-ecillo

Spanish

Alternative forms

• -ecilla (after a feminine noun)

Etymology

Form of -cillo, rebracketed from words ending in -e.

Suffix

-ecillo m (noun-forming suffix, plural -ecillos)

1. 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

Spanish terms suffixed with -ecillo

Related terms

• -cecillo
• -cillo
• -illo

 

See also

• -ito, -cito, -ecito, -cecito

Further reading

• “-ecillo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014