Latin diminutive

The masculine, feminine, and neuter diminutives often end in -us, -a, and -um. • later, -is (m.) > later-cul-us (m.) • mulier, -is (f.) > mulier-cul-a (f.) • tūber, -is (n.) > tūber-cul-um (n.) There are exceptions. These masculine words end in -a: • scurr-a (m.) > scurr-ul-a (m.) • vern-a (m.) > vern-ul-a (m.) Many have a vowel, followed by one or two ls, followed by the endings just mentioned. Here we see stem + 'ul' + ending. The rules can be a bit involved. The diminutive depends on the gender, declination (first, second, etc.) and the root's ending. == First and second declension ==

Conspectus parvus Regula Generalis In general the diminutive of nouns of the first or second declension which end in obstruents or the semivowel /w/ (written ) take the suffix -ulus/-ula/-ulum (depending on grammatical gender). Stems ending in Vowels Nouns of the first or second declension whose stems end in a vowel typically take -ola, -olus, or -olum depending on if they are of the feminine, masculine, or neuter gender respectively. Words ending in the glide /w/ (written v), take -ul- like other stems ending in consonants (cf. cerva/cervula). In the first declination, -ia can become =illa or =ola. (Lucia → Lucilla, sed Tullia → Tulliola). Roots with -ul- Nouns whose stems end in -ul- (either the root itself, or due to the noun in question being a diminutive already), when their diminutive is formed, the stem-final, -ul- changes either to -ell- or -ill-. It is difficult to find any regular correspondence between the context surrounding -ul- and whether the diminutive's stem ends in -ell- or -ill-. In the table below, those which are diminutives already have the original stem listed under "principle". In cases where the diminutive's meaning is very different from that of the original noun, the noun in question is enclosed with parentheses. The double diminutives of words ending in -er, or -in-, are usually formed by adding -ul- to the end of the existing diminutive.. Roots with -r- Roots with -n- Roots with -xill- Exceptions == Third declension ==

in -es, -is & -e More nouns, third declination Nouns in -ēs, -is Nouns in -is, -is (m./f.) or -ĕ, -is (n.) Roots with -c- & -g- Roots with -t- and -d- Roots with -p- et -b- Roots with -n- Roots with -r(r)- et -l(l)-et -s- Roots with -r- and -s- Roots with -u- et -v- Stems ending in two or more consonants == Fourth declination ==

In the fifth declension, Latin nouns generally take -cula. == References ==