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.]
diminutively di·min'u·tive·ly adv.diminutiveness di·min'u·tive·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
