-olo

Forms

-olo m (noun-forming suffix, plural -oli, feminine -ola, feminine plural -ole)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin -olus, the older form of the diminutive suffix -ulus that Latin kept after ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩, as in alveolus and filiolus.^[2][1] Nocentini and Devoto–Oli give the source as -eolus, and Treccani as -eolus and -iolus, which merged in Vulgar Latin as -iòlu with the stress moved onto the ⟨o⟩.^[3][4][5] Sabatini–Coletti also notes that the suffix, unstressed in classical Latin, became stressed in Vulgar Latin.^[6] The older and literary Italian form is -uolo.^[7][5][6]

Latin -ulus continues Proto-Italic *-elos, from Proto-Indo-European *-elós, a thematised form of *-lós; the same suffix is Proto-Germanic *-ilaz, the source of the English ending -le.^[1]

Meanings

Suffix

1. Forms diminutives and affectionate forms of nouns: bestiola, querciolo, poggiolo.^[3][4][7][5]
2. In some words the diminutive sense has faded and the suffix only derives a new noun: aiuola, capriolo, figliolo.^[5]
3. Forms adjectives and nouns of origin or condition, especially names of inhabitants: campagnolo, montagnolo, romagnolo, spagnolo.^{[3][4][6][7][5]}

Word family

• bestiola
• querciolo
• poggiolo
• aiuola
• capriolo
• figliolo
• campagnolo
• montagnolo
• romagnolo
• spagnolo

Related words

• Latin -olus
• Latin -ulus

Usage notes

A separate unstressed -olo, from -ulus, ends nouns stressed on the third syllable from the end, in which the diminutive sense and the link to a base word are mostly lost: bambola, gomitolo, pillola, broccolo.^[5][7][6][1] Its learned variant -ulo appears in Latinisms such as cellula and formula, and it keeps its diminutive force in compound suffixes such as -iciattolo, -ignolo and -ottolo: mostriciattolo, nomignolo, viottolo.^[5][7]

Chemistry has two further suffixes -olo (English “-ol”). One, taken from the last syllable of alcol, marks the hydroxyl group of alcohols and phenols, as in metanolo and fenolo.^[3][4][7][8] The other, from Latin oleum (“oil”), marks a relation to an oil or oily substance, as in benzolo, and appears in the names of some heterocyclic compounds such as pirrolo and in trade names of drugs and chemical products.^[3][7][8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f g Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
6. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
7. ^ a b c d e f g Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
8. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)