Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


-ical

{

Stratˊi-graph′ic

,

-ic-al

}
,
Adj.
(Mil.)

Definition 2024


-ical

-ical

See also: ical

English

Suffix

-ical

  1. Used to form adjectives from nouns with the meaning "of or pertaining to"; adjectival suffix appended to various words, often nouns, to make an adjective form. Often added to words of Latin origin, but used with other words also.
    mythical
    theistical
    whimsical

Usage notes

Often redundant to the use of -ic alone; for example, mythic and mythical are identical in meaning. Likewise for -etic, as in phonetic and phonetical. For words that naturally end in -ic such as magic and statistic, the addition is only of -al.

Derived terms

<a class='CategoryTreeLabel CategoryTreeLabelNs14 CategoryTreeLabelCategory' href='/wiki/Category:English_words_suffixed_with_-ical'>English words suffixed with -ical</a>

Related terms