diminutive

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English diminutif,^[2][3] borrowed from Old French diminutif,^{[4][5][6][2][7]} and directly borrowed from Latin dīminūtīvus,^[5] an altered form of earlier dēminūtīvus,^[5][3][8] from dēminūtus (“lessened”), the past participle of dēminuō (“to lessen, diminish”).^[4][5][8] The spelling with i arose under the influence of dīminuō.^[3] The verb is formed from dē- (“completely”) and minuō (“to make small”),^[5] from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“small”).^[5] The Anglo-Norman word is recorded from about 1292 with the sense "diminutive".^[9] Diminish and diminution come from the same Latin verb.^[6][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

A word denoting something small of its kind, in grammar: before 1398, in Trevisa's translation of Bartholomaeus Anglicus.^[4][6] The OED notes that the noun is recorded in English earlier than the adjective,^[4] while Barnhart dates both to before 1398^[6] and Etymonline gives the grammatical adjective from the late 14th century.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The word began as a term of grammar, for a word or suffix expressing smallness,^[4][5] often also affection or contempt: Merriam-Webster gives -ette, -kin, -let and -ling as examples.^[3] The general sense "small, tiny" is recorded from 1602, in Marston,^[4] or about 1600 in Etymonline;^[5] the OED notes that it came to be used as a more emphatic word for small.^[4] Shakespeare used the noun for a small thing or creature (1609),^[4][3] and Johnson (1755) quoted Macbeth on the wren, "the most diminutive of birds".^[10] Senses meaning "tending to diminish" and "disparaging" were used in the 17th and 18th centuries but are now obsolete.^[4][3] In heraldry a diminutive is a narrower form of one of the ordinaries, recorded from 1572.^[4][3]

Timeline

• before 1398 – noun, in grammar, a word denoting something small of its kind.^[4][6]
• 1572 – noun, in heraldry, a narrower form of an ordinary.^[4]
• 1579 – adjective, in grammar, expressing smallness.^[4]
• 1602 – adjective, small, little.^[4]
• 1609 – noun, a small thing or creature.^[4]
• 1662 – adjective, disparaging (now obsolete).^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Very small; tiny: a diminutive figure in a huge overcoat.^[11][3]
2. (grammar) Of a suffix or word: expressing smallness, and often affection or contempt, as -let in booklet.^[11][3][4]
3. (obsolete) Tending to make smaller, or making something seem less than it is; disparaging.^[3][4]

Noun

1. (grammar) A diminutive word or affix, such as a pet form of a name: Bill is a diminutive of William.^[11][3][4]
2. A very small person or thing.^[11][3][4]
3. (heraldry) A narrower version of one of the ordinaries.^[3][4]

Word family

• diminutively
• diminutiveness

Related words

• diminish
• diminution
• minute
• minor
• augmentative

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
7. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
9. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
11. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins