What Are Diminutives in English?
Definition:
A word form or suffix that indicates smallness.
In his Dictionary of English Grammar (2000), R.L. Trask points out that the English language "usually forms diminutives by suffixing -y or -ie, often to a reduced form of the source word, as in hanky for handkerchief, doggie for dog and Tommie for Thomas. But we also use -ette, as in statuette and kitchenette." (See Examples and Observations, below.)
See also:
Etymology:
From the Latin, "to lessen"
Examples and Observations:
- A booklet, is a small book; a circlet, a small circle; a duckling, a young duck; a hillock a small hill; a novelette, a short novel; a wavelet, a ripple or small wave; a rivulet, a small brook or stream; a gosling, a young goose; a coronet, a small crown; an eyelet, a small hole; a droplet, a tiny drop.
- "My parents named me William, but my friends call me Billy or just Bill. Except for one aunt who calls me Willy."
(David Klass, You Don't Know Me. Square Fish, 2001) - "You may call me Terry, you may call me Jimmy,
You may call me Bobby, you may call me Zimmy,
You may call me R.J., you may call me Ray,
You may call me anything, but no matter what you say
You're gonna have to serve somebody."
(Bob Dylan, "Gotta Serve Somebody." Slow Train Coming, 1979) - Diminutive Derivation
"[I]n English, productivediminutive derivation hardly exists at all, despite the existence of isolated baby forms such as handies, doggie or birdie (one can say girlie but not *mannie, auntie but not *unclie, horsie but not *goatie, and so on."
(Anna Wierzbicka, Cross-Cultural Pragmatics: The Semantics of Human Interaction. Walter de Gruyter, 1991)
- The Trick of Shrinking
"A charming trick almost every language has is the 'shrinking' of someone or something you like by the use of diminutives. The diminutive of Charles is Charlie. The diminutive of William is Billy. The diminutive of star is starlet. The diminutive of pig is piglet. The Olympics of diminutives is won hands-down by the Italians, who have literally dozens of different forms of the diminutive, each conveying its own special nuance of feeling for the noun undergoing the shrinking."
(Barry Farber, How to Learn Any Language. Citadel, 1991) - A Borrowed Italian Diminutive
"The food is so good because the ingredients are excellent, like the breads that are made especially for 'ino at Blue Ribbon Bakery down the block. But 'ino, a word ending that is an all-purpose Italian diminutive, also offers a European-style warmth."
(Eric Asimov, "An Italian Sandwich Shop That Takes the Diminutive." The New York Times, February 10, 1999) - Contrasting Attitudes Toward Diminutives
"Traditionally, the term 'diminutive' has been used to refer to words which denote smallness and possibly also expressing an attitude. The expressed attitude can be either positive or negative, i.e. either affectionate or derogatory, depending on the specific interplay of linguistic and situational factors in a given context."
(Klaus P. Schneider, Diminutives in English. Max Niemeyer, 2003)
"Diminutives are titles of endearment. Dr. Johnson calling Goldsmith 'Goldy' did equal honor to both."
(William Hazlitt, "On Nicknames")
"'Fanny' is a patronizing diminutive. It makes the author [Frances Burney] sound the harmless, childish, priggish girl-woman that many critics want her to be--as if the heroine of Mansfield Park has set up as novelist. Let her have an adult full name."
(Margaret Anne Doody, Frances Burney: The Life in the Works. Rutgers University Press, 1988) - The Lighter Side of Diminutives
"What’s the difference between a drop and a droplet? After all, if you divide a drop into smaller parts, all you really get is smaller drops. Big or little, a drop is a drop."
(George Carlin, When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? Hyperion, 2004)
Tom:You're a lucky boy, Dickie--even if you don't know it.
Richard:I know all about it--and don't call me Dickie.
(George Axelrod,The Seven Year Itch, 1952)
Pronunciation: di-MIN-you-tif
Also Known As: hypocoristic