Nearby Words
-ette
a noun suffix occurring originally in loanwords from French, where it has been used in a variety of diminutive and hypocoristic formations (brunette; cigarette; coquette; etiquette; rosette); as an English suffix, -ette forms diminutives (kitchenette; novelette; sermonette), distinctively feminine nouns (majorette; usherette), and names of imitation products (leatherette).
Compare -et.
Usage note
English nouns in which the suffix -ette designates a feminine role or identity have been perceived by many people as implying inferiority or insignificance: bachelorette; drum majorette; farmerette; suffragette; usherette. Of these terms, only drum majorette—or sometimes just majorette—is still widely used, usually applied to one of a group of young women who perform baton twirling with a marching band. A woman or man who actually leads a band is a drum major. EXPANDBaton twirler is often used instead of (drum) majorette. Farmer, suffragist, and usher are applied to both men and women, thus avoiding any trivializing effect of the -ette ending. See also -enne, -ess, -trix.
COLLAPSE
English nouns in which the suffix -ette designates a feminine role or identity have been perceived by many people as implying inferiority or insignificance: bachelorette; drum majorette; farmerette; suffragette; usherette. Of these terms, only drum majorette—or sometimes just majorette—is still widely used, usually applied to one of a group of young women who perform baton twirling with a marching band. A woman or man who actually leads a band is a drum major. EXPANDBaton twirler is often used instead of (drum) majorette. Farmer, suffragist, and usher are applied to both men and women, thus avoiding any trivializing effect of the -ette ending. See also -enne, -ess, -trix.
COLLAPSE
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
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-ette
is always a great word to know.
So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:
| an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance. |
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
| -ette | |
| —suffix forming nouns | |
| 1. | small: cigarette; kitchenette |
| 2. | female: majorette; suffragette |
| 3. | (esp in trade names) imitation: Leatherette |
| [from French, feminine of | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
-ette
dim. formation, from O.Fr. -ette (fem.), used indiscriminately in O.Fr. with masc. form -et. As a general rule, older words borrowed from Fr. have -et in Eng., while ones taken in since 17c. have -ette. In use with native words since 20c., especially among persons who coin new product names, who tend
EXPANDto give it a sense of "imitation." Also in words like sermonette, which, OED remarks, "can scarcely be said to be in good use, though often met with in newspapers."
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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