Suffix: -age
Type of suffix: nominal
Gender of words with suffix: masculine
The French suffix -age can be added to verbs or nouns to make new nouns and has a couple of possible meanings.
1. When added to a verb, -age indicates the action, purpose, or result of that verb, usually equivalent to the English gerund (noun ending in -ing):
assemblage - assembling, assembly
(added to assembler - to assemble)
le balayage - sweeping, scanning
(added to balayer - to sweep, scan)
le jardinage - gardening
(added to jardiner - to garden)
le raffinage - refining, refinement
(added to rafiner - to refine)
le rasage - shaving, shearing
(added to raser - to shave, shear)
2. Far less commonly, -age is added to verbs or nouns to indicate a group or series.
le dallage - paving, pavement
(added to daller - to pave)
échafaudage - scaffolding
(added to échafaud - scaffold)
le veuvage - widowhood, widowerhood
(added to veuve - widow)
Note: French nouns with the suffix -age are always masculine. However, there are a handful of words, like page, that end in the letters age (but not the suffix) that are feminine
