-lus

Appendix:Variations of "lus" Finnish Etymology Equivalent to fi -ella -us action. Suffix noun lys Forms some nouns. Usage notes The preceding vowel generally turns into an -e-. Declension -lu a Derived terms fi Latin Etymology la diminutive :inh itc-pro:*-elos<id:diminutive> From syncope of la itc-pro *-elos (source of Classical Latin la -ulus),"Latin Diminutives in -Ello/A- and -Illo/A-: A Study in Diminutive Formation." George Kleppinger Strodach. Language, Vol. 9, No. 1, Language Dissertation No. 14 (Mar., 1933), pp. 7-98. Linguistic Society of America, http://www.jstor.org/stable/522000 from la ine-pro *-elós, thematized from ine-pro *-lós.14-15 Pronunciation -lus Suffix -lus la -ulus Usage notes The suffix -lus is added to a noun to form a diminutive of that noun. It is attached mainly to first- or second-declension nouns or adjectives whose stem-final vowel (-a- or -o-) is preceded by /r/, /l/ or /n/: these words have a nominative singular that ends in one of -er, -rus, -lus, -nus (second-declension masculine), -ra, -la, -na (first declension), or -rum, -lum, -num (second-declension neuter). As the result of syncope, the /r/, /n/, or /l/ of the stem is brought into contact with the /l/ of the diminutive suffix and is assimilated to it, forming geminate /ll/. As with other Latin diminutive suffixes, the gender of the diminutive regularly matches the gender of the base noun: la tessera square, die f tessella small square, small cube f When the /r/, /n/, or /l/ in the base word is preceded by a short vowel or consonant, the diminutive usually ends in -ellus/-a/-um or -illus/-a/-um. (More rarely, some end in -ullus/-a/-um.) The vowel before /ll/ in the diminutive may differ from the vowel used in the base word. In the oldest formations, these vowels likely developed from regular sound changes. However, it is likely that many diminutives ending in -ellus and -illus took their vowels based on analogy with existing pairs of words. Thus, the endings la -ellus and la -illus had already started to be extended as suffixes in their own right in pre-literary times. The following generalizations can be made about the use of /ell/, /ill/, or other vowels before /ll/ in diminutives: Bases with stems that end in -ra-/-ro- preceded by either short /e/ or by a consonant typically form diminutives in /ell/ (per Strodach, the only exception attested in Republican Latin is la trānstillum from la trānstrum; a second exception attested in Imperial Latin is la veretillum/la veretilla from la veretrum): la liber book libellus booklet la opera work opella light work la cerebrum brain cerebellum a small brain Bases with stems that end in -na-/-no- preceded by a long vowel retain the quality, and probably also the quantity, of the long vowel before the geminate /ll/: la catēna chain catēlla a little/ornamental chain la vīnum wine vīllum a little wine la corōna garland, wreath, crown corōlla little crown, garland la ūnus one ūllus any Bases with stems that end in -na-/-no- preceded by short /i/ typically form diminutives in /ell/ (with the exception of la māchilla from la māchina"The Formation of Latin Diminutives of Nouns and Adjectives," Ian Andreas Miller, ResearchGate, Jan 2012). This /i/-/e/ alternation likely developed initially from the sound change of vowel reduction, by which original short vowels /e/ or /a/ regularly turned into /i/ in word-medial open syllables but into /e/ in word-medial closed syllables: la asinus ass, donkey asellus small (or young) ass, donkey la fēmina woman, female fēmella girl, young woman Bases with stems that end in -na-/-no- preceded by a consonant most often form diminutives in /ill/, sometimes in /ell/: la signum sign, mark, statue sigillum seal, statuette Bases with stems that end in -la-/-lo- preceded by short /u/ sometimes form diminutives in /ell/ and sometimes in /ill/: la oculus eye ocellus little eye la tabula board; tablet tabella small board, little tablet la ancula maidservant ancilla maid, slave girl la porcus pig porculus young pig, little pig, piglet, la porculus porcellus little pig, piglet For some words, the base but not the diminutive shows the effect of sound changes on consonant clusters: la scamnum stool scabillum footstool (base originally had -bn-, which turned into -mn- by regressive assimilation to nasality) la vannus winnowing basket vatillum shovel (base originally had -tn-, which turned into -nn- by regressive assimilation to nasality) la māla cheekbone, jaw maxilla jawbone (base originally had -ksl-, which turned into -◌̄l- by lenition of s-final clusters before voiced consonants) A few third-declension nouns or names with stems ending in -r- or -n- may form diminutives with -lus: Examples: la homō man (human being) homullus little man la Hīspō a male cognomen Hīspulla a female cognomen la frāter brother frātellus brother More often, third-declension nouns form diminutives with la -culus, such as la homunculus and la fraterculus, also from la homō and la frāter. Declension -lus Derived terms la -ellus la -illus la -ullus la References la diminutive suffixes