-ulus

-ulus

See also: ulus and Ulus

Translingual

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Suffix

-ulus

1. (taxonomy) used to form genus names, especially from other genus names, indicating smaller size

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Latin

Alternative forms

• -olus (after a vowel)
• -lus

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *-elos (whence Faliscan -𐌄𐌋𐌏𐌔 (-elos)), from Proto-Indo-European *-elós, thematized from Proto-Indo-European *-lós.[1]

Cognate with Proto-Germanic *-ilaz and *-ulaz, whence no longer productive English -le (as in dimple and nozzle), Dutch -el, German -el.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /u.lus/, [ʊɫ̪ʊs̠]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /u.lus/, [ulus] (stressed on the antepenult)

Suffix

-ulus (feminine -ula, neuter -ulum); first/second-declension suffix

1. Used to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating small size or youth.
2. Used to form a diminutive of an adjective with diminished effect, indicating “somewhat” or “-ish”.
3. Used to form an adjective from a verb.

   Synonym: -ilis

Usage notes

The suffix -ulus is added to a noun to form a diminutive of that noun.

Examples:

‎calx (“limestone, game counter”) + ‎-ulus → ‎calculus (“pebble, little stone”)

‎rēx (“king”) + ‎-ulus → ‎rēgulus (“prince, petty king”)

The allomorph -olus, -ola, -olum is regularly used to form diminutives of nouns ending in -ius, -ia, -ium, -eus, -ea, -eum.

When added to an adjective, it forms a diminutive of that adjective:

‎albus (“white”) + ‎-ulus → ‎albulus (“whitish”, literally “a little white”)

When added to a verb, it forms an an adjective with the relational meaning “doing …” or “tending to …”:

‎tremō (“tremble”) + ‎-ulus → ‎tremulus (“trembling, tending to tremble”)

‎crēdō (“believe”) + ‎-ulus → ‎crēdulus (“believing, tending to believe”)

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

Number	Singular				Plural
Case / Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	-ulus	-ula	-ulum		-ulī	-ulae	-ula
Genitive	-ulī	-ulae	-ulī		-ulōrum	-ulārum	-ulōrum
Dative	-ulō		-ulō		-ulīs
Accusative	-ulum	-ulam	-ulum		-ulōs	-ulās	-ula
Ablative	-ulō	-ulā	-ulō		-ulīs
Vocative	-ule	-ula	-ulum		-ulī	-ulae	-ula

Derived terms

Latin terms suffixed with -ulus

• -culus
  • -unculus (on nouns ending in -ō)
• -ellus
• -illus
• -uleus
• -ullus (often on nouns ending in -r)

Descendants

• → English: -ule
• Galician: -ó, -oa (no longer productive)
• Italian: -olo, -ola
• Sicilian: -ulu, -ula
• Spanish: -uelo, -uela

References

1. de Goede, Tim (2014), de Vaan, Michiel, editors, Derivational Morphology: New Perspectives on the Italo-Celtic Hypothesis (Research master thesis)‎, Leiden University, pages 14-15