-tude, suffix
(tjuːd)
repr. L. -tūdo, -tūdin-em (F. -tude), a suffix of abstract nouns, chiefly from adjs., as altitūdo height, f. altus high, fortitūdo bravery, f. fortis brave, hebetūdo bluntness, f. hebes blunt, less commonly from participles, as consuētūdo custom, f. consuētus accustomed, habitūdo habit, f. habitus held, or verbs, as valētūdo health, f. valēre to be well; occurring in many words derived from Latin either directly, as altitude, hebetude, latitude, longitude, magnitude, or through French, as amplitude, aptitude, attitude, consuetude, fortitude, habitude, plenitude, solitude, etc., or formed (in F. or Eng.) on Latin analogies, as debilitude, decrepitude, exactitude, or occasionally irregularly, as dispiritude, torpitude.