132 Ukrainian: A Comprehensive Grammar -ііиця is commonly used to form nouns designating female persons (where the corresponding masculine marker is -ник), less commonly as a designator of objects associated with base nouns: письменниця 'authoress', помічниця 'female assistant', 'deputy', робітниця 'female worker', працівниця 'female worker', віконниця 'window frame', гірчичниця 'mustard pot', попільниця 'ashtray', чорнильниця 'inkwell'. -ність: see -ість above. -няк is unproductive, and occurs in a few words in reference to the whole or mass of a particular botanical or geological element: бережняк 'that which is cast upon the shores by waves (wood, plants, and similar)', дубняк (= дубник) 'oak forest', залізняк 'ferrous stone', сосняк (= соснина, сосник) 'pine forest'. -ович, -йович form masculine patronymics for the majority of Ukrainian first names: Олександрович 'son of Oleksandr', Павлович 'son of Pavel', Олексійович 'son of Oleksij'. -овищ(е)-: see -ищ- -овство, -івство: see -ство, -цтво below. -ok (including -tok) is very common and productive, with a variety of functions: in deverbal formations, to indicate (1) single occurrences of an action, (2) the action itself or the result of an action, and (3) the tool with which an action is carried out, (4) especially in desubstantival formations, as a marker of diminutives or of endearment. Thus: (і) кивок 'wink', 'nod of the head', кидок 'a throw'. (ii) здобуток 'acquisition', відросток 'offshoot'. (iii) мазок, помазок 'small paintbrush', скребок 'an implement for scraping'. (iv) синок 'sonny', 'little son', дідок 'granddad', 'old man', ручайок 'little brook', горішок 'tiny nut'. -онька, -енька, -енько is not productive but common especially in colloquial speech; it imparts a sense of endearment to nouns referring to persons, animals, and some objects/plants: батенько (= батечко) 'papa', 'daddy', мамонька (= мамуся) 'mummy', лисонька (= лисичка) 'little female fox', кізонька (= кізочка) 'little she goat', берізонька (= берізочка) 'little birch tree', рученька (= рученя, ручиця) 'tiny (for example, a child's) hand'. -оньки, -еньки is rare, and occurs as a parallel variant of -ят(а): зубоньки 'little teeth', оченьки 'little eyes'. -ота is an unproductive suffix that nevertheless occurs in a number of abstract nouns, some of which are in common use (note the place of stress): deadjectival: біднота (= бідність) 'poverty', 'the poor' (colloq.), доброта 'goodness', повнота 'fullness', 'plenty', теплота 'warmth', чистота 'cleanliness'.
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