-let

Etymology

Middle English, from Middle French -el, from Latin -ellus + Middle French -et, from Latin -ittus, both diminutive suffixes. Replaced Middle English -el, from Old English -el, -il.

Suffix

-let

1. a diminutive suffix; for example:

• booklet, a small book
• applet, a small computer application
• owlet, a small (young) owl
• piglet, a small (young) pig
• manlet, a short man

Usage notes

Alongside -ie/-y and -ette, -let is one of the three most productive diminutive affixes in modern English. It is used almost exclusively with concrete nouns and (unusually for a diminutive) never with names. When used with objects, it generally denotes diminution only in size; when used with animals, it generally denotes young animals; when used with adult persons, it is generally depreciative, connoting pettiness and conveying contempt.

References

• Schneider, Klaus P. Diminutives in English, p. 96 et seq. 2003.

Anagrams

• ELT, ETL, LTE, TEL, TLE, Tel., elt, tel

Etymology

-l +‎ -et, created during the Hungarian language reform which took place in the 18th–19th centuries. The neologists popularized it based on verbs ending in -l and further derived with -at/-et. ^[1]

Suffix

-let

1. (noun suffix) Added to different parts of speech to form a noun.

   rész (“part”) → részlet (“detail”)

   keres (“to search”) → kereslet (“demand (in economics)”)

   egy (“one”) → egylet (“society, association, club”)

See also

• Appendix:Hungarian suffixes

References