|
(), a.[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. Dimin"utive n. 1. Something of very small size or value; an insignificant thing. Such water flies, diminutives of nature. Shak. 2. (Gram.) 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. The word sometimes denotes a derivative verb which expresses a diminutive or petty form of the action, as scribble. スポンサード リンク
|