-fex

Equivalent to faciō +‎ -s. Inherited from Proto-Italic *-faks, from earlier *-θaks, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰéh₁k-s, the root noun of *dʰeh₁-k-, an extension of *dʰeh₁- (“to do; to place”). Related to *fakjō.

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [fɛks]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [feks]

-fex m (genitive -ficis); third declension

1. denotes maker or performer

   ‎ars (“art”) + ‎-fex → ‎artifex (“artist”)

   ‎pānis (“bread”) + ‎-fex → ‎pānifex (“bread-maker, baker”)

   ‎aedēs (“building”) + ‎-fex → ‎aedifex (“builder”)

   ‎pōns (“bridge”) + ‎-fex → ‎pontifex (“high priest”, literally “bridge-maker”)

Third-declension noun.

• faciō