I hope you're alright now (no longer bored and angry - that kind of mood sucks! :)), but I have a question about French - the suffix -âtre, to be more specific. How does it change the meaning of the word? I've read a little about it but I still can't get the hang of it all. Is it used often or regarded as old-fashioned? And is there a difference between using it with adjectives and with nouns? Thank you in advance, a big hug from Poland :)!
It kinda works like -ish in English. It sounds like “a little of” or “kind of similar to”, it’s pejorative.
(Jaune) Jaunâtre > Yellowish(Rouge) Rougâtre> Reddish
Elle avait des cheveux bleuâtres, comme si elle avait oublié de faire sa couleur depuis 6 mois et que la couleur était passée. She had blueish hair, as if she had forgotten to dye her hair for 6 months and the color faded.
La saucisse était rougeâtre, elle n’avait pas l’air très fraîche. The sausage was reddish, it didn’t look very fresh.
We only use it for very specific adjectives and nouns, which are :
beigeâtre : beige-ish
bellâtre : “fop” (the idea of a pretty guy-ish)
blanchâtre : whitish
bleuâtre : blueish
brunâtre : brownish
douceâtre : sweetish
folâtre : frisky-ish
grisâtre : greyish
jaunâtre : yellowish
noirâtre : blackish
olivâtre : olive-greenish
opiniâtre : stubborn
rosâtre : pinkish
rougeâtre : reddish
roussâtre : reddish-brown (“ginger-ish”)
verdâtre : greenish
violâtre : purple-ish
And some others, which are really archaic :
cocâtre : chicken who got a ball cut off xD
fillâtre : bad daughter/step-daughter
filsâtre : bad son/step-son
finâtre : fine-ish
gentillâtre : nice-ish
marâtre : bad mother/step-mother (the idea of a mother-ish)
parâtre : bad father/step-father
