-ulus

== Translingual == === Etymology === From Latin -ulus (diminutive suffix). === Suffix === -ulus (taxonomy) used to form genus names, especially from other genus names, indicating smaller size == Latin == === Alternative forms === -olus (after a vowel) -lus === Etymology === From Proto-Italic *-elos (whence Faliscan -𐌄𐌋𐌏𐌔 (-elos)), from Proto-Indo-European *-elós, thematized from Proto-Indo-European *-lós. Cognate with Proto-Germanic *-ilaz and *-ulaz, whence scarcely productive English -le (as in dimple and nozzle), Dutch -el, German -el. === Pronunciation === (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ʊ.ɫʊs] (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [u.lus] (stressed on the antepenult) === Suffix === -ulus (feminine -ula, neuter -ulum); first/second-declension suffix Used to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating small size or youth. Used to form a diminutive of an adjective with diminished effect, indicating “somewhat” or “-ish”. Used to form an agent noun or adjective from a verb. ==== Usage notes ==== The suffix -ulus is added to a noun to form a diminutive of that noun. Latin diminutives typically match the gender of the base word. Examples: ‎rēx m (“king”) + ‎-ulus → ‎rēgulus m (“prince, petty king”) ‎virga f (“twig, rod, switch, staff”) + ‎-ulus → ‎virgula f (“little twig, small rod, wand”) ‎oppidum n (“town, settlement”) + ‎-ulus → ‎oppidulum n (“small town or settlement, village”) ‎calx f (“limestone, game counter”) + ‎-ulus → ‎calculus m (“pebble, little stone”) The allomorph -olus, -ola, -olum is regularly used to form diminutives of nouns ending in -ius, -ia, -ium, -eus, -ea, -eum. When added to an adjective, it forms a diminutive of that adjective: ‎albus (“white”) + ‎-ulus → ‎albulus (“whitish”, literally “a little white”) When added to a verb, it forms an adjective with the relational meaning “doing …” or “tending to …”: ‎tremō (“tremble”) + ‎-ulus → ‎tremulus (“trembling, tending to tremble”) ‎crēdō (“believe”) + ‎-ulus → ‎crēdulus (“believing, tending to believe”) ==== Declension ==== First/second-declension noun or adjective. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Descendants ==== → English: -ule Old Galician-Portuguese: -oo Galician: -ó, -oa (no longer productive) → Greek: -ούλα (-oúla) Italian: -olo, -ola Sicilian: -ulu, -ula Spanish: -uelo, -uela === References ===