What is the origin of the suffix: 'ship'? Why was it chosen to become as a suffix ? What made it special over other words like maybe 'cart' or 'rainbow' or something? ie friendSHIP might have been friendCART or friendRAINBOW penmanSHIP might have been penmanCART or penmanRAINBOW Why was the word 'ship' chosen? Thank you.
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According to Merriam-Webster, the suffix -ship is not the same as the noun ship. The suffix comes from the Old English word sciappan which means "to shape".
It is just a coincidence that in Modern English the suffix and the noun are the same. The noun ship comes from the Old English scip.
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