Representing, first through AF. forms in -ie, later by direct adaptation, L. -ium, which was added to verbal roots (primarily i- and e-stems) to denote an act, as in beneficium well-doing, good action, f. beneficĕre to do good, colloquium conference, conversation, f. colloquī to speak with, gaudium joy, f. gaudēre to rejoice, suspīrium sigh, f. suspīrāre to sigh. The earliest derivatives of this formation that were introduced into English are remedy (Ancren Riwle), through AF. remedie, from L. remedium, and † sacrilegy (early 14th c.), from AF. *sacrilegie or L. sacrilegium. To both of these there are parallel forms, † remede and sacrilege, derived from continental Fr. forms remede and sacrilege; there are several similar pairs, of which the shorter form represents a continental Fr. form, the longer the corresponding AF. form or the orig. Latin, viz. † augure1 and augury, benefice and † beneficie (rare), † colloque and colloquy, empire (F. empire) and † empery (AF. emperie, L. imperium), homicide sb.2 and † homicidie (rare), † perjure sb.2 (rare) and perjury, † subside (c. 1450–1553) and subsidy; † ingeny ‘mind,’ ‘intellect’ has its etymological doublet in engine ‘native talent, genius, ingenuity, mechanical contrivance.’ Most of these words, together with obloquy, came into the language before 1500. † Relevy sb.1 (med. L. relevium) and suspiry (L. suspīrium) are rarities; gaudy, though partly from L. gaudium, is prob. of mixed origin; the derivation of larceny is somewhat obscure. Horology1 (beside horologe) and mystery1 are derived, through the medium of L. -ium, from Greek forms having the cognate termination -ιον.
This cannot be said to have been at any time a living suffix in Eng., but there appears to have been reminiscence of its function, combined with the false analogy of words in -RY, in the coining of a few nouns from verbs ending in an r-sound, viz., enquery (c. 1440), inquery, inquiry (16th c.), f. enquere, inquire, expiry (from 1752) f. expire, and a rare transpiry f. transpire. Entreaty (16th c.) is f. entreat vb. on the analogy of treat, treaty.
