-cilla

== Spanish == === Etymology === From -c-, a formant found originally in Latin -culus (rebracketed from -ulus added to nouns ending in -cus), + -illa. === Suffix === -cilla f (noun-forming suffix, plural -cillas) alternative form of -cillo; added to feminine nouns to form diminutives ‎mujer (“woman”) + ‎-cilla → ‎mujercilla (“small woman”) ‎fuente (“spring, fountain”) + ‎-cilla → ‎fuentecilla (“small spring, small fountain”) ‎canción (“song”) + ‎-cilla → ‎cancioncilla (“ditty, tune”) ‎nube (“cloud”) + ‎-cilla → ‎nubecilla (“small cloud”) ‎reñir (“to fight, to quarrel”) + ‎-cilla → ‎rencilla (“quarrel, row”) ‎pobre (“poor”) + ‎-cilla → ‎pobrecilla (“poor thing (referring to a female)”) ‎pastora (“shepherdess”) + ‎-cilla → ‎pastorcilla (“little shepherdess”) ‎gente (“people”) + ‎-cilla → ‎gentecilla (“proletariat, riffraff (derogatory)”) ==== Usage notes ==== In most cases, -ecilla is used simply to indicate a small or endeared thing, without changing the basic meaning of the noun; however, in some cases, it is used to effect a greater change in meaning, as shown in the examples above. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== ==== See also ==== -ita, -cita, -ecita, -cecita === Further reading === “-cillo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025