Diminutive
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A diminutive is a formation of a word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning, smallness of the object named, encapsulation, intimacy, or endearment. It is the opposite of an augmentative.
Diminutives are often used for affection (see nickname and hypocoristic). In many languages the meaning of diminution can be translated "tiny" or "wee" and diminutives are used frequently when speaking to small children; adult people sometimes use diminutives when they express extreme tenderness and intimacy by behaving and talking like children (for example in sexual situations). (See Apocopation).
In some languages diminutives are formed in a regular way by adding affixes to nouns and proper names; in English the alteration of meaning is often but not essentially conveyed through smaller size. English diminutives tend to be shorter and more colloquial than the basic form of the word, diminutives formed by adding affixes in other languages are often longer and not necessarily colloquial.
In many languages formation of diminutives by suffixes is a regular part of grammar. All nouns, not just proper nouns can be diminuted. The word "diminutive" is used in a narrower and less vague sense here than when referring to English. The basic meaning of diminution in these languages is "smallness of the object named"; endearment, intimacy etc. is secondary and dependent on context. For example, the name of the last Roman emperor of the western part of the Roman Empire - Romulus Augustus - was diminuted to Romulus Augustulus (little Augustus) to emphasise the contrast between the grandness of the name and political insignificance of its bearer, in this case the connotation of diminution is derogatory, no endearment here.
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[edit] Germanic languages
[edit] English
Diminutives are common in most dialects of English. Terms such as "undies" for underwear and "movie" for "moving picture" are frequently heard terms in English. Sometimes a diminutive lengthens the original word as seen in the ubiquitous American term "hottie" to denote sexually appealing (or "hot") young man or woman. (Note that analogous expressions in languages in which diminution is a regular part of the grammar would not be called diminutives.) Common diminutives are:
- -ey/-ie/-y: dearie, doggy, kitty, cookie (this also being the basis of the naming of Brittany i.e. Minor Britain in reference to its cultural ties to the celtic nations of Great Britain.)
- -ling: duckling, gosling
- -ette: diskette, cigarette, kitchenette
- -let: piglet, eyelet, gauntlet, tablet
[edit] Australian English
Australian English is known for its use of diminutives with the "-za" suffix applied to the shortened version of a person's name, especially one ending in -(r)r- plus vowel. Thus "Barry" becomes "Bazza" and "Gary" becomes "Gazza" though this is not routinely done with all names. Female names may also be shortened, such as "Sharon" becoming "Shazza" and Marion, "Mazza". This use of diminutives is also found in British English. As in other English speaking countries, the suffix -ie is also used for diminutives of given names, creating names such as Petey (from Peter), Dougie (Douglas), Johnny (Jonathan) and Robbie (Robert).
Australians also have a tendency to create diminutives of surnames. These more often employ the -o suffix, as in Johnno (for someone named Johnson) and Robbo (for someone named Roberts or Robertson).
Many other words are replaced with diminutives in Australian English. Emergency-services personnel are often referred to as ambos and firies instead of "ambulance officers" and "firefighters". Similarly, medical professionals are frequently known as medicos.
Well-known bodies are also subject to this process, as with the Salvation Army being known as the Salvos or McDonald's being Macca's. Garbage collectors are almost universally known as garbos.
[edit] Scots
In Scots diminutives are used much more frequently than in English. The diminutive is formed by the suffix -ie, -ock, -ockie or –ag.
Examples include:
- burnie: small burn (Eng.: small stream)
- feardie or feartie (frightened person, coward)
- gamie (gamekeeper)
- kiltie (kilted soldier)
- postie (postman)
- wifie (woman)
- chewy (chewing gum)
- rhodie (rhododendron)
- bittock: wee bit (little bit)
- playock (toy, plaything)
- sourock (sorrel)
- Cheordag (Geordie)
- hooseockie (small house)
- wifeockie (little woman)
- bairnag: wee bairn (small child) (Northern Scots dialect: -ag is derived from the Scottish Gaelic language)
- Ned: diminutive of Edward
- See also: List of English words of Scots origin
[edit] German
German features words such as "Häuschen" for "small house", "Würstchen" for "small sausage", "ein bisschen" for "a little bit" and "Hündchen" for "small dog". Diminutives are more frequently used than in English. They are always neutral as for grammatical gender. Some words only exist in the diminutive form, e.g. "Kaninchen" ("rabbit"). The use of diminutives is quite different between the dialects. The Alemannic dialects for example use the diminutive very often.
There are two suffixes that can be systematically applied in German:
- -chen, e.g. "Männchen" for little man (corresponding with English -kin as seen in "munchkin", Low Saxon (Low German) and Dutch -je, -tje, -ke, -ken and other forms depending on the dialect area)
- -lein e.g. "Männlein" for little man (corresponding with English -let and -ling, Alemannic -le, -li, Bavarian and Austrian -l and Latin -culus / -cula)
Suffixation of the diminutive suffixes –chen and –lein to a finally stressed word stem causes umlaut of the stressed vowel.
In Bavarian and Austrian German, the -l or -erl suffix can replace almost any usual German diminutive. For example, the normal word for "girl" in German is "Mädchen", and while Mädchen is still used frequently in Austrian German, a more colloquial "cute" usage would be "Mädl" or "Madl". It is very common for Austrians to replace the normal "Bisschen" ("a little" as in "Can I have a little more?") with "Bissl". This has become a very distinctive feature of Austrian German.
In Swabian German this is done by adding a -le suffix. For example, a small house would be a "Häusle" or a little girl a "Mädle".
[edit] Low German
In East Frisian Low Saxon, -je, -tje, and -pje are used as a diminutive suffix (e.g. huis becomes huisje (little house); boom becomes boompje (little tree)). Some words have a slightly different suffix, even though the diminutive always ends with -je. For example, man becomes mannetje (little man).
In other varieties of West Low German, spoken in the east of the Netherlands, diminutives occasionally use the umlaut in combination with the suffixes -gie(n). Examples:
Compare this with the German suffix -chen
In Northern Low Saxon, the -je diminutive is rarely used, except maybe Gronings, such as in Buscherumpje, a fisherman's shirt. It is usually substituted with lütte, meaning "little", as in dat lütte Huus- the small house. The same goes for the North Germanic languages.
[edit] Yiddish
Yiddish also frequently uses diminutives. In Yiddish the primary diminutive is "leh" or "lech." "Mamma" becomes "Mammaleh," "kind" becomes "kindeleh," "Bubbe" (grandmother) becomes "Bubbeleh." The Yiddish manner of diminutives has been incorporated into modern Israeli Hebrew. "Emma" (mother) is "Emmaleh" and "Abba" (father) is "Abbaleh."
[edit] Dutch
In Dutch, the diminutive is formed by adding one of the suffixes-je, tje, -pje, -etje,-kje, -ke, eke, -ske or -ie to the noun in question.
In Dutch, not only nouns can get a diminutive but also adjectives and adverbs. The noun however will remain able to be used together with (in)definite articles. In this case -s is added. Some examples;
- adjective:
- groen (green)- "groentje" (lit. little green" meaning rookie)
- adverbs:
- groen (green) - "groentjes" (lit.little green meaning greenish")
- net (tidy) - "netjes" (lit little tidy meaning "tidy-ish")
- zacht (soft) - "zachtjes" (lit.little soft meaning "softly")
Some nouns have two different diminutives, each with a different meaning.
- bloem (flower) - bloempje (lit. "small/little flower") meaning little/small flower)
- bloem (flower) - bloemetje (lit. "small/little flower" meaning bouquet)
There are also a number of words that exist solely in a diminutive form.
- zeepaardje (lit. "small/little seahorse" meaning seahorse')
- sneeuwklokje (lit. "small/little snowdrop" meaning snowdrop')
When used to refer to time, the Dutch diminutive form can indicate whether the person in question found it pleasant or not.
- In de rij heb ik een uur moeten wachten voordat ik aan de beurt was.
(I had to wait an hour in line before it was my turn.)
- Na een uurtje gezellig gekletst te hebben met haar vriend ging het meisje naar huis.
(After chatting to her boyfriend for a little hour the girl went home.)
[edit] Romance languages
[edit] Latin
In the Latin language the diminutive is formed also by suffixes.
- -ulus, -ula, -ulum, e.g. paululus (very small) from paulus (small)
- -culus, -cula, -culum, e.g. homunculus (little man) from homo (man) (culus also means arse)
- -olus, -ola, -olum, e.g. malleolus (little hammer) from malleus (hammer)
- -ellus, -ella, -ellum, e.g. libellus (little book) from liber (book)
Similarly, the diminutive of gladius (sword) is gladiolus, a plant whose leaves look like small swords.
[edit] Italian
In Italian, the diminutive for people is usually expressed by changing masculine (usually -o) to -ino and feminine (usually -a) to -ina, whereas for inanimate objects, the pattern is -o to -etto and -a to -etta. -ello and -ella also exist, though often as the result of the italicization of words from other Romance languages. The new word is then pluralized as a word in its own right. The animate/inanimate rule is extremely loose. Examples which have made it into English are mostly culinary, like linguine (named for its resemblance to little tongues ("lingue", in Italian)), and bruschetta. The diminution is often figurative: an operetta is similar to an opera, but dealing with less serious topics. "Signorina" means "Miss", whereas "signorino" would be a pejorative belittling of a man. The augmentative also exists: -one.
[edit] Romanian
Romanian uses suffixes to create diminutives, most of these suffixes being of Latin or Slavic origin.
Feminine
- -ea (jucărie / jucărea = toy)
- -ică (bucată / bucăţică = piece)
- -ioară (inimă / inimioară = heart)
- -işoară (ţară / ţărişoară = country)
- -iţă (fată / fetiţă = girl)
- -uşcă (raţă / răţuşcă = duck)
- -uţă (bunică / bunicuţă = grandmother)
Masculine
- -aş (iepure / iepuraş = rabbit)
- -el (băiat / băieţel = boy)
- -ior (dulap / dulăpior = locker)
- -işor (pui / puişor = chicken)
- -uleţ (urs / ursuleţ = bear)
- -uş (căţel / căţeluş = dog)
- -uţ (pat / pătuţ = bed)
[edit] Spanish
More detail at Spanish nouns.
In Spanish, -o and -a become -ito and -ita, respectively — as in "perro" (dog) and "perrito" (puppy). In other instances, the suffix "-illo" or "illa" is used. A well-known example of this is "tortilla". Words ending in -e or consonant take -cito/a or -ecito/a, as in big "grande" → "grandecito/a" and cross "cruz" → "crucecita". There are irregular forms, like foot "pie" → "piececito", and sometimes two forms exist with different uses: hand "mano" gives the expected "manita" but also "manecilla" "clock hand". There is at least one common duplicated diminutive: small "chico" → "chiquito" → "chiquitito".
Names can be somewhat more arbitrary. A list of common (and not so common) names and their diminutive forms:
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[edit] Portuguese
In Portuguese, the most common diminutives are formed with the suffixes "-(z)inho", "-(z)inha", which replace the masculine and feminine endings "-o" and "-a", respectively. The forms with "z" are normally added to words that end in stressed vowels, such as "café", "cafezinho"; "pouco", "pouquinho" (a very small amount). Popular diminutives may have different forms: "e.g.", "poucochinho". Diminutives of nouns are widely used in colloquial language. Occasionally, they may also be applied to adverbs ("e.g.", "só"/"sozinho", both meaning alone), adjectives ("e.g.", "tonto"/"tontinho", meaning "silly" and "a bit silly") and even verbs ("'e.g.", "correndo"/"correndinho", both meaning "running", but the latter having a sense of endearment).
[edit] French
French diminutives usually end in -ette, such as fillette (young girl) or courgette (small marrow = zucchini) and this frequently carries over into English as well. While informal French often produces diminutive effects simply by cutting a word in half (McDo from McDonalds, fixs from fixations 'ski bindings'), the ending -oche is sometimes used. For example, cinoche (ciné) and MacDoche (McDonalds).
[edit] Slavic languages
[edit] Bulgarian
Bulgarian has an extended diminutive system.
Masculine nouns have a double diminutive form. The first suffix that can be added is -che. At this points the noun has become neuter, because of the -e ending. The -ntse suffix can further extend the diminutive (It is still neuter, again due to the -e ending). A few examples:
- kufar - kufarche - kufarchentse (a suitcase)
- nozh - nozhche - nozhchentse (a knife)
- stol - stolche - stolchentse (a chair)
Feminine nouns can have up to three different, independent forms (though some of them are used only in colloquial speech):
- zhena - zhenica - zhenichka (a woman)
- riba - ribka - ribchitsa (a fish)
- saksiya - saksiyka - saksiychitsa (a flowerpot)
- glava - glаvitsa - glavichka (a head)
Note, that the suffixes can be any of -ka, -chka, -tsa.
Neuter nouns can have only one diminutive suffix -ntse.
- dete - detentse (a child)
- prase - prasentse (a pig)
[edit] Czech
In Czech diminutives are formed by suffixes, as in other Slavic languages. Every noun has a grammatically correct diminutive form, regardless of the sense it makes. This is sometimes used for comic effect, for example diminuting the world for "giant" to mean "little giant". Diminutives can be diminuted further by adding another diminutive suffix. E.g.: "Júlie" (Julia), "Julka" (little Julia), "Júlinka" (very little Julia). Czech diminutives can also express familiarity, meliorative, and affection. Hence, "Julka" may well mean "our", "cute" or "beloved" Julia.
Example: "k-diminutives"
/-ka/ (feminine noun forms)
- táta (dad) > taťka (little/cute/beloved dad = daddy)
- Anna (Ann) > Anka (little/cute/beloved Ann = Annie)
- televize (TV set) > televizka (little/cute/beloved televisor)
- hora (mountain) > hůrka (little/cute/beloved mountain = a big hill)
- noha (leg, foot) > nožka (little/cute/beloved foot, leg)
/-ko/ (neuter noun forms)
- rádio (radio) > rádijko (little/cute/beloved radio)
- víno (wine) > vínko (little/cute/beloved wine)
- triko (T-shirt) > tričko (little/cute/beloved T-shirt)
- pero (feather) > pírko (little/cute/beloved feather)
- oko (eye) > očko (little/cute/beloved eye = eyelet)
/-ek/ (masculine noun forms)
- dům (house) > domek (little/cute/beloved house)
- stůl (table) > stolek (little/cute/beloved table)
- schod (stair/step) > schůdek (little/cute/beloved stair/step)
- prostor (space) > prostůrek (little/cute/beloved space)
- strom (tree) > stromek (little/cute/beloved tree)
/-ík/
- Tom (Tom) > Tomík (little/cute/beloved Tom = Tommy)
- pokoj (room) > pokojík (little/cute/beloved room)
- kůl (stake/pole) > kolík (little/cute/beloved stake/pole)
- rum (rum) > rumík (little/cute/beloved rum)
- koš (basket) > košík (little/cute/beloved basket)
Other common diminutive suffixes are /-inka/, /-enka/, /-ečka/, /-ička/, /-ul-/, /-unka/, /-íček/, /-ínek/ etc. Note the various stem deformations, such as palatalization, vowel shortening or vowel lengthening.
[edit] Russian
Russian has a wide variety of diminutive forms for names, to the point that for non-Russian speakers it can be difficult to connect a nickname to the original. Diminutive forms for nouns are usually distinguished with an -ik, -ok (-yok) (masculine gender), -chk-/-shk- and -on’k-/-en’k- suffixes. For example, "voda" (вода;, "water") becomes "vodichka" (водичка, "little water"), "kot" (кот, "male cat") becomes "kotik" (kotik), "koshka" (кошка, "female cat") becomes "koshechka" (кошечка), "solntse" (солнце, "sun", neuter) becomes "solnyshko" (солнышко). Often there are many diminutive forms: "mama" (мама, "mom") becomes "mamochka" (мамочка), "mamen’ka" (маменька), etc.
Adjectives and adverbs can also have diminutive forms with suffix -en’k-: "siniy" (синий, "blue") becomes "sinen’kiy" (синенький), "bystro" (быстро, "quickly") becomes "bystren’ko" (быстренько).
Names can be somewhat more arbitrary, but still follow a loose pattern. A list of common names and their diminutive forms:
- Aleksey = Alyosha, Alyoshenka, Alyoshka, Lyoshik, Lyosha
- Aleksandr(a) = Sasha, Shura, Sashenka, Shurik, Sashka, San'ka, Sashechka, Shurka, Shurochka
- Anastasiya = Nastya, Asya, Nastenka, Nastyushka, Nastyona, Nastka
- Anna = Anya, Anyuta, Anechka, Anushka, Nyuta, Nyura, Nyusha
- Boris = Borya, Borenka, Boryusha, Borka
- Dmitriy = Dima, Mitya, Mitenka, Dimochka, Mityusha, Dimon, Mitka
- Ivan = Vanya, Ivanushka, Vanechka, Vanka
- Konstantin = Kostya, Kostenka, Kostik, Kostka
- Leonid = Lyonya, Lyolik, Lyonуchka, Lyonka
- Mariya = Masha, Manya, Mashenka, Mashechka, Mashusha, Marusya, Mashka
- Mikhail = Misha, Mishenka, Mishanya, Mishka
- Nataliya = Natasha, Nata, Natashenka, Natusenka, Natusik, Natashka
- Nikolay = Kolya, Kolenka, Nikolasha, Kol'ka, Kolyan
- Pyotr = Petya, Petenka, Petrusha, Petyunya
- Sergei = Seryozha, Seryoga, Seryozhenka, Seryozhka
- Stepan = Styopa, Styopanka, Stepanchik, Styopushka, Styopka
- Stanislav= Stasya, Stasik, Stasyuka, Stasenka
- Bratislav= Slava, Slavochka
- Svetlana = Sveta, Svetochka, Svetik, Svetyushka, Svetka
- Vladimr = Volodya, Vova, Vovochka, Volodenka, Vovka, Volodka
- Yekaterina = Katya, Katerina, Katechka, Katenka, Katyukha, Katyusha, Katka
- Yevgeny = Zhenya, Zhenechka, Zheka, Zhenka
Some names can also be modified with a -ka ending to add a further level of familiarity, but are not normally used for adults who are not family members.
[edit] Polish
In Polish there are multiple affixes used to create the diminutive. Some of them are -ka, -cia, -unia, -enka, -lka for feminine nouns and -ek, -ciek, -uń, -eńki, -lki for masculine (among others). For example:
- Frog (Żaba) = żabcia, żabusia, żabeńka, żabuleńka, żabeczka, żabunia, żabka
- Small (mały) = maleńki, malusi, malutki, maluśki, malusieńki
The diminutive suffixes may be stacked to create forms going even further, for example, malusieńki is considered even smaller than malusi or maleńki. Similarly, koteczek (little kitty) is derived from kotek (kitty), which is itself derived from kot (cat). Note that in this case, the suffix -ek is used twice, but changes to ecz once due to palatalisation.
Here is a list of common names:
- Anna = Ania, Anka, Anusia
- Arkadiusz = Arek, Aruś
- Bartlomiej = Bartek, Bartuś
- Bartosz = Bartek, Bartuś
- Dariusz = Darek, Dareczek
- Edward = Edek, Edzio
- Grzegorz = Grzesiek, Grześ
- Henryka = Henia
- Jaroslaw = Jarek, Jaruś
- Jan = Jaś, Janek
- Janusz = Janek
- Maciej = Maciek, Maciuś
- Tomasz = Tomek, Tomuś
- Zuzanna = Zuzia
[edit] Baltic languages
[edit] Lithuanian
Lithuanian is known for its array of diminutive forms. Diminutives are generally constructed with suffixes applied to the noun stem. By far, the most common are those with -elis/-elė or -ėlis/-ėlė. Others include: -ukis/-ukė, -ulis/-ulė, -užis/-užė, -utis/-utė, -ytis/-ytė, etc. Prefixes may also be compounded, e.g.: -užis + -ėlis → -užėlis. In addition to denoting small size and/or endearment, they may also function as amplificatives (augmentatives), pejoratives (deterioratives), and to give special meanings, depending on context[1]. Lithuanian diminutives are especially prevalent in poetic language, such as folk songs. Examples:
- ąžuolas (oak) → ąžuolėlis
- brolis (brother) → brolelis, broliukas, brolytis, brolužis, brolužėlis, brolutytis, broliukėlis, etc.
- klevas (maple) → klevelis
- pakalnė (slope) → pakalnutė (Lily-of-the-valley, Convallaria)
- saulė (sun) → saulelė, saulytė, saulutė, saulužė, saulužėlė, etc.
- svogūnas (onion) → svogūnėlis (bulb)
- vadovas (leader) → vadovėlis (textbook, manual)
[edit] Other language families
[edit] Persian
The most frequently used Persian diminutives are -cheh (چه-) and -ak (ک-).
- Bãgh باغ (garden), bãghcheh باغچه (small garden)
- Mard مرد (man), mardak مردک (this fellow)
Other less used ones are -izeh and -zheh.
[edit] Scottish Gaelic
In Scottish Gaelic diminutives are used much more frequently than in English.
The most common diminutives are:
- -(e)ag - A feminine diminutive;
- -(e)an - A masculine diminutive.
e.g.
- Mor ("Sarah") → Morag
- loch → lochan.
- bodach (old man) → bodachan (mannikin)
[edit] Turkish
- See also Turkish grammar.
Turkish diminutive suffixes are -cik and -cegiz (-cegiz):
- ev = evcik (house)
- Mehmet = Mehmetçik (This is an incorrect diminitive because it is a prestigious generic name for Turkish Soldier. Arabic Muhammad's Turkish version is Mehmet, which denotes Soldiers of Muhammad or Muhammad Like.[citation needed])
- Cik suffix usually denotes small quantity, poorness, or youngness
- Cegiz suffix usually appended to inanimate objects.
[edit] Arabic
In Modern Standard Arabic the usual diminutive pattern is Fu`ayL (CuCayC), with or without the feminine -ah added.
- kūt كوت"fort" → kuwayt كويت "little fort"
- hirra هِرّة "cat" → hurayrah هُرَيرة "kitten"
[edit] Interlingua
- See also Free word-building in Interlingua.
Interlingua has a single diminutive suffix, -ett, for diminutives of all sorts.
- Johannes (John) → Johannetto (Johnny)
- camera (chamber, room) → cameretta (little room)
- pullo (chicken) → pulletto (chick)
Use of this suffix is flexible, and diminutives such as mama and papa may also be used. To denote a small person or object, many Interlingua speakers simply use the word parve, or small:
- parve can → small dog
- parve arbore → small tree
[edit] Esperanto
- See also Esperanto word formation.
For generic use (for living beings and inanimate objects), Esperanto has a single diminutive suffix, -et.
- domo (house) → dometo (cottage)
- varma (warm) → varmeta (lukewarm)
- knabo (boy) → knabeto (little boy)
For personal names and familial forms of address, the affixes -nj- and -ĉj- are used, for females and males respectively. Unusually for Esperanto, the "root" is often shortened, in an unpredictable manner, before being added to.
- Patrino (Mother) → Panjo (Mum, Mom)
- Mario (Mary, Maria) → Manjo, Marinjo
- Sofio (Sophie, Sophia) → Sonjo, Sofinjo
- Patro (Father) → Paĉjo (Dad, Daddy)
- Johano (John, Johann) → Johanĉjo, Joĉjo (Jack, Johnny)
- Vilhelmo (William, Wilhelm) → Vilhelĉjo, Vilheĉjo, Vilĉjo, Viĉjo (Willy, Bill, Billy)
[edit] Classical Greek
Several diminutive derivational suffixes exist in Classical Greek. The most common ones are: -ιο, -ισκο, -ιδιο, -αριο.
[edit] Modern Greek
Diminutives are very common in Modern Greek. They express small size (σπίτι 'house' σπιτάκι 'little house'; metaphorically λάθος 'mistake' λαθάκι 'negligeable mistake') or affection (μάνα 'mother' μανούλα 'mommy'). The most common suffixes are -άκης, -ούλης, -ίτσα, -ούλα, -άκι. Several of them are common as suffixes of surnames, originally meaning the children (little ones) of some person, e.g. Παπάς 'priest' Παπαδάκης Papadakis (surname).
