diminutive - Definitions from Dictionary.com

7 results for: diminutive

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

di·min·u·tive

Audio Help [di-min-yuh-tiv] Pronunciation Key

–adjective

1.	small; little; tiny: a diminutive building for a model-train layout.

2.	Grammar. pertaining to or productive of a form denoting smallness, familiarity, affection, or triviality, as the suffix -let, in droplet from drop.

–noun

3.	a small thing or person.

4.	Grammar. a diminutive element or formation.

5.	Heraldry. a charge, as an ordinary, smaller in length or breadth than the usual.

[Origin: 1350–1400; ME < ML dīminūtīvus, equiv. to L dīminūt(us) lessened (for déminūtus; see diminution) + -īvus -ive

]

—Related forms

di·min·u·tive·ly, adverb

di·min·u·tive·ness, noun

—Synonyms 1. See little.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
diminutive

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

di·min·u·tive Audio Help (dĭ-mĭn'yə-tĭv) Pronunciation Key
adj.

Extremely small in size; tiny. See Synonyms at small.
Grammar Of or being a suffix that indicates smallness or, by semantic extension, qualities such as youth, familiarity, affection, or contempt, as -let in booklet, -kin in lambkin, or -et in nymphet.

Grammar A diminutive suffix, word, or name.
A very small person or thing.

[Middle English diminutif, from Old French, from Latin dīminūtīvus, variant of dēminūtīvus, from dēminūtus, past participle of dēminuere, to lessen; see diminish.]

di·min'u·tive·ly adv., di·min'u·tive·ness n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
diminutive

1398, from O.Fr. diminutif (fem. diminutive), from L. diminutivum, from deminuere (see diminish).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

diminutive
adjective
1.	very small; "diminutive in stature"; "a lilliputian chest of drawers"; "her petite figure"; "tiny feet"; "the flyspeck nation of Bahrain moved toward democracy" [syn: bantam]
noun
1.	a word that is formed with a suffix (such as -let or -kin) to indicate smallness

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
diminutive [diˈminjutiv] adjective

very small
Example: a diminutive child

Arabic:	شَديد الصِّغَر
Chinese (Simplified):	很小的
Chinese (Traditional):	很小的
Czech:	maličký
Danish:	diminutiv; meget lille
Dutch:	piepklein
Estonian:	pisitilluke
Finnish:	pikkuruinen
French:	minuscule
German:	winzig
Greek:	μικροσκοπικός
Hungarian:	pöttöm
Icelandic:	agnarlítill, örsmár
Indonesian:	kecil
Italian:	minuscolo

Japanese:	小さい
Korean:	작은, 조그마한, 소형의
Latvian:	sīks; niecīgs
Lithuanian:	mažytis, miniatiūrinis
Norwegian:	bitte liten, ørliten
Polish:	drobny
Portuguese (Brazil):	minúsculo
Portuguese (Portugal):	diminuto
Romanian:	foarte mic
Russian:	крохотный
Slovak:	maličký
Slovenian:	drobcen
Spanish:	diminuto
Swedish:	mycket liten
Turkish:	küçük, ufak, minik

See also: diminution

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

diminutive

Aug*ment"a*tive\, n. (Gram.) A word which expresses with augmented force the idea or the properties of the term from which it is derived; as, dullard, one very dull. Opposed to diminutive. --Gibbs.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Diminutive

Di*min"u*tive\, a. [Cf. L. deminutivus, F. diminutif.]

1. Below the average size; very small; little.

2. Expressing diminution; as, a diminutive word.

3. Tending to diminish. [R.]

Diminutive of liberty. --Shaftesbury.

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