In article <5lf1m1$gpp@bcrkh13.bnr.ca>, mvirch@bnr.ca says... > > >Anybody have a clue as to what the surname suffix "chick", >which I've seen alternately spelled "chek", "chik", "czyk", >"cek", and possibly even "sk", with perhaps a circumflex over >the "s"? Does this have a literal meaning? It's an ending >you see in a lot of Slavic names. >-- There are actually two suffixes here: -ik and -ak or -ek. The "ch" sound is not part of the suffix but is the end of the root. The -ik suffix is generally (but not always) a diminutive ending. The -ak or -ek suffix has a number of possible meanings, one being "agent, one who does something"; another being "resident of". Another difference in the suffixes is that -ik is always spelled that way, even if there is a different case ending on the name. For example, the writer of the question has the surname Virchick, probably originally Vircik or Vrcik, with a hacek over the "c". The form "of Vircik" would be Vircika. On the other hand -ak/-ek lose the vowel when there is a case ending. For example, Havlicek (for Celtic fans) would be Havlicka. The "ch" sound comes from another suffix or a root originally ending in "k" or "t", so in the case of Havlicek we have: Havel + ik + ek. Or in the case of Vircik: Virk (or Vrk) + ik. Hope this doesn't confuse more than it explains. Gordon McDaniel mcdaniel@hoover.stanford.edu