diminutive

Definitions

1. 1.Expressing diminution; as, a diminutive word.
2. 2.Tending to diminish. [R.] Diminutive of liberty. Shaftesbury.
3. 3.Something of very small size or value; an insignificant thing. Such water flies, diminutives of nature. Shak.
4. 4.(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. 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 (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

Related questions

• What does "diminutive" mean?

Reverse-dictionary questions

Definition-first questions whose answer is diminutive.

• What is expressing diminution; as, a diminutive word called?
• What is tending to diminish. [R.] Diminutive of liberty. Shaftesbury called?
• What is something of very small size or value; an insignificant thing. Such water flies, diminutives of nature. Shak called?