory.

Relating to or involving an action.

Latin ‑orius, Latin -orius, sometimes via Anglo-Norman French ‑ori(e).

Examples are primarily adjectives. They often contain at, s, or t before the ending, derived from the stem of Latin precursor words. Some examples are compulsory, defamatory, mandatory, obligatory, preparatory, and sensory. They can sometimes also be nouns: accessory, purgatory. One that is now always a noun is directory.

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