-illa

See also: illa, Illa, and -illä

Catalan

Suffix

-illa f

1. Diminutive suffix for feminine nouns.

Derived terms

► Catalan words suffixed with -illa

Further reading

• “-illa” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.

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Finnish

Etymology

Originally a variant of -ella used on verbs ending in -ata, -ota, -ätä, having developed by vowel contraction: -Aðele- (-oðele-) > -A.ele- (-o.ele-) > -Aile- (-oile-). Denominal use has been innovated in literary Finnish in the 20th century.

Suffix

-illa (front vowel harmony variant -illä)

1. Forms frequentative verbs. The resulting verb often describes a more or less leisurely or long-lasting activity, or an activity that is not overly goal-oriented.

   salata (“to keep secret”) -> salailla (“to be secretive”)

2. Forms action verbs which denote an activity closely related with a noun.

   auto (“car”) -> autoilla (“to drive a car”) (but not ˣautota)

   maja (“hut”) -> majailla (“to stay temporarily”) (but not ˣmajata)

   pallo (“ball”) -> palloilla (“to play a ballgame”) (but not ˣpallota)

Derived terms

► Finnish words suffixed with -illa

See also

• -skella

References

• Hakulinen, Lauri. 1941–2000. Suomen kielen rakenne ja kehitys ('The Structure and Development of the Finnish Language'). Helsinki: Otava/Helsingin yliopisto.

Anagrams

• Alli, alli, lila

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Latin

Suffix

-illa

1. nominative feminine singular of -illus
2. nominative neuter plural of -illus
3. accusative neuter plural of -illus
4. vocative feminine singular of -illus
5. vocative neuter plural of -illus
6. ablative feminine singular of -illus

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Spanish

Etymology

From Old Spanish -iella, from Latin -ella(m).

Suffix

-illa (masculine counterpart -illo)

1. Added to feminine nouns to denote a diminutive form.

Usage notes

• If the noun has a final vowel (usually -a), it is dropped before adding -illa.
• In most cases, -illa 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, such as bombilla (“light-bulb”), from bomba (“bomb”).
• Different nouns tend to prefer different diminutive suffixes (see synonyms below), though some nouns accept multiple diminutives and there is often regional or personal variation.
• For masculine nouns ending in “-a”, there is some alternation between the gender-reflecting diminutive -illo and the ending-reflecting diminutive -illa. When the latter is used, -ill- may be considered an infix.

Synonyms

• (denoting a diminutive): -ita, -cita

Derived terms

► Spanish words suffixed with -illa