They are formed by means of the suffixes -
|
-ulus (-a, -um), -olus (after a vowel), -culus, -ellus, -illus rív-ulus, a streamlet; | rívus, a brook. |
| gladi-olus, a small sword; | gladius, a sword. |
| fíli-olus, a little son; | fílius, a son. |
| fíli-ola, a little daughter; | fília, a daughter. |
| átri-olum, a little hall; | átrium, a hall. |
| homun-culus, a dwarf; | homó, a man. |
| auri-cula, a little ear; | auris, an ear. |
| múnus-culum, a little gift; | múnus, N., a gift. |
| códic-illí, writing-tablets; | códex, a block. |
| mis-ellus, rather wretched; | miser, wretched. |
| lib-ellus, a little book; | liber, a book. |
| aure-olus (-a, -um), golden; | aureus (-a, -um), golden. |
| parv-olus (later parv -ulus), very small; | parvus (-a, -um), little. |
| maius-culus, somewhat larger; | maior (old maiós), greater. |
NOTE 1: These diminutive endings are all formed by adding -lus to various stems. The formation is the same as that of -ulus in § 251. But these words became settled as diminutives, and retained their connection with nouns. So in English the diminutives whitish, reddish, are of the same formation as bookish and snappish. -culus comes from -lus added to adjectives in -cus formed from stems in n- and s-: as, iuven-cus, Aurun-cus (cf. Aurunculeius), prís-cus, whence the cu becomes a part of the termination, and the whole ending (-culus) is used elsewhere, but mostly with n- and s- stems, in accordance with its origin.
NOTE 2: Diminutives are often used to express affection, pity, or contempt: as, déliciolae, little pet; muliercula, a poor (weak) woman; Graeculus, a miserable Greek
a. -ció, added to stems in n-, has the same diminutive force, but is used with masculines only: as, homun-ció, a dwarf (from homó, a man).