Galician

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From -c- +‎ -iño. Compare Portuguese -zinho.

Suffix

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-ciño m (noun-forming suffix, plural -ciños, feminine -ciña, feminine plural -ciñas)

  1. Alternative form of -iño
    furón (ferret) + ‎-ciño → ‎furonciño (wood mouse)
    can (dog) + ‎-ciño → ‎canciño (little dog; pup)

Usage notes

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  • Used when the end sound of a word is a nasal, semivowel or vowel and the word is an oxytone; sometimes with semantic shift from the original noun.
  • Traditionally, this suffix attaches to words with stress on the last syllable, while those ending in unstressed -o, -a or -e use -iño (or -iña for feminine words).

Derived terms

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From

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