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Adiminutive is a word obtained by modifying aroot word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense ofintimacy orendearment, and sometimes to belittle something or someone.[1][2] Adiminutive form (abbreviatedDIM) is a word-formation device used to express such meanings. Adouble diminutive is a diminutive form with two diminutive suffixes rather than one.
Diminutives are often employed asnicknames andpet names when speaking to small children and when expressing extreme tenderness andintimacy to an adult. The opposite of the diminutive form is theaugmentative.
In some contexts, diminutives are also employed in apejorative sense to denote that someone or something is weak or childish. For example, one of the lastWestern Roman emperors wasRomulus Augustus, but his name was diminutivized to "Romulus Augustulus" to express his powerlessness.
In many languages, diminutives areword forms that are formed from the root word byaffixation. In most languages, diminutives can also be formed as multi-word constructions such as "Tiny Tim", or "Little Dorrit".
In most languages that form diminutives by affixation, this is aproductive part of the language.[1] For example, in Spanishgordo can be a nickname for someone who is overweight, and by adding an-ito suffix, it becomesgordito which is more affectionate. Examples for a double diminutive having two diminutive suffixes are in Polishdzwon →dzwonek →dzwoneczek or Italiancasa →casetta →casettina).
In English, the alteration of meaning is often conveyed throughclipping, making the words shorter and morecolloquial. Diminutives formed by addingaffixes in other languages are often longer and (as colloquial) not necessarily understood.
While many languages apply a grammatical diminutive tonouns, a few – including Slovak,Dutch,Spanish,Romanian,Latin,Polish,Bulgarian,Czech,Russian andEstonian – also use it foradjectives (in Polish:słodki →słodziutki →słodziuteńki) and even otherparts of speech (Ukrainianспати →спатки →спатоньки — to sleep or Slovakspať →spinkať →spinuškať — to sleep,bežať →bežkať — to run).
Diminutives inisolating languages maygrammaticalize strategies other than suffixes or prefixes. InMandarin Chinese, for example, other than the nominal prefix 小-xiǎo- and nominal suffixes -儿/-兒-r and -子-zi,reduplication is aproductive strategy, e.g.,舅 →舅舅 and看 →看看.[3] In formalMandarin usage, the use of diminutives is relatively infrequent, as they tend to be considered to be rather colloquial than formal. SomeWu Chinese dialects use a tonal affix for nominal diminutives; that is, diminutives are formed by changing the tone of the word.
