EtymologyEnthusiast

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Why are things "infectious" but not "infectionate", but you can be "affectionate" but not "affectious"?

Complex question! The past participle stem of 'inficere' (to dye or poison) is 'infect-', thus 'infectious'. On the other hand, 'affectionate' comes from 'affectio', the noun form of 'afficere' (to have influence on). The '-ate' ending is common in forming adjectives off of verbs with '-io' endings. 'Affectious' would arguably …
submitted 1 year, 3 months ago by EtymologyEnthusiast