-ám

• IPA^(key): [aːm]

-ám

1. (noun-forming suffix) Added to a stem or other parts of speech to form a noun.

   hullik (“to fall”) → hullám (“wave”)

   csill- → csillám (“glitter”) - for the same stem see csillog (“to shine, to glitter”)

   vil- → villám (“lightning”) - for the same stem see világ (“light, world”)

• (noun-forming suffix) Variants:

  -ám is added to back-vowel words

  -ém is added to front-vowel words

• Appendix:Hungarian suffixes

From Portuguese -ão.

-ám (feminine -óna or -róna)

1. masculine augmentative or otherwise noun-forming suffix

   ‎goelâ (“to shout, to talk loudly”) + ‎-ám → ‎goelám (“person who talks at the top of their voice”)

• In the vast majority of cases, words ending in -ám were inherited from Portuguese -ão, and the suffix does not seem to be productive, unlike its feminine counterpart at times.