-sam

From Middle High German -sam, from Old High German -sam, from Proto-West Germanic *-sam, from Proto-Germanic *-samaz, from Proto-Germanic *samaz, from Proto-Indo-European *somHós. Cognate with English -some and Dutch -zaam. Related also to Old High German samo (“the same”) and sama (“similary”).

• IPA^(key): /zaːm/ (standard)
• IPA^(key): /zam/ (regional; including western Germany)

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-sam

1. Used to form adjectives from verbs, nouns, and other adjectives; expressing similarity or the possession of a quality.

   ‎Tugend (“virtue”) + ‎-sam → ‎tugendsam (“of virtue, virtuous”)

   ‎aufmerken (“to observe”) + ‎-sam → ‎aufmerksam (“observant, attentive”)

   ‎lang (“long, lengthy”) + ‎-sam → ‎langsam (“slow”)

2. Used to form adjectives from verbs; expressing the ability to undergo some action.

   Synonyms: -bar, -abel

   ‎biegen (“to bend”) + ‎-sam → ‎biegsam (“flexible, bendable”)

• The suffix is now of very limited productivity at most.

-sam

1. accusative feminine singular of -sus

From Old Norse -samr.

-sam

1. used to form adjectives

• “-sam” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

From Old Norse -samr, from Proto-Germanic *-samaz, a suffix form of *samaz (“same”).

-sam

1. -some; creating adjectives, mostly out of nouns

• -lig
• sam-

• -sam in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)

• mas