From the American Heritage Dictionary, 4th Edition:
Usage Note: Reflecting its origins in the French passive participle ending -é (feminine -ée), the suffix -ee was first used in English to refer to indirect objects and then to direct objects of transitive verbs, particularly in legal contexts (as in donee, lessee, or trustee ) and in military and political jargon ( draftee, trainee, or nominee). Beginning around the mid-19th century, primarily in American English, it was often extended to denote the agent or subject of an intransitive verb, as in standee, returnee, or attendee. The coining of new words ending in -ee continues to be common. A number of these coinages, such as honoree, deportee, and escapee, have become widely accepted. Many others, such as firee (one who is fired from a job), invitee, jokee, and roastee (one who is ridiculed at a roast), are created ad hoc and often have a comic effect. On rare occasions the suffix -ee has been applied to noun forms, giving us words like benefactee (from benefactor ) and biographee (from biographer ).
After reading ‘The Colditz Story’ and a couple of other POW books I think that someone can be an escaper from the moment they start planning an escape but they only become an escapee when they’re leaving the camp/prison.
GROG Premium Member over 13 years ago
I’d say you brought that on yourself.
davidf42 over 13 years ago
Evil Kitty is back! Check out the Washington Post at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/artsandliving/comics/
kab2rb over 13 years ago
Like the ones who murdered exscaped from AZ prison.
alviebird over 13 years ago
He exscaped and ran down the skreet. My brother saw it, just axe him. If you can tear him away from his popcorn skrimp.
That’s how most people speak here in middle GA.
pschearer Premium Member over 13 years ago
From the American Heritage Dictionary, 4th Edition:
Usage Note: Reflecting its origins in the French passive participle ending -é (feminine -ée), the suffix -ee was first used in English to refer to indirect objects and then to direct objects of transitive verbs, particularly in legal contexts (as in donee, lessee, or trustee ) and in military and political jargon ( draftee, trainee, or nominee). Beginning around the mid-19th century, primarily in American English, it was often extended to denote the agent or subject of an intransitive verb, as in standee, returnee, or attendee. The coining of new words ending in -ee continues to be common. A number of these coinages, such as honoree, deportee, and escapee, have become widely accepted. Many others, such as firee (one who is fired from a job), invitee, jokee, and roastee (one who is ridiculed at a roast), are created ad hoc and often have a comic effect. On rare occasions the suffix -ee has been applied to noun forms, giving us words like benefactee (from benefactor ) and biographee (from biographer ).
dizzyspin over 13 years ago
After reading ‘The Colditz Story’ and a couple of other POW books I think that someone can be an escaper from the moment they start planning an escape but they only become an escapee when they’re leaving the camp/prison.
lbejo over 13 years ago
One big hapee…