Other forms: suffices, sufficed
To suffice is to be enough for the purpose. That will suffice, suffice it to say, a nod will suffice.
It is formal and slightly clipped, which is why it suits dismissals and understatement: a brief note will suffice. Suffice it to say is the fixed phrase used to cut a story short while implying there is more — and the odd word order is an old subjunctive, not a mistake. Note sufficient and sufficiency, which are far commoner than the verb; and self-sufficient.
1verbsufficeTo be enough for the purpose.
“A short email will suffice; there's no need to write a full report.”
suffice is a being enough.
Latin sufficere is sub plus facere, to make under — to supply from below, and so to be adequate. Fact, factory and effect come from the same making.
Proto-Indo-European
*dʰeh₁-
Latin
sufficiō — supply, be adequate
Middle French
souffire
Middle English
suffisen
English, today
suffice
Built from
From Middle English suffisen, from Middle French souffire, from Latin sufficiō (“supply, be adequate”), from sub (“under”) + faciō (“do, make”). Cognate with French suffire.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA