diminutive
diminutive Lexical Profile
diminutive Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Extremely or unusually small in size or stature.
"Despite his diminutive stature, the gymnast possessed remarkable upper-body strength."
Denoting a word, affix, or name that indicates smallness, youth, familiarity, or affection (in grammar).
"In Spanish, adding a diminutive suffix to a noun often conveys affection rather than literal smallness."
• noun
A word, affix, or shortened name formed to express smallness, youth, familiarity, or endearment (such as 'booklet' from 'book' or 'Tommy' from 'Thomas').
"The name 'Peggy' originated as a rhyming diminutive of 'Margaret'."
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the late 14th century from Old French 'diminutif', from Late Latin 'diminutivus', a grammatical term derived from Latin 'deminuere' ('to lessen'), from 'de-' ('completely') and 'minuere' ('to make small').