Where does “paatje” come from?

paatje (Dutch) comes from Dutch -tje, from Middle Dutch -kijn, from Old Dutch -kīn, from Proto-Germanic *-ukīn.

Ancestry of “paatje”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Dutch-tjeAppended to a noun (or occasionally another part of speech), making it
2Middle Dutch-kijn—
3Old Dutch-kīn—
4Proto-Germanic*-ukīn—
Every word from Proto-Germanic *-ukīn →Every word from Dutch -tje →Every word from Middle Dutch -kijn →