suff. 1. of adjs. repr. L. -ār-em (-ār-is, -ār-e, stem -āri) ‘of the kind of, belonging to,’ cogn. w. -ālem, and used where l preceded, as in ālār-, stellār-, lūnār-, regulār-, similār-, līneār- or līneāl-; hence always with diminutives in -ul-, -ell-, as globulār-, orbiculār-. See -AL. The regular OF. descendant of -ārem was -er, later -ier, as singulārem, populārem, sanglier, peuplier; so familier, régulier; but later words of literary formation took -aire as angulaire, militaire. In Eng. those adopted from OF. had orig. -er, but were afterwards assimilated to L. with -ar, e.g., L. scholār-em, OF. escolier, AFr. escoler, ME. scoler, now scholar. Many words with this suffix have been adapted from L. or F., or formed on L., in modern times; but some of these, through mod.F. use of -aire for both -āris and -ārius, take -ARY; e.g., military.
2. of sbs. In L. the neuter of adjs. in -āris, gave sbs. in -āre, -ar, meaning ‘thing pertaining to,’ some of which have come into Eng., through F., as alter, coler, piler, now altar, collar, pillar, or directly from L., as exemplar (cogn. w. sampler through OF.).
