-ola

a formative of no precise significance found in a variety of commercial coinages (Crayola; granola; Victrola) and jocular variations of words (crapola).

a suffix extracted from payola, used in coinages that have the general sense “bribery, especially covert payments to an entertainment figure in return for promoting a product, making an appearance, etc.” (playola; plugola).

Origin

apparently < Italian or Latin -ola diminutive suffix; see -ole¹, -ule

Word Origin and History for -ola

commercial suffix, probably originally in pianola (q.v.).

Slang definitions & phrases for -ola

-ola

suffix

used to form nouns An emphatic instance or humorous version of what is indicated: buckola/ crapola/ schnozzola

[1940s+; probably modeled on Pianola2 and Victrola2 , both found by 1905; -ola compounds proliferated after the Charles Van Doren payola scandal of 1959; -ola compounds, numbering about 40, offer no real semantic core]