# Official definition of -or

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-definition-of-or/412191>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 17, 2007, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-definition-of-or/412191 "2007-07-17T22:26:24Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Fuel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Fuel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuel)\
**Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-definition-of-or/412191/1 "2007-07-17T22:26:24Z")

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What is the “or” in contractor, signor, terminator, or conductor considered? A suffix?

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**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\
**Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-definition-of-or/412191/2 "2007-07-17T22:28:08Z")

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Sure, we’ll go with suffix.

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**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\
**Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-definition-of-or/412191/3 "2007-07-17T22:52:26Z")

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Very much a suffix.

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**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\
**Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-definition-of-or/412191/4 "2007-07-17T23:14:31Z")

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[QUOTE=bordelond]  
Very much a suffix.  
[/QUOTE]  
And the dudes who stick it on there are suffixors. 😉

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**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\
**Post date:** [July 17, 2007, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-definition-of-or/412191/5 "2007-07-17T23:50:30Z")

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Both -or and -er are related to the word _wer_ (preserved in “werwolf”), which means man. It is cognate with Latin _vir_ and Irish _fear_. So to all those who say “server” is a gender-neutral substitute for “waiter / waitress,” I say that there is simply no escaping the inherent sexism of the Indo-European languages.