4 ms·

Also, the Spanish word "anillo" (ring) is derived from a diminutive form of Latin "ānus".

by laylomo2 5y ago

renewiltord 5y ago
Annular structures are ring shaped in English. Presumably through a similar path?
- azernik 5y ago
  Yup, exact same thing - annulus being the Latin diminutive
  - legerdemain 5y ago
    Similar process with "homunculus" (little man) and "calculus" (little rock) and "nucleus" (little nut).
    - thaumasiotes 5y ago
      Huh. "Nucleus" is a form that looks like an adjective to me; I'd expect "nucula" for the diminutive of "nux". And indeed I see this on etymonline: > from Latin nucleus "kernel," from nucula "little nut," diminutive of nux (genitive nucis) "nut," So for whatever reason a new word was called for, and our nucleus comes from that, not from the diminutive form of "nut".
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
- legerdemain 5y ago
  And events that take place yearly are called annual. Not to mention abbreviations like AD for "anno domini," the year of the lord.
yongjik 5y ago
In a similar vein, vanilla is from Spanish diminutive of vaina (sheath), which is from Latin vagina (sheath).
- thaumasiotes 5y ago
  > vanilla is from Spanish diminutive I've been wondering about this! Does Spanish regularly form diminutives other than with the -it- infix? ("m'hijito" etc.) Latin forms them with -ill-, -cul-, or -ul-, and many such forms are obvious in Spanish (tomatillo / quesadilla etc.), but I've never known whether -ill- is still productive today or if those are relics from the past.
  - ptato 5y ago
    Yes, at least in Spain. The spanish wikipedia lists a bunch of the variants [0]. I personally use -ino/a, as it is common where I grew up, but my favorite way of saying "puppy" is "perrete". [0] https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diminutivo https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diminutivo
    - thaumasiotes 5y ago
      Thanks for the link! It's fun to see a Spanish region bordering Portugal (-inho) forming diminutives with -iño and one bordering France (-ette) forming them with -ete.

Also, the Spanish word "anillo" (ring) is derived from a diminutive form of Latin "ānus".

renewiltord 5y ago

Annular structures are ring shaped in English. Presumably through a similar path?

azernik 5y ago
Yup, exact same thing - annulus being the Latin diminutive
- legerdemain 5y ago
  Similar process with "homunculus" (little man) and "calculus" (little rock) and "nucleus" (little nut).
  - thaumasiotes 5y ago
    Huh. "Nucleus" is a form that looks like an adjective to me; I'd expect "nucula" for the diminutive of "nux". And indeed I see this on etymonline: > from Latin nucleus "kernel," from nucula "little nut," diminutive of nux (genitive nucis) "nut," So for whatever reason a new word was called for, and our nucleus comes from that, not from the diminutive form of "nut".
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
legerdemain 5y ago
And events that take place yearly are called annual. Not to mention abbreviations like AD for "anno domini," the year of the lord.

yongjik 5y ago

In a similar vein, vanilla is from Spanish diminutive of vaina (sheath), which is from Latin vagina (sheath).

thaumasiotes 5y ago
> vanilla is from Spanish diminutive I've been wondering about this! Does Spanish regularly form diminutives other than with the -it- infix? ("m'hijito" etc.) Latin forms them with -ill-, -cul-, or -ul-, and many such forms are obvious in Spanish (tomatillo / quesadilla etc.), but I've never known whether -ill- is still productive today or if those are relics from the past.
- ptato 5y ago
  Yes, at least in Spain. The spanish wikipedia lists a bunch of the variants [0]. I personally use -ino/a, as it is common where I grew up, but my favorite way of saying "puppy" is "perrete". [0] https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diminutivo https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diminutivo
  - thaumasiotes 5y ago
    Thanks for the link! It's fun to see a Spanish region bordering Portugal (-inho) forming diminutives with -iño and one bordering France (-ette) forming them with -ete.