DIMINUTIVES

Noun

diminutives

plural of diminutive

Source: Wiktionary


DIMINUTIVE

Di*min"u*tive, a. Etym: [Cf. L. deminutivus, F. diminutif.]

1. Below the average size; very small; little.

2. Expressing diminution; as, a diminutive word.

3. Tending to diminish. [R.] Diminutive of liberty. Shaftesbury.

Di*min"u*tive, n.

1. Something of very small size or value; an insignificant thing. Such water flies, diminutives of nature. Shak.

2. (Gram.)

Definition: A derivative from a noun, denoting a small or a young object of the same kind with that denoted by the primitive; as, gosling, eaglet, lambkin. Babyisms and dear diminutives. Tennyson.

Note: The word sometimes denotes a derivative verb which expresses a diminutive or petty form of the action, as scribble.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

29 November 2024

POPULATED

(adjective) furnished with inhabitants; “the area is well populated”; “forests populated with all kinds of wild life”


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Coffee Trivia

An article published in Harvard Men’s Health Watch in 2012 shows heavy coffee drinkers live longer. The researchers examined data from 400,000 people and found out that men who drank six or more coffee cups per day had a 10% lower death rate.

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