-pil

See also: Appendix:Variations of "pil"

Classical Nahuatl

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [-piːɬ]

Suffix

-pīl (plural -pipīl)

1. (appended to nouns) a diminutive suffix; forms nouns denoting smallness.

Examples
coyōtl (“a coyote”) → coyōpīl (“a small coyote”) ilama (“an elderly woman”) → ilamapīl (“a crone”) pilli (“a child”) → pilpīl (“a small child; a very young child”)

Usage notes

• The suffix undergoes short-vowel reduplication when pluralized, becoming -pipīl.

pilpīl (“a small child”) → pīpilpipīl (“small children”)

Synonyms

• (diminutive affixes): tepitōn, -tōn, -tzin

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “augmentative affixes”): huēyi, -pōl

Derived terms

Classical Nahuatl terms suffixed with -pil

References

• Frances Karttunen (1992) An Analytical Dictionary of Nahuatl, University of Oklahoma Press, page 194