-ia

(Greek > Latin: a suffix that forms nouns; state of, condition of, quality of; act of)

A noun suffix that has restricted applications in the following fields

  • Names of countries; such as, Australia, Tasmania, et al.
  • Names of diseases; such as, hydrophobia, mania, hyperalgia, hysteria, pneumonia, et al.
  • Names of chemical alkaloids; such as, aconitia, atropia, conia, morphia, strychinia, et al.
  • Names of flowers from the names of the discoverer or the person who introduced the flower; such as, Dahlia, Wisteria, Fuchsia, Zinnia, et al.
  • Names of classes and orders in botany and zoology; such as, Mammalia, Reptilia, Amphibia, et al.
  • Names of collective nouns; such as, academia, militaria, suburbia, etc.
  • Names of things relating to something; such as, pedodontia, orthodontia, psychedelia, telesthesia, et al.
  • Plurals of Latin and Greek nouns that end with -ion, -ium, -um; such as, paraphernalia, regalia, saturnalia, Mammalia, etc.
zinnia