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# diminutive

adjective (diminutive); noun (a diminutive, diminutives)

«diminutive» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Very small or short. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diminutive/#m1)
2. (grammar, noun) A form of a word or name that means small or shows affection, such as «duckling», «piglet», «booklet», or «Billy» for William. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diminutive/#m2)

### In the lessons

In stories a «diminutive figure» is a small person or creature. In English lessons, diminutive endings include -let, -ling, -ette, -ie/-y: piglet, gosling, kitchenette, doggie. Nicknames like «Kate» for Katherine and «Mick» for Michael are diminutives. Phrases: «diminutive figure», «diminutive form», «diminutive of».

### Examples

- The diminutive girl was the fastest runner in the school. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diminutive/#x1)
- «Piglet» is the diminutive of «pig». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diminutive/#x2)
- «Jimmy» is a diminutive of «James». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diminutive/#x3)
- A diminutive old man opened the door. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diminutive/#x4)
- The suffix -let, as in «booklet», makes a diminutive. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diminutive/#x5)
- Despite her diminutive size, the terrier was very brave. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diminutive/#x6)

### Note

Formal or literary for «tiny». Pronounced «di-MIN-yoo-tiv». Not all words ending in -let or -ling are diminutives (e.g. «toilet», «sibling» are not small things).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «diminutive» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/diminutive/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«diminutive» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/diminutive.html) on Mova free.