-illa

See also: illa, Illa, and -illä

Catalan

Suffix

-illa f

1. Diminutive suffix for feminine nouns.
2. Suffix for feminine nouns which means "type of".

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”) + ‎-illa → ‎salailla (“to be secretive”)

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

   ‎auto (“car”) + ‎-illa → ‎autoilla (“to drive a car”) (but not ˣautota)

   ‎maja (“hut”) + ‎-illa → ‎majailla (“to stay temporarily”) (but not ˣmajata)

   ‎pallo (“ball”) + ‎-illa → ‎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 1

-illa

1. inflection of -illus:
   1. nominative/vocative feminine singular
   2. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter plural

Suffix 2

-illã

1. 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.

   Synonyms: -ita, -cita

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.

Derived terms

► Spanish words suffixed with -illa