-ecillo
Spanish
Alternative forms
- -ecilla (after a feminine noun)
Etymology
Form of -cillo, rebracketed from words ending in -e.
Suffix
-ecillo m (plural -ecillos)
- Alternative form of -cillo; added to masculine nouns to form diminutives
- pan (“bread”) + -ecillo → panecillo (“small (piece of) bread”)
- cuerpo (“body”) + -ecillo → cuerpecillo (“small body”)
- pez (“fish”) + -ecillo → pececillo (“small fish”)
- can (“dog; bracket (architecture); modillion”) + -ecillo → canecillo (“bracket (architecture); modillion”)
Usage notes
- If the noun has a final vowel (usually -o), it is dropped before adding -ecillo.
- In most cases, -ecillo 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.
Derived terms
Category Spanish terms suffixed with -ecillo not found
Related terms
- -illo, -cillo, -cecillo
See also
- -ito, -cito, -ecito, -cecito
Further reading
- “-ecillo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014