- diminutive
- diminutive late 14c. (n. and adj.), from O.Fr. diminutif (14c.), from L. diminutivus, earlier deminutivus, from pp. stem of deminuere (see DIMINISH (Cf. diminish)).
Etymology dictionary. 2014.
diminutive
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Diminutive — Di*min u*tive, a. [Cf. L. deminutivus, F. diminutif.] 1. Below the average size; very small; little. [1913 Webster] 2. Expressing diminution; as, a diminutive word. [1913 Webster] 3. Tending to diminish. [R.] [1913 Webster] Diminutive of liberty … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Diminutive — Di*min u*tive, n. 1. Something of very small size or value; an insignificant thing. [1913 Webster] Such water flies, diminutives of nature. Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. (Gram.) A derivative from a noun, denoting a small or a young object of the same… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
diminutive — [də min′yo͞o tiv, də min′yətiv] adj. [ME & OFr diminutif < LL diminutivus < pp. of L deminuere, DIMINISH] 1. much smaller than ordinary or average; very small; tiny 2. Gram. expressing smallness or diminution [a diminutive suffix or name] n … English World dictionary
diminutive — index immaterial, minimal, paltry, petty, remote (small), slight, tenuous Burton s Legal Thesaurus … Law dictionary
diminutive — adj little, *small, wee, tiny, minute, miniature Contrasted words: *large, big, great: enormous, immense, *huge, vast, colossal, mammoth … New Dictionary of Synonyms
diminutive — [adj] tiny, petite bantam, bitsy*, bitty*, button*, Lilliputian, little, midget, mini, miniature, minute, peewee*, pint sized, pocket, pocket sized, small, teensy*, teensyweensy*, teeny*, teeny weeny*, undersize, wee*, weeny*; concept 789 Ant.… … New thesaurus
diminutive — ► ADJECTIVE 1) extremely or unusually small. 2) (of a word, name, or suffix) implying smallness (e.g. let in booklet). ► NOUN ▪ a shortened form of a name, typically used informally. DERIVATIVES diminutively adverb diminutiveness noun … English terms dictionary
Diminutive — In language structure, a diminutive,[1] or diminutive form (abbreviated dim), is a formation of a word used to convey a slight degree of the root meaning, smallness of the object or quality named, encapsulation, intimacy, or endearment.[2][3] It… … Wikipedia
diminutive — [[t]dɪmɪ̱njʊtɪv[/t]] diminutives 1) ADJ GRADED: usu ADJ n A diminutive person or object is very small. Her eyes scanned the room until they came to rest on a diminutive figure standing at the entrance. Syn: tiny 2) N COUNT A diminutive is an… … English dictionary
diminutive — I UK [dɪˈmɪnjʊtɪv] / US [dɪˈmɪnjətɪv] adjective formal very short or small a diminutive woman with bright blue eyes II UK [dɪˈmɪnjʊtɪv] / US [dɪˈmɪnjətɪv] noun [countable] Word forms diminutive : singular diminutive plural diminutives linguistics … English dictionary
