Constructing Latin diminutives

1. How do you form diminutives in Latin?
2. How do you form diminutives?
3. What does diminutive mean for Latin?
4. What are some examples of diminutives?

How do you form diminutives in Latin?

The standard rule for Latin diminutives is quite straightforward. For nouns of the first or second declension, the regular diminutive suffix is -ulus (M), -ula (F), or -ulum (N), depending upon the gender of the original noun; for words of the third, fourth, or fifth declensions, the suffix is -culus, -cula, -culum.

How do you form diminutives?

A doggy can be a small dog or a baby dog. Or, it can be a loving term for a dog of any size. In English, adding the letter -y to the end of some words can suggest the things they describe are small or well-loved. We call this the diminutive.

What does diminutive mean for Latin?

If we take the Latin 1st declension feminine noun forma (“shape,” “form”), we discover that its diminutive is form- (word base) + -ula (suffix) = formula (“little shape,” “little form”). It was as simple as that, in Latin.

What are some examples of diminutives?

Other examples of diminutives include booklet, a small book; circlet, a small circle; duckling, a young duck; hillock a small hill; novelette, a short novel; wavelet, a ripple or small wave; rivulet, a small brook or stream; gosling, a young goose; coronet, a small crown; eyelet, a small hole; and droplet, a tiny drop.