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The suffix –hood is used to indicate “a state of being” or “a group of a particular characteristic or class.” It is often used in a variety of technical and everyday terms.

The form –hood comes from Old English �����, meaning “condition” or “rank.” Similar suffixes in Latin include –������� and –��ū��ō, both of which indicate a state of being and are the sources of the English suffixes –ity and –tude. Check out our entries for both suffixes to learn how frequently they appear.

An example of a word you may have encountered that features –hood is adulthood, “the state or period of being fully grown, fully developed, or of age.”

The adult– portion of the word means, naturally enough, “adult,” from Latin adultus. As we have seen, –hood refers to “a state of being.” Adulthood literally means “the state of being an adult.”

What are some words that use the equivalent form of –hood in Middle English?

• brotherhood
• childhood
• kinghood
• neighborhood
• sisterhood

What are some other forms that –hood may be commonly confused with?

• -head
• -hedron

Given the meaning of -hood, what does sisterhood mean?