Diminutive

From WikiMD.org
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Diminutive

Diminutive (/dɪˈmɪnjʊtɪv/), from the Latin diminutivus, is a linguistic term referring to a word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment.

Etymology

The term diminutive is derived from the Latin word diminutivus, which itself is a combination of diminuere meaning "to lessen" and the suffix -tivus which is used to form adjectives from verbs.

Related Terms

  • Affix: An additional element placed at the beginning or end of a root, stem, or word, or in the body of a word, to modify its meaning.
  • Suffix: A morpheme added at the end of a word to form a derivative.
  • Morphology (linguistics): The study of words, how they are formed, and their relationship to other words in the same language.
  • Semantics: The branch of linguistics and logic concerned with meaning.

Usage in Medicine

In medical terminology, a diminutive can be used to denote a smaller version of a word. For example, the term polypus refers to a polyp, while polypulus would refer to a small polyp.

See Also

External links

Esculaap.svg

This WikiMD dictionary article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.


Languages: - East Asian 中文, 日本, 한국어, South Asian हिन्दी, Urdu, বাংলা, తెలుగు, தமிழ், ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian Indonesian, Vietnamese, Thai, မြန်မာဘာသာ, European español, Deutsch, français, русский, português do Brasil, Italian, polski