The Formation of Latin

Diminutives of Nouns and Adjectives

Compiled by Ian Andreas Miller

Introduction

A Latin diminutive is a word that expresses smallness, affection, pity, or contempt.

The substantive or adjective from which the diminutive derives is called the primitive.

The Latin diminutive puellula, for example, means “little girl,” while its Latin
primitive puella means “girl”; the diminutive muliercula, from the primitive mulier
(meaning “woman”), means “poor woman”; the diminutive Graeculus, from the
primitive Graecus (meaning “Greek”), means “miserable Greek.”

This tutorial shows the common procedures for the formation of such words.

Part 1: Diminutive Suffix Forms

1. Formation of the Most Common Diminutive Suffixes

The forms of most common diminutive suffixes in Latin are:

Diminutive Suffix Stem Base Nom. Sg. Form(s) Nom. Pl. Form(s)
-ulā- -ul- -ula -ulae
-ulo- -ul- -ulus, -ulum -ulī, -ula
-ellā- -ell- -ella -ellae
-ello- -ell- -ellus, -ellum -ellī, -ella
-illā- -ill- -illa -illae
-illo- -ill- -illus, -illum -illī, -illa
-culā- -cul- -cula -culae
-culo- -cul- -culus, -culum -culī, -cula
-cellā- -cell- -cella -cellae
-cello- -cell- -cellus, -cellum -cellī, -cella
-cillā- -cill- -cilla -cillae
-cillo- -cill- -cillus, -cillum -cillī, -cilla

All of these were formed from the primitive suffix *-ḷ-, or syllabic l:

I. -ulā-, -ulo-

The primitive suffix originally appeared in Latin as *-elā-, *-elo-, but became
-ulā-, -ulo- in accordance with the old Italic laws of accent: e.g. rīvulo- (rīvulus) for
*rīvelo- from rīvo- (rīvus). These -ulā-, -ulo- suffixes were usually also added to ā-
stems and certain consonant stems: e.g. arculā- (arcula) from arcā- (arca); rēgulo-
(rēgulus) from rēg- (rēx). When a vowel sound appeared immediately before -ulā-,
-ulo-, the -u- appears as -o-: gladiolo- (gladius) for *gladiulo- from gladio- (gladius);
bestiolā- (bestiola) for *bestiulā- from bestiā- (bestia).

II. -ellā-, -ello-

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 The aforementioned suffixes *-elā-, *-elo-, were added to stems in -rā-, -ro-,
-inā- (for *-enā-), -ino (for *-eno-), -ulā- (for *-elā-), -ulo- (for *-elo-), and after
syncope of the -e- in the suffixes, -e- appeared or was added through anaptyxis
before the preceding -r-, -n-, -l-, and the preceding -r-, -n-, -l-, assimilated to the -l-
of the suffix, resulting in -ellā-, -ello-: e.g. agello- (agellus) for *agerelo from agro-
(ager); tenello- (tenellus) for *tenerelo- from tenero- (tener); asello- (asellus) for
*asenelo- from asino- (asinus), for *aseno-; porculo- (porculus) for porcelelo- from
porculo- (porculus), for *porcelo-. Then these -ellā-, -ello- forms became productive
suffixes themselves: e.g. novello- (novellus) from novo- (novus).

III. -illā-, -illo-

The aforementioned suffixes *-elā-, *-elo-, were added to stems in

-nā-, -no-, -lā-, -lo-, and after syncope of the -e- in the suffixes, -i- was added
through anaptyxis before the preceding -n-, -l-, and the -n-, -l-, assimilated to the -l-
of the suffix, resulting in -illā-, -illo-: e.g. sigillo- (sigillum) for *siginelo- from signo-
(signum); axillā- (axilla) for agsillā- from ālā- (āla), for *agslā-; mamillā- (mamilla)
for mamilelā- from mammulā- (mammula), for *mammelā-. Then these
-illā-, -illo- forms became productive suffixes themselves: e.g. moechillo- (moechillus)
from moecho- (moechus); nepōtilla- (nepōtilla) from nepōt- (nepōs).

IV. -culā-, -culo- and -cellā-, -cello- and -cillā-, -cillo-

Formed by adding the suffixes -ulā-, -ulo-, -ellā-, -ello-, -illā-, -illo-, to
adjectives in -cā-, -co-, that have been formed from stems in -n- and -s-: e.g.
iuvenculo- (iuvenculus) from iuvenco- (iuvencus). Then these new forms -culā-,
-culo-, -cellā-, -cello-, -cillā-, -cillo-, became productive suffixes themselves: e.g.
arbusculā- (arbuscula) from arbor- (arbor); breviculus (breviculo-) from brevi-
(brevis); homunculo- (homunculus) from homin- (homō); mūsculo- (mūsculus) from
mūr(i)- (mūs); anicula (anicula) from anu- (anus); rēculā- (rēcula) from rē- (rēs);
ōscillo- (ōscillum) from ōr- (ōs); pānicello- (pānicellus) from pāni- (pānis).

2. Diminutive Suffixes and Stem Changes

It should always be kept in mind that a diminutive suffix, like all other
suffixes in Latin, properly is added to the stem of a word.

However, because the stems of the words often undergo various changes
(often by analogy) when these suffixes are added, and those changes are very often
revealed by the bases and nominative forms of the words, it is convenient also to
consider these other forms. The procedures below take into consideration the stems,
the bases, and the nominative singular forms of the primitives whenever applicable.

Thus, in the formation of puellula, the diminutive suffix -ula- should be added
to the stem, but the stem undergoes changes before that suffix, and it is convenient
to consider puell-, the base of the word. In the formation of corpusculum, the
diminutive suffix -culum is added to the stem corpor-, but the stem appears before
the base in a way that looks exactly like corpus, the nominative singular form.

However, in the formation of many diminutives using these suffixes, it is

more convenient to think of Latin diminutives as being formed by first adding the
combinations -ul-, -ell-, -ill-, -cul-, -cell-, and -cill- (the bases of the twelve
diminutive suffixes mentioned above) to the appropriate forms of the primitives, and

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then adding the appropriate terminations to these diminutive bases. In some of the
procedures below, these combinations will be called diminutives bases.

3. Gender and Endings of Diminutives

I. Diminutive Adjectives

A diminutive adjective follows the default gender-to-termination assignment

found regularly among adjectives of three terminations from the first two
declensions, so -us as in bonus is used by the diminutive when it is masculine, -a as
in bona is used when it is feminine, and -um as in bonum is used when it is neuter:
e.g. breviculus, masculine, "rather short"; brevicula, feminine; breviculum, neuter.

II. Diminutive Substantives

The primitive substantive imparts its grammatical information onto its

diminutive substantive, and the diminutive attempts to match its primitive as much
as possible according to that grammatical information. Thus, diminutives regularly
take the gender of their primitives, and the terminations that they take are
determined in two ways.

In situations where the grammatical information may be common to both the

primitive and diminutive, such that the gender and termination may be the same,
that grammatical commonality is retained in the formation of the diminutive from the
primitive, so that the terminations that the diminutive takes agree with its primitive
in terms of gender, number, case, and declension: e.g. primitive equus, masculine,
"horse," and diminutive equulus, masculine, "small horse"; primitive puella,
feminine, "girl," and diminutive puellula, feminine, "little girl"; primitive scurra,
masculine, "clown," and diminutive scurrula, masculine, "small clown"; primitive
oppidum, neuter, "town," and diminutive oppidulum, neuter, "small town."

In situations where the grammatical information cannot be common, such

that the primitive and diminutive cannot have the same gender or termination, the
diminutive follows the default gender-to-termination assignment found regularly
among adjectives of three terminations from the first two declensions, so -us as in
bonus is used by the diminutive when it is masculine, -a as in bona is used when it is
feminine, and -um as in bonum is used when it is neuter: e.g. primitive rēx,
masculine, "king," and diminutive rēgulus, masculine, "petty king"; primitive mercēs,
feminine, "pay," and primitive mercēdula, feminine, "poor pay"; primitive corpus,
neuter, "body," and diminutive corpusculum, neuter, "small body."

Thus, when the terminations are common, the primitive has a gender-to-
termination assignment, but when the terminations are not common, the primitive
assumes a gender-to-termination assignment. Since words like scurra do not follow
the default gender-to-termination assignment found among adjectives of the
aforementioned type (i.e. as in bonus, bona, bonum), a diminutive ending in -us or -ī
is not necessarily masculine, a diminutive ending in -a or -ae is not necessarily
feminine, and a diminutive ending in -um or -a is not necessarily neuter.

III. Note on the Addition of Terminations in the Procedures

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 For the sake of brevity, the procedures below will not include the “add the
appropriate terminations to the diminutive bases and diminutive suffixes” step in
every case, but it should be understood as the final step in each case.

IV. Diminutives from Primitives of the Last Three Declensions

Those created from primitives of the third, fourth, and fifth declensions
decline like bonus when masculine, bona when feminine, and bonum when neuter.

Primitive Diminutive
Declension Word Gender Word Gender Declines Like
Third rēx Masculine rēgulus Masculine bonus
Third mercēs Feminine mercēdula Feminine bona
Third corpus Neuter corpusculum Neuter bonum
Third mōs Masculine mōscillī Masculine bonī [plural]
Fourth artus Masculine articulus Masculine bonus
Fourth anus Feminine anicula Feminine bona
Fourth cornū Neuter corniculum Neuter bonum
Fifth rēs Feminine rēcula Feminine bona

V. Diminutives from Primitives of the First Two Declensions

Those created from primitives of the first and second declensions also take
the declensions and stem vowels of their primitives. Whenever they and their
primitives can have common terminations (-us, -a, -um in the nominative singular,
or -ī, -ae, -a in the nominative plural), they take their primitives' terminations. But
whenever they and their primitives cannot have common terminations, they decline
like bonus when masculine, bona when feminine, and bonum when neuter.

Primitive Diminutive
Stem
Declension Word Gender Word Gender Declines Like
Vowel
First -ā- puella Feminine puellula Feminine puella
First -ā- scurra Masculine scurrula Masculine scurra
First -ā- tenebrae Feminine tenebellae Feminine tenebrae [plural]
First -ā- tenera Feminine tenella Feminine tenera
Second -o- tener Masculine tenellus Masculine bonus
Second -o- locī Masculine loculī Masculine locī [plural]
Second -o- puer Masculine puerulus Masculine bonus
Second -o- oppidum Neuter oppidulum Neuter oppidum
Second -o- tenerum Neuter tenellum Neuter tenerum

4. Diminutives from Diminutives

Diminutives, and non-diminutive forms imagined as diminutives, may

themselves be the primitives in the formation of new diminutives. These new
diminutives may be created in two ways.

I. Usual Procedures

The diminutive follows the usual procedures of creating diminutives:

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 Diminutive
New Diminutive
Word From Primitive
agellus ager agellulus
agnicellus agnus agnicellulus
rubellus ruber rubellulus

The new diminutive is sometimes called a double diminutive.

II. Interchange of Diminutive Bases

Words of the first two declensions, with bases ending in -ul-, -ell-, -ill-, may
interchange those letter combinations (i.e. -ul-, -ell-, -ill-) among themselves to
create new diminutives; words of the first two declensions, with bases ending in
-cul-, -cell-, -cill-, may interchange those letter combinations (i.e. -cul-, -cell-, -cill-)
among themselves to create new diminutives:

Diminutives and the Interchange of Base Endings

Ending in -ul-, -cul- Ending in -ell-, -cell- Ending in -ill-, -cill-
flōsculus flōscellus [flōscillus]
monticulus monticellus [monticillus]
oculus ocellus [ocillus]
porcula porcella porcilla
porculus porcellus [porcillus]
pēniculus [pēnicellus] pēnicillus

The distinction among the diminutive bases is one of emotional nuance rather
than one of progressively diminutive meaning (e.g. "small," "very small," "tiny").

Note: The forms in brackets in the table apparently do not occur, but they follow the regular formation
procedures. Oculus is not a diminutive, but it is treated as such in the formation of diminutives.

III. No Limits to the Changes

Although Latin generally stops creating diminutives at double diminutives,

there is theoretically no upper limit to the number of diminutive bases that can be
added to diminutives to create even more diminutives.

Thus, the diminutives that may be created from puella, for example, include
the following: puellula (puell-ul-a), puellella (puell-ell-a), puellilla (puell-ill-a),
puellulula (puell-ul-ul-a), puellellula (puell-ell-ul-a), puellillula (puell-ill-ul-a).

IV. Diminutive Bases -UL- and -CUL- as Defaults

In the procedures below, the diminutive bases -ul- and -cul- are the defaults.
Any instance of the diminutive base -ul- may be interchanged by using the
diminutive bases -ell- and -ill- instead; any instance of the diminutive base -cul- may
be interchanged by using the diminutive bases -cell- and -cill- instead.

Part 2: Procedures

1. First and Second Declensions

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I. Regular Procedure

By default, all stems in -ā- and -o- have their final vowel replaced by the
diminutive base -ul-; if a letter representing a vowel sound (usually -e- or -i-)
appears immediately before the final vowel, the -u- in -ul- becomes -o-:

Stem Nom. Sg. Base Examples

Ending Ending Ending Primitive Diminutive
-ā- - [vowel sound] bestia bestiola
-ā- - [consonant sound] equa equula
-ā- - [consonant sound] opera operula
-ā- - [consonant sound] puella puellula
-o- - [vowel sound] calceus calceolus
-o- - [consonant sound] equus equulus
-o- - [consonant sound] hortus hortulus
-o- - [consonant sound] puer puerulus
-o- - [consonant sound] servus servulus

Note: The -ul- form of the diminutive base is used before consonantal -i- and -u-. (Sometimes
consonantal -i- is written as -j-.) So, for equus and equa, since the -u- before the final vowels of the
stems represents a consonantal sound instead of a vowel sound, their diminutives have -u- instead of -o-.
Stems in -vā-, -vo- originally used the -ol- form of the diminutive base, but later they started using -ul- as
usual: e.g. servolus, later servulus.

II. Stems in -LĀ-, -NĀ-, -RĀ-, -LO-, -NO-, -RO-

Stems in -lā-, -nā-, -rā-, -lo-, -no-, -ro-, commonly drop their stem vowels
and add the old suffixes *-ela-, *-elo-, to form diminutives. When the -e- of *-ela-,
*-elo-, and the letters -r- and -n- appear immediately before the -l- of the suffixes,
they assimilate to -l-. Additional changes may or may not occur besides this elision
of the stem vowel and appropriate assimilation of consonants.

The additional changes and lack thereof are:

a. Stems ending in -rā- and -ro-, with a consonant appearing immediately before
that -r-, add -e- (sometimes -i-) immediately before that -r- of the stem; stems
ending in -nā- and -no-, with a consonant appearing immediately before that -n-,
add -e- or -i- immediately before that -n- of the stem:

Stem Nom. Sg. Base Examples

Ending Ending Ending Primitive Diminutive
-ā- - [consonant] + r umbra umbella
-o- - [consonant] + r liber libellus
-o- - [consonant] + r rōstrum rōstellum
-o- - [consonant] + r trānstrum trānstillum
-o- - [consonant] + r veretra veretilla
-ā- - [consonant] + n columna columella
-o- - [consonant] + n pugnus pugillus
-o- - [consonant] + n signum sigillum
-o- - [consonant] + n tignum tigillum

b. Stems in -ulā-, -inā-, -ulo-, -ino-, change the -i- and -u- before the -l- or -n- to
other vowel letters, either -e- or -i-. The phonetic changes are:

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 Stem Ending Suffixes Resultant Diminutive Endings
-inā-, -ino- -lā-, -lo- -ellus, -ella, -ellum
-ulā-, -ulo- -lā-, -lo- -illus, -illa, -illum; -ellus, -ella, -ellum

Specific examples of diminutives showing such phonetic changes are:

Stem Nom. Sg. Base Examples

Ending Ending Ending Primitive Diminutive
-ā- - -in- pāgina pāgella
-ā- - -ul- fābula fābella
-ā- - -in- fēmina fēmella
-ā- - -ul- porcula porcilla
-o- - -in- asinus asellus
-o- - -ul- oculus ocellus
-o- - -ul- porculus porcellus
-o- - -ul- baculum bacillum

Note: The vowel changes seen in the chart above reflect the phonetic changes that were at work in the
creation of the suffixes -ellā-, -ello-, -illā-, -illo-, as described above. The -e- in the resultant diminutive
endings derives from the -e- in -enā-, -eno-, -elā-, -elo-, old forms of the stem endings -inā-, -ino-, -ulā-,
-ulo-; the -i- in the resultant diminutive endings derives from anaptyxis between two consonants.

c. Other Stems in -lā-, -nā-, -rā-, -lo-, -no-, -ro-, with vowels appearing immediately
before those -l-, -n-, and -r-, reguarly do not have those vowels change:

Stem Nom. Sg. Base Examples

Ending Ending Ending Primitive Diminutive
-ā- - -ān- Messāna Messālla
-ā- - -ēn- catēna catēlla
-ā- - -er- camera camella
-ā- - -er- opera opella
-ā- - -īr- hīra hīllae
-ā- - -ōn- corōna corōlla
-o- - -ān- Hispānus Hispāllus
-o- - -ār- rārus rāllus
-o- - -en- benus bellus
-o- - -er- puer puellus
-o- - -er- tener tenellus
-o- - -īn- pulvīnus pulvīllus
-o- - -ūn- ūnus ūllus
-o- - -ur- purus pullus
-o- - -ur- satur satullus

Note: There seems to be some disagreement about the lengths of the vowels -i- and -e- before -ll- in a
number of diminutives, as in catēlla. Some sources show them long, others show them short. There are
cogent arguments for both lengths of the vowels: 1) In favor of the long vowels, we see no change in the
other vowel letters -ā-, -ō-, -ū-; 2) In favor of the short vowels, the change in length is on analogy of the
suffixes -ellā-, -ello-, -illā-, -illo-. For these reasons, we will consider the length of the vowel as variable.

d. Stems in -lā-, -nā-, -rā-, -lo-, -no-, -ro-, with the long vowels -ē- and -ī-
appearing immediately before those -l-, -n-, and -r-, sometimes shorten those
vowels on the analogy of the suffixes -ellā-, -ello-, -illā-, -illo-:

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 Stem Nom. Sg. Base Examples
Ending Ending Ending Primitive Diminutive
-ā- - -ēn- catēna catella
-ā- - -īn- crumīna crumilla
-ā- - -īr- hīra hillae
-o- - -īn- pulvīnus pulvillus

III. Diminutives with the Diminutive Base -XILL-

Stems in -cā-, -co- or -lā-, -lo-, may drop their stem vowels, replace that final
-c- or -l- with the diminutive base -xill-, and a single long vowel (i.e. a vowel not
part of diphthong) that appears immediately before that -x- shortens:

Stem Nom. Sg. Base Examples

Ending Ending Ending Primitive Diminutive
-ā- - [long vowel] + -l- āla axilla
-ā- - [diphthong ] + -l- aula (olla) auxilla
-ā- - [long vowel] + -l- māla maxilla
-o- - [long vowel] + -l- pālus paxillus
-o- - [diphthong ] + -l- paulus pauxillus
-o- - [long vowel] + -l- tālus taxillus
-o- - [long vowel] + -l- vēlum vexillum

Note: The diminutives of this type were created by older forms of their primitives, which used to contain
letter combinations -gs- or -cs- before the final -l- of their bases; these letter combinations eventually
disappeared in the primitives: e.g. axillā- (axilla) for agsillā- from agslā-, the older form of ālā- (āla).

IV. Diminutives with the Diminutive Base -ASTR-

The diminutive base -astr- may be used instead of the normal base -ul-; the
nominative singular forms are -aster, -astra, -astrum:

Stem Nom. Sg. Base Examples

Ending Ending Ending Primitive Diminutive
-ā- - - fīlia fīliastra
-o- - - fīlius fīliaster
-o- - - surdus surdaster
-o- - - pallium palliastrum

V. Diminutives (Proper Names) with the Diminutive Base -ILL-

The rare diminutive base -ill- is added like a normal suffix beginning in -i-:

Stem Nom. Sg. Base Examples

Ending Ending Ending Primitive Diminutive
-ā- - -i- Līvia Līvilla
-ā- - -i- Sulpicia Sulpicilla
-ā- - -i- Terentia Terentilla

Note: This suffix is found used only with feminine names, but it could theoretically also be used with
others words, e.g. a masculine form of Līvilla would be Līvillus.

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VI. Diminutives with the Diminutive Base -ULE-

Some diminutives are formed the same way as those are formed with the
diminutive base -ul- according to the regular procedure, but the difference is that an
-e- appears immediately after the -l-:

Stem Nom. Sg. Base Examples

Ending Ending Ending Primitive Diminutive
-ā- - - hinna hinnulea
-o- - - equus equuleus
-o- - - hinnus hinnuleus

VII. Diminutives with the Diminutive Base -IŌN-

The rare diminutive base -iōn-, nominative singular -iō, is added like a normal
suffix beginning in -i-:

Stem Nom. Sg. Base Examples

Ending Ending Ending Primitive Diminutive
-o- - - Graeculus Graeculiō
-o- - - pūsus pūsiō

VIII. Diminutives (Proper Names) with the Diminutive Base -TT-

The rare diminutive base -itt-, used in Later Latin, is added like a normal
suffix beginning in -i-:

Stem Nom. Sg. Base Examples

Ending Ending Ending Primitive Diminutive
-ā- - -i- Iūlia Iūlitta
-ā- - - Pōlla Pōllitta

Note: This suffix is found used only with feminine names, but it could theoretically also be used with
others words, e.g. a masculine form of Iūlitta would be Iūlittus.

IX. Diminutives with the Diminutive Bases -CUL- and -ICUL-

On the analogy of i-stems, the forms -cul- and -icul- were used with words of
the first two declensions; -icul- is added like a normal suffix ending in -i-; -cul- is
added to the stem after the final vowel of the stem has been changed to -i-:

Stem Nom. Sg. Base Examples

Ending Ending Ending Primitive Diminutive
-ā- - - āla ālicula
-o- - - pannus panniculus
-o- - - thyrsus thyrsiculus
-o- - - galērum galēriculum

X. Diminutives with the Diminutive Bases -UNCUL-

Rarely, on the analogy of the n-stems that form diminutives of -uncul-, this
-uncul- is used as a suffix itself; it is added like a normal suffix ending in -u-:

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 Stem Nom. Sg. Base Examples
Ending Ending Ending Primitive Diminutive
-o- - - avus avunculus

XI. Irregular Formation

There is a number of unusually-formed diminutives. They were formed by

various analogies and different forms of the diminutive suffixes. Some are:

Examples
Stem
Primitive Diminutives
Ending
Word Stem Base Attested Regular
-ā- amphora amphorā- amphor- ampulla ampholla, amphorula
-ā- māchina māchinā- māchin- māchilla māchella
-ā- rana ranā- ran- ranunculus ranula
-o- ramus ramo- ram- ramusculus ramulus

Note: Ampulla may in fact be not a diminutive, but rather a compound of ambi- and olla. If it is a
diminutive of amphora, then the expected diminutive ampholla dropped its h, and underwent the unusual
phonetic change of -oll- to -ull-, as seen in a few words such as homullus for homollus (homon- + -lus),
from homō, where homon- is used as the stem instead of the normal stem homin-. The form māchilla
appears to be uncertain, and is appearently a substitution for the regular māchella, created to distinguish
it from macella. In the creation of ranunculus to rana, the former changed its gender and termination.
Ramusculus was formed by treating ramus as if it were an s-stem, and adding the base -cul-.

2. Third Declension

I. “Pure” I-Stem Substantives & Adjectives of Two and Three Terminations

“Pure” i-stems (parisyllabic masculines and feminines ending in -is, and

neuters ending in -e, -al, -ar), nouns and adjectives, including the adjectives of two
and three terminations (but not comparatives), take the diminutive base -cul-:

Stem Nom. Sg. Base Examples

Ending Ending Ending Primitive Diminutive
-i- -is - īgnis īgniculus
-i- -is - pānis pānicellus
-i- -is - ovis ovicula
-i- -e - rēte rēticulum
-i- -er - venter ventriculus
-i- -ālis - aquālis aquāliculus
-i- -is - mollis molliculus
-i- -er - ācer ācriculus

Note: These diminutives were created by adding the suffixes -culā-, -culo- to the stems of the primitives.

II. Consonant Stems: Mute Stems in -C-, -G-, -D-, -T-

Stems ending in a mute consonant (-c-, -d-, -g-, -t-), including adjectives of
one termination with bases in -c-, -d-, -g-, -t-, take the diminutive base -ul-:

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 Stem Nom. Sg. Base Examples
Ending Ending Ending Primitive Diminutive
-c- - -c- vōx vōcula
-c- - -c- cornīx cornīcula
-c- - -c- radīx radīcula
-c- - -c- tōnstrīx tōnstrīcula
-g- - -g- rēx rēgulus
-d- - -d- mercēs mercēdula
-t- - -t- ariēs arietillus
-t- - -t- caput capitulum
-t- - -t- nepōs nepōtulus
-t- - -t- sacerdōs sacerdōtula
-c- - -c- ferōx ferōculus
-c- - -c- dicāx dicāculus
-c- - -c- loquāx loquāculus
-t- -ns -nt- adulēscēns adulēscentulus
-t- -ns -nt- blandiloquēns blandiloquentulus
-t- -ns -nt- dolēns dolentulus
-t- -ns -nt- īnfāns īnfantulus
-t- -ns -nt- valēns valentulus

III. Consonant Stems: Most Stems in -R-; Stems in -S-; Stems in -L(L)-

Most r-stems (i.e. r-stems and rr-stems) and s-stems add -cul- to their
nominative singular forms; l-stems (i.e. l-stems and ll-stems) do the same:

Stem Nom. Sg. Base Examples

Ending Ending Ending Primitive Diminutive
-r- - -r- amātor amātorculus
-rr- - -r- fār fārculum
-r- - -r- uxor uxorcula
-r- - -r- soror sororcula
-r- - -r- mulier muliercula
-r- - -r- vēr vērculum
-r- - -r- pater paterculus
-r- - -r- pauper pauperculus
-ll- - -ll- mel melculum
-s- - -s- vās vāsculum

Note: These diminutives were created by adding -culā-, -culo- directly to the appropriate form of the
stems of the primitives (same as their nominative singular forms). Among the r-stem words that denote
male and female beings, and have corresponding diminutives, almost all are etymological r-stems rather
than etymological s-stems (e.g. agent nouns in -tor, and words like pater and māter), and their diminutive
forms use -r- before the base -cul-. The use of this -r- for diminutives from r-stem words denoting male
and female beings was so common and consistent that it was carried over to the original s-stem mulier,
and so the diminutive muliercula was formed instead of the otherwise expected muliescula.

IV. Consonant Stems: Stems in -R- with Diminutives in -USCUL-

There are three types of stems in -r- (originally -s-) in which the stems have
their final -r- appear as the original -s- before the diminutive base -cul-:

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a. Noun and adjective stems in -r- (originally -s-), with nominative singular forms in
-s and bases ending in -r-, add the base -cul- to their nominative singular forms:

Stem Nom. Sg. Base Examples

Ending Ending Ending Primitive Diminutive
-r- -s -r- corpus corpusculum
-r- -s -r- flōs flōsculus
-r- -s -r- ōs ōsculum
-r- -s -r- iūs iūsculum
-r- -s -r- plūs plūsculus

b. Noun stems in -r- (originally -s-) that do not denote male and female beings, with
nominative singular forms in -or, -ur, and -ōs, and with bases ending in -or- and
-ōr-, form diminutives using the diminutive base -cul-. They change their final two
letters of their bases (i.e. -or-, -ōr-) to -us-, and the diminutive base -cul- is added.

Stem Nom. Sg. Base Examples

Ending Ending Ending Primitive Diminutive
-or- -or -or- marmor marmusculum
-or- -or/-ōs -or- arbor/arbōs arbusculus
-ōr- -or/-ōs -ōr- rūmor [*rūmōs] rūmusculus
-or- -ur -or- iecur iecusculum

c. The comparative forms of adjectives in -ior and -ius have their final two letters of
their bases (-ōr-) appear as -us- and the diminutive base -cul- is added.

Stem Nom. Sg. Base Word Diminutive

Ending Ending Ending Example Form
-ōr- -ior, -ius -ōr- grandior, -ius grandiusculus
-ōr- -ior, -ius -ōr- longior, -ius longiusculus

Note: These r-stem primitives were originally s-stems, and when the suffixes -culā-, -culo- suffixes are
added to these r-stems, the final -r- of the stems is changed back to the original -s-. Additionally, the
primitives of the second and third types above never had any specific affinity toward the denotation of
male and female beings, unlike the great number of original r-stem words (e.g. agent nouns in -tor, and
words like pater and māter), and as such the final -r- (originally -s-) found in forms of the stems used in
Classical Latin never managed to intrude in the formation of their diminutives. So, mulier (stem mulier-,
originally mulies-) gives muliercula, not muliescula, on the analogy of words like mātercula and
amatorculus, but arbor (stem arbor-, originally arbōs-) gives arbuscula, not arborcula, on the analogy
other words that do not denote male and female beings, as corpusculum and flōsculus.

V. Consonant Stems: Stems in -ŌN-, -ON-, -IN-; Stems -N-, Nom. Sg. in -Ō-

Stems in -ōn-, -on-, -in-, change the last two letters of their stems to -un-
and add the diminutive base -cul-; stems in -n- with nominative singular forms in -ō
change that -ō to -un- and add the diminutive base -cul-:

Stem Nom. Sg. Base Examples

Ending Ending Ending Primitive Diminutive
-in- - -in- pecten pectunculus
-ōn- - -ōn- ratiō ratiuncula
-on- - -on- īcon īcuncula
-n- -ō -n- carō caruncula

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Note: The -uncul- formation in these diminutives was originally created by adding -culā-, -culo- to stems
in -on-, where the -o- became -u- by phonetic change (cf. hunc, earlier honc). Some original stems in
-nō- (-on-) later became stems in -in- (e.g. homin-, earlier homon- or homōn-) with nominative singular
endings in -ō, and through the power of analogy the -uncul- formation was used with other stems in -in-
(e.g. pecten, stem pectin-) and stems in -n- with nominative singular forms in -o (e.g. caro, stem carn-)
even if they do not actually have stems in -in- or -on-.

The diminutive base -ciōn-, nominative singular -ciō, is also added to these
kinds of stems with the same phonetic changes as those that occur with -cul-:

Stem Nom. Sg. Base Examples

Ending Ending Ending Primitive Diminutive
-n- - -n- homō homunciō

Note: The base -ciōn- was formed by replacing the -ul- in the diminutive base -cul- with -iōn-. Allen and
Greenough state that this suffix is used masculine primitives only, and yet the example that they give,
homō, may be masculine or feminine.

VI. Mixed I-Stems: Present Participle Forms, Stems with Bases in -TĀT-

Present participle forms used as nouns and stems with bases ending in -tāt-
take the diminutive base -ul-:

Stem Nom. Sg. Base Examples

Ending Ending Ending Primitive Primitive
-t-/-i- -ns -nt- cliēns clientulus
-t-/-i- -tās -tāt- aetās aetātula
-t-/-i- -tās -tāt- civitās civitātula
-t-/-i- -tās -tāt- facultās facultātula
-t-/-i- -tās -tāt- paupertās paupertātula

Note: Nouns with bases ending in -tāt- and participle forms used as nouns are classified as mixed i-stems
and thus should take the -iculā-, -iculo- suffixes, but these words are in origin stems ending in a mute
consonant, and their diminutive forms reflect that fact.

VII. Mixed I-Stems: Parisyllables with Nom. Sg. in -ĒS

Mixed i-stem parisyllabic words with nominative singular ending in -ēs drop
that -s and add the diminutive base -cul-:

Stem Nom. Sg. Base Examples

Ending Ending Ending Primitive Diminutive
[consonant]/-i- -ēs - lābēs lābēcula
[consonant]/-i- -ēs - nūbēs nūbēcula
[consonant]/-i- -ēs - vulpēs vulpēcula
[consonant]/-i- -ēs - vēprēs vēprēcula

Note: These use -ē- instead of the -i- seen in diminutives formed from many other mixed i-stems. The
-ē- appears for two reasons: 1) it is a common vowel representing both the -ē- in the consonant inflection
of the singular, as seen in the nominative singular ending -ēs, and the -ē- in the i-stem inflection of the
plural, as seen in the nominative plural ending -ēs; 2) it is used on the analogy of the real fifth-declension
ē-stems and their diminutives: rēcula from rēs, spēcula from spēs, diēs from diēcula. The very common
word plēbēs, with the diminutive form plēbēcula, is sometimes of the third declension and sometimes of
the fifth, and might have been instrumental as the catalyst in the introduction of the analogy.

13
 These words have real or hypothetical “pure” i-stem variant forms with the
nominative singular ending -is; these variant forms follow the usual procedure for
the creation of diminutives from “pure” i-stem primitives:

Stem Nom. Sg. Base Examples

Ending Ending Ending Primitive Diminutive
-i- -is [for -ēs] - *aedis [for aedēs] aedicula
-i- -is [for -ēs] - *fidis [for fidēs] fidicula
-i- -is [for -ēs] - *sordis [for sordēs] sordicula

Note: Some of these words do have “pure” i-stem forms that are sometimes used: e.g. fēlis for fēlēs.
Moreover, the Appendix Probi, as Sihler points out, proscribes cladis, prolis, vātis, and some others,
indicating that as a class these words were liable to remodeling into “pure” i-stems.

VIII. Mixed I-Stems: Nom. Sg. in -S, Bases in -R

Mixed i-stems, with nominative singular forms in -s and bases in -r, add the
diminutive base -cul- to their nominative singular forms:

Stem Nom. Sg. Base Word Diminutive

Ending Ending Ending Example Form
-r-/-i- -s -r- mās māsculus
-r-/-i- -s -r- mūs mūsculus

Note: These primitives were original s-stems, and when the suffixes -culā-, -culo- suffixes are added to
these stems, the stems rebuild themselves with the original final -s. The diminutive māsculus is an
adjective while its primitive mās is a noun.

IX. Mixed I-Stems: All Others

All other mixed i-stems (i.e. all of those that do not apply to the desciptions
under vi., vii, and viii above) normally take the diminutive base -cul-.

Rarely, mixed i-stems with bases ending in -c-, -g-, -d-, -t-, take -ul-:

Examples
Stem Nom. Sg. Base
Diminutive
Ending Ending Ending Primitive
-cul- -ul-
-b-/-i- - -b- plēbs plēbicula
-b-/-i- - -b- scrobs scrobiculus
-b-/-i- - -b- trabs trabicula
-c-/-i- - -c- lanx lancicula lancula
-c-/-i- - -c- falx falcicula falcula
-c-/-i- - -c- calx - calculus
-d-/-i- - -d- glāns glandicula glandula
-t-/-i- - -t- cohors cohorticulus
-t-/-i- - -t- dēns denticulus
-t-/-i- - -t- fōns fonticulus
-t-/-i- - -t- lēns lenticula
-t-/-i- - -t- mōns monticellus
-t-/-i- - -t- mōns monticulus
-t-/-i- - -t- pars particula
-t-/-i- - -t- pōns ponticulus

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 -t-/-i- - -t- puls pulticula
-t-/-i- - -t- sors sorticula

Note: These mixed i-stems, since they are classified as a subset of the i-stems, take the diminutive bases
-culo-, -cula- just like the “pure” i-stems. The mixed i-stems that take the diminutive bases -ula-, -ulo-
instead of the aforementioned bases do so for two reasons: 1) the stems were originally stems ending in
the mute consonants -c-, -d-, -g-, -t-, and so follow the formation for diminutives from the mute
consonants instead (e.g. calculus from calx, originally a consonant stem), 2) the singular form of their
stems, which are consonantal, are used in the formation of their diminutives, and by analogy, follow the
formation of the mute consonants -c-, -d-, -g-, -t-.

X. Stems in -Ū- and -OV- (-OU-)

Stems in -ū- shorten that final vowel to -u- and add the diminutive base
-cul-; stems in -ov- (-ou-) change those two letters to -ū- and add the diminutive
base -cul-:

Stem Nom. Sg. Base Examples

Ending Ending Ending Primitive Diminutive
-ū- - -u- sūs sucula
-ov- (-ou-) - -ov- bōs būcula

Note: It appears that these diminutives were created by adding the suffixes -cula-, -culo- to the form of
the stems seen before the -bus ending in subus and būbus.

XI. Any Stem (I-Stem, Consonant, Mixed I-Stem)

On the analogy of i-stems, the form -icul- was used as a suffix itself with
words of other stems; it is added like a normal suffix ending in -i-:

Examples
Stem Ending Primitive
Diminutive
Word Stem Base
- anas anat- anat- anaticula
- thōrāx thōrāc- thōrāc- thōrāciculus
- opes op- op- opicillum
- os oss(i)- oss- ossiculum

In a very few cases, -ī- is used instead of -i- before -cul-:

Examples
Stem Ending Primitive
Diminutive
Word Stem Base
- canis can- can- canīcula
- cutis cuti- cut- cutīcula

Rarely, on the analogy of the n-stems that form diminutives of -uncul-, this
-uncul- is used as a suffix itself; it is added like a normal suffix ending in -u-:

Examples
Stem Ending Primitive
Diminutive
Word Stem Base
- fūr fūr- fūr- fūrunculus

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 - nux nuc- nuc- nucunculus
- pēs ped- ped- pedunculus

The rare diminutive base -iōn-, nominative singular -iō, is added like a normal
suffix ending in -i-:

Example
Stem Ending Primitive
Diminutive
Word Stem Base
- senex sen(ec)- sen(ec)- seneciō

XII. Irregular Formation

There is a number of unusually-formed diminutives. They were formed by

various analogies and different forms of the diminutive suffixes. Some are:

Examples
Stem
Primitive Diminutives
Ending
Word Stem Base Attested Regular
- animal animāli- animāl- animalculum animāliculum
- cor cord- cord- corculum cordulum
- corbis corbi- corb- corbula corbicula
- dulcis dulci- dulc- dulciola dulcicula
- homō homin- homin- homullus homunculus
- lapis lapid- lapid- lapillus lapidulus
- lucuns lucunt(i)- lucunt- lucunculus lucunticula
- nux nuc- nuc- nuculeus/nucleus nucula
- pēs ped- ped- pediolus pedulus
- sanguis sanguin- sanguin- sanguiculus sanguunculus
- vetus veter- veter- vetulus vetusculus
- viridis viridi- virid- viridulus viridiculus
- vītis vīti- vīt- vītēcula vīticula

Note: The Neo-Latin animalculum was formed on the analogy of l-stems. Corculum was formed by
removing the final -d- and then following the analogy of stems in -r-; homullus was formed by adding -elo-
to the stem homin- with assimilation; dulciola was created by adding -ol- to the stem dulci-; lapillus was
formed by adding -lo- to the stem lapid- with assimilation; lucuncula was probably formed by haplology
from *lucuntuncula; corbula and viridulus were formed by replacing the stem vowel -i- with -ul- instead of
just taking -cul-; nuculeus, nucleus were formed with -ule- with gender change; pediolus uses an
uncommon diminutive base -iol-; sanguiculus was formed by treating sanguis as a “pure” i-stem; vetulus
was formed by treating vetus as an o-stem; vītēcula was formed from a mixed i-stem primitive *vītēs.

3. Fourth Declension

Stems of the fourth declension change their stem vowel to -i- and add -cul-:

Stem Nom. Sg. Base Examples

Ending Ending Ending Primitive Diminutive
-u- -us - artus articulus
-u- -us - anus anicula
-u- -ū - cornū corniculum

The irregular diminutive base -le- is rarely added to these stems:

16
 Stem Nom. Sg. Base Examples
Ending Ending Ending Primitive Diminutive
-u- -us - acus aculeus

4. Fifth Declension

Stems of the fifth declension add -cul-:

Stem Nom. Sg. Base Examples

Ending Ending Ending Primitive Diminutive
-ē- -ēs - diēs diēcula
-ē- -ēs - rēs rēcula
-ē- -ēs - spēs spēcula

Part 3: New Diminutives

Some other examples of diminutives that may be formed are:

Primitive
Possible Diminutives
Word Stem Base
bicorpor bicorpor- bicorpor- bicorporculus bicorporiculus
Capys Capy- Capy- Capyiculus Capyicellus
Celtibēr Celtibēro- Celtibēr- Celtibērulus Celtibēllus
grūs grū- gru- gruculus gruiculus
Glycerium Glycerio- Glyceri- Glyceriolum Glycericulum
herōs herō- herō- herōiculus herōicellus
iecur iecor-/iecinor- iecor-/iecinor- iecinoriculum iecoriculum
iter itiner- itiner- iterculum itinericulum
Iuppiter Iov- (Iou-) Iov- Iūculus Ioviculus
nix niv(i)- niv- nivicula nivicella
Orpheus Orpheu-/Orpheo- Orphe- Orpheolus Orpheiculus
os oss(i)- oss- osculum ossicellum
Paegnium Paegnio- Paegni- Paegniolum Paegniculum
pārs pār- pār- pārculus pāriculus
Pompēius Pompēio- Pompēi- Pompēiulus Pompēiculus
prīnceps prīncip- prīncip- prīncipiculus prīncipicellus
senex sen- sen- seniculus senicellus
speciēs speciē speci speciēcula speciēcella
supellēx supellēcti- supellēct- supellēcticulus supellēcticellus
ūber ūber- ūber- ūberculus ūbericulus
vīrēs vīri- vīr- vīricellae vīricillae
vīrus vīro- vīr- vīrulus vīriculus
vīs vī- v- vīcula vicula

Note: The original stem of the adjective bicorpor was bicorpos, but it follows the normal rules for r-stems
in creating diminutives; the diminutives of Glycerium, Paegnium, vīrus retain the endings of their
primitives; Pompēiulus appears instead of Pompēiolus because the -i- in Pompēio- is consonantal, and so
sometimes Pompēius is written Pompējus, stem Pompējo-; vīs is treated as a “pure” i-stem, even with the
long vowel, and therefore follows the same procedure as the other “pure” i-stems in forming diminutives.

17
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