Where does “-elle” come from?
-elle (French) comes from Old French -ele, from Latin -ella, from Latin -ellus, from Latin -ulus, from Proto-Italic -olos, from Proto-Italic -elos, from Proto-Indo-European -e-lós, from Proto-Indo-European -lós — Forms agent nouns from verbal roots.
-elle (French): Forming feminine nouns, often with a diminutive...
Definitions
- Forming feminine nouns, often with a diminutive...
Ancestry of “-elle”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | -ele | diminutive suffix, forming feminine nouns |
| 2 | Latin | -ella | inflection of -ellus: ## nominative/vocative... |
| 3 | Latin | -ellus | Alternative form of -ulus; "forming masculine... |
| 4 | Latin | -ulus | Used to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating... |
| 5 | Proto-Italic | -olos | — |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -elos | Forms desubstantival and deadjectival diminutive nouns |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |