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diminutive

UK/dɪˈmɪn.jə.tɪv/US/dɪˈmɪn.jə.tɪv/
adjectiveC1Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #11,281 of 15,258mostly written

Diminutive means extremely small. A diminutive figure, diminutive stature, diminutive and quick.

It is formal and it is used of people far more than of things, usually with a hint of affection or surprise. In grammar a diminutive is a form meaning small or dear — piglet, kitchen Spanish's -ito, a nickname like Johnny. Note diminish; and that the Latin means made smaller.

Definitions of diminutive

  1. 1adjectivediminutiveExtremely small.C1

    “The diminutive old lady could barely see over the steering wheel.”

    synonyms: tiny, minute

diminutive is a quality of smallness.

Where it comes from

Latin diminutivus comes from diminuere, to lessen, from minuere. Minute, minor and mince come from the same lessening.

  1. Latin

    dīminutīvus

  2. Old French

    diminutif

  3. Middle English

    diminutif

  4. English, today

    diminutive

Middle English diminutif, Old French diminutif, Latin dīminutīvus, from dīminūtus, of dīminuō. 1398.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in A Song of Ice and Fire

Practise this word

diminutive in the wild

  • An equivalent term is bozzetto, a diminutive of the Italian word for a sketch.

    Maquette

  • The chequer, a pane of the field of chequy, can be considered a diminutive of the canton, though it cannot be a charge on its own.

    Canton (heraldry)

  • The diminutive serotine (Eptesicus diminutus) is a bat species found in Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

    Diminutive serotine

  • The diminutive has been in use since the 19th century.

    Josh

  • Goldman's diminutive woodrat (Nelsonia goldmani) is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae.

    Goldman's diminutive woodrat

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.