Link Centre Dictionary

diminutive

di·mi·nu·tive

UK/dəˈmən.jə.təv/ US/dɪˈmɪn.jə.tɪv/ rare obsolete
adjective (1) noun (1)

adjective

1.

very small

  • “diminutive in stature”
  • “a lilliputian chest of drawers”
  • “her petite figure”
  • “tiny feet”
  • “the flyspeck nation of Bahrain moved toward democracy”
Synonyms
Similar

noun

1.

a word that is formed with a suffix (such as -let or -kin) to indicate smallness

Origin

Inherited from Middle English diminutif, derived from Old French diminutif, derived from Latin dīminutīv|us, ~a, ~um (adjective), from dīminūt|us, ~a, ~um (participle), perfect passive participle of dīmin|uō, ~uere, ~uī, ~ūtum (verb). First attested in 1398.

Phrases

  • and suffixes
  • pet form
  • pet name
  • proper nouns

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.