CHAPTER 44

Using sy and cy

Hundreds of English words end in either sy or cy. Words ending in cy are most common and outnumber

the sy words by about four to one.
One of the differences between these two endings is the sound. The cy has a hard s sound while the sy
is soft. Compare fancy and daisy.

Spelling rule #1: The suffix cy is used to form nouns from root words that end in t, te, nt, and tic:

(^) Spelling rule #2: The cy ending may also denote rank, office, or title:
(^) Spelling rule #3: No commonly used verbs end in cy. These words will be mostly nouns, but there are
a few adjectives which come from roots that end in c or ce:
(^) Spelling rule #4: The sy ending is also used to create nouns or adjectives. The adjectives in this
group tend to be informal or diminutive:
(^) A number of words that end in sy are medical terms that end in epsy, opsy, etc.:
(^) But no commonly used verbs end in sy.
Needless to say, there are numerous words, both nouns and adjectives, that end in sy or cy where these
endings are not suffixes: