-illa
See also: illa, Illa, and -illä
Catalan
Suffix
-illa f
- Diminutive suffix for feminine nouns.
- Suffix for feminine nouns which means "type of".
Derived terms
Catalan terms suffixed with -illa
Further reading
- “-illa”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2023
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, stem -ile-)
- 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 a secret”) + -illa → salailla (“to be secretive”)
- 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 ball game”) (but not ˣpallota)
Derived terms
Finnish terms 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
Latin
Suffix
-illa
- inflection of -illus:
- nominative/vocative feminine singular
- nominative/accusative/vocative neuter plural
Suffix
-illā
- ablative feminine singular of -illus
Spanish
Alternative forms
- -illo (with masculine nouns)
Etymology
From Old Spanish -iella, from Latin -ella(m).
Suffix
-illa f (plural -illas)
- Added to feminine nouns to denote a diminutive form.
- Synonyms: -ita, -cita
- Coordinate term: -illo
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), 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 terms suffixed with -illa
Further reading
- “-illo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014