science

List of diminutives by language

List of diminutives by language is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List of diminutives by language rather than just read about it. In short: The following is a list of diminutives by language. Indo-European languages Germanic languages English English has a great variety of historical diminutives adopted from other languages but many of these are lexicalized.

Key takeaways

List of diminutives by language belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect List of diminutives by language to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of List of diminutives by language from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The following is a list of diminutives by language.

Indo-European languages

Germanic languages

English English has a great variety of historical diminutives adopted from other languages but many of these are lexicalized. Productive diminutives are infrequent to nonexistent in Standard English in comparison with many other languages.

Native English endings that could be seen as diminutives -k/-ock/-uck: bollock, bullock, buttock, fetlock, hillock, mattock (OE mattuc), mullock, pillock, stalk, whelk, yolk -n/-en/-on (accusative or feminine): chicken, kitten, maiden -le (frequentative -l): puddle, sparkle -s: Becks, Betts, Wills -sie/-sies/-sy (babytalk assimilative or from patrici- of Patsy): bitsy, footsie (1930), halfsies, onesies, popsy (1860), teensy-weensy, tootsie (1854), twosies, Betsy, Patsy, Robsy -o (American nicknaming, later Commonwealth): bucko, daddio, garbo, kiddo, smoko, wacko, Jacko, Ricko, -er/-ers/-ster (diminutive, hypocoristic, also elided rhotic -a): bonkers (1948), preggers (1940), starkers (1905), Becker[s], Lizzers, Hankster, Patster -a (Geordie assimilative -er): Gazza, Macca -z (Geordie -s): Bez, Chaz, Gaz -y (assimilative -y): buddy, doggy, horsey

Loanwords and native English words using foreign-language diminutives -ling (Norse diminutive-patrinominative): darling, duckling, fingerling, gosling, underling -erel/-rel (Franco-Latin comparative, pejorative -(t)eriale): cockerel (1450s), coistrel (1570s), doggerel (1249), dotterel (15th century), gangrel (14th century), hoggerel, kestrel (15th century), mackerel (c. 1300), minstrel (1180), mongrel (1540s), pickerel (1388), puckerel, scoundrel (1589), suckerel, taistrel (18th century, N for E tearstrel: tear+-ster+-rel), tumbrel (1223), titterel/whimbrel (1520s), wastrel (1847) -el/-il/-ille/-l/-le (Norman-Francish lenite -c-/-g- or metathetic -i- dim. -iol-): broil (14th century; F brusle), broil (15th century; VL brodicula), griddle (c. 1300, ME gridel, F gredil, VL graticula; cognate with E hurdle), grille (1661), jail (1250s; F jaiole, nF gaiole, VL gabiola, L caveola), mail (1320; L macula), pill (1400), quail (c. 1300; ML quaccula), rail (1320; L regula), rail (1460; VL rasculum), rail (1450s; VL ragula), roll (c. 1300), squirrel (1327), toil (c. 1300; VL tudicula), trail (c. 1300; VL tragula) -et/-ette/-etti/-etto/-it/-ita/-ito/-itta (F-S-I-L diminutive -itat-): amaretto, burrito, cigarette, clarinet, courgette, diskette, fajita, falsetto, faucet (c. 1400), gambit (1656), kitchenette, marionette, minuet, oubliette, palette, pallet (1350s), parquet, poppet (c. 1300), puppet (16th century), rabbit (1380), Sagitta, señorita, spaghetti, suffragette, swallet (c. 1660), taquito, towelette, wallet (1350s) -ot/-otte (F ablaut or assimilative dim. -ultat-): culottes, harlot (13th century), Charlotte, Diderot, Lancelot (1180), Margot, Peugeot, Pierrot -let/-lette (F dim.): aglet (15th century), applet (1995), booklet (1859), chicklet (1886), wikt:eyelet (1400), gauntlet, goblet, hamlet (15th century), leaflet (1787), oillet (1350s), omelette (1611), piglet (1883), roulette (1734), tablet (c. 1300) -ey/-ie/-y (Scottish-Dutch dim., 15th century-on): cookie (1703), daddy (c. 1500), dearie, doggy (1820), girlie (1942), kitty (16th century), laddie (1546), mammy (1520), mommy (1902), mummy (1820), sissy (1846), whitey (1820), Debbie, Frankie, Frenchy (1820), Johnny (1670), Marty, Morty, Nancy -kin (Dutch dim.-acc. -ken/-chen, 15th century-on): bodkin, cannikin, catkin, lambkin, manikin, napkin, pannikin, ramekin, welkin (OE wolcen) -kins (hypocoristic dim.-degen.): Laurakins, Sallykins -leus/-ola/-ole/-oli/-ola/-olo/-olus/-ula/-ule/-uleus/-ulum (Francish-Spanish-Italian-Latin dim., mainly 17th century-on): alveolus, areola, areole, article, cannoli, casserole, cerulean, cuniculus, curriculum, Equuleus, ferrule, formula, granule, homunculus, insula, malleolus, majuscule, minuscule, nodule, nucleus, nucleolus, particle, pergola, pendulum, pianola, piccolo, ravioli, raviolo, reticle, reticule, reticulum, spatula, tarantula, vacuole, vinculum -eau/-el/-ella/-elle/-ello/-il/-illa/-ille/-illo/-le (F-S-I-L bidim.; E -kin): armadillo, bordello, bureau, castle (OE castel, <1000), codicil, espadrille, flotilla, limoncello, mantle, Monticello, morsel, organelle, pastel, pencil, pestle, quadrille, quarrel, rowel (1344), scintilla, vanilla, violoncello -ina/-ine/-ini/-ino (F-S-I simulative, mainly 1750s-on; E -like or -ling as adj. but cognate with -ing as n. or adj.): bambino, coquina, doctrine (1350s), domino, farina, figurine, linguine, maraschino, marina, neutrino, palomino, tambourine, zucchini mini-/micro- (commercial miniature compound): minibar, miniblind, miniboss, minibus, minicar (1949), minicassette (1967), minicomputer (1963), minigame, minigun, minimall, minimarket (1965), minimart, mini-nuke, minischool, miniseries (1974), miniskirt (1965), minitower, minivan, miniver (1250), mini-LP, mini-me, MiniDisc, microkitchen, microcosm

Scots

In Lowland Scots diminutives are frequently used. The most common diminutive suffixes are -ie, -ock, -ockie (double diminutive) or the Caithness -ag (the latter from Scottish Gaelic, and perhaps reinforcing the other two before it). -ie is by far the most common suffix used. Others are -le or -er for frequentative or diminutive emphasis. Less frequent diminutives are -kin (often after the diminutive -ie) and -lin. Examples include

-ie: burnie (small burn), feardie or feartie (frightened person, coward), gamie (gamekeeper), kiltie (kilted soldier), mannie (man), Nessie (Loch Ness Monster), postie (postman), wifie (woman) -ock: bittock (wee bit, little bit), playock (toy), sourock (sorrel), -ag: Cheordag (Geordie), bairnag (small child) -ockie: hooseockie (little house), wifockie (little woman) -le: crummle (a bread-crumb), snirtle (snigger, snort) -er: plowter (dabble), stoiter (stumble) -kin: cuitikins (spatterdashes), flindrikin (light, flimsy), joskin (yokel) -lin: hauflin (half-grown boy), gorblin (unfledged bird)

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List of diminutives by language

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List of diminutives by language claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to List of diminutives by language before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about List of diminutives by language ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of List of diminutives by language

In research: List of diminutives by language appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses List of diminutives by language in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: List of diminutives by language is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Linguistic morphology, Lists by language, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for List of diminutives by language outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study List of diminutives by language in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
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Frequently asked questions

What is List of diminutives by language in simple terms?

The following is a list of diminutives by language. Indo-European languages Germanic languages English English has a great variety of historical diminutives adopted from other languages but many of these are lexicalized.

Why does List of diminutives by language matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study List of diminutives by language?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on List of diminutives by language.