diminutively
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di·min·u·tive
(dĭ-mĭn′yə-tĭv)adj.
1. Extremely or extraordinarily small. See Synonyms at small.
2. Grammar Of or being a suffix that indicates smallness or, by semantic extension, qualities such as youth, familiarity, affection, or contempt, as -let in booklet, -kin in lambkin, or -et in nymphet.
n.
1. Grammar A diminutive suffix, word, or name.
2. A very small person or thing.
[Middle English diminutif, from Old French, from Latin dīminūtīvus, from dīminūtus, past participle of dīminuere; see diminish.]
di·min′u·tive·ly adv.
di·min′u·tive·ness n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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