-illus

See also: illus.

Latin

Etymology

From the diminutive suffix -lus by rebracketing of nouns such as sigillum and pōcillum (diminutives of signum and pōculum). In words like these, -ill- was the regular phonetic outcome of earlier [n̩l] and [l̩l] (with syllabic [n̩] and [l̩]), which arose from adding the suffix -lus to stems that originally ended in a consonant + /n/ or /l/. After being reinterpreted as a suffix of its own, the ending -illus was attached freely to nouns of any form. Compare -ellus.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /il.lus/, [ɪlːʲʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /il.lus/, [ilːus]

Suffix

-illus

1. Used to form diminutives of nouns.

   ‎furca f (“fork”) + ‎-illus → ‎furcilla f (“very small fork”)

   ‎haedus m (“goat kid”) + ‎-illus → ‎haedillus m (“kidling, young kid”)

   ‎pūnctum n (“point, spot”) + ‎-illus → ‎pūnctillum n (“very small dot”)

Usage notes

One of various Latin suffixes that could be attached to a noun to derive a diminutive. As a rule, the gender of a diminutive matches the gender of the base noun, and the form of the suffix changes accordingly: -illus m, -illa f, -illum n.

Declension

First declension for feminine nouns, second declension for masculine or neuter nouns.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	-illus	-illa	-illum		-illī	-illae	-illa
genitive	-illī	-illae	-illī		-illōrum	-illārum	-illōrum
dative	-illō	-illae	-illō		-illīs
accusative	-illum	-illam	-illum		-illōs	-illās	-illa
ablative	-illō	-illā	-illō		-illīs
vocative	-ille	-illa	-illum		-illī	-illae	-illa

Derived terms

Latin terms suffixed with -illus

codicillus

fringilla

furcilla

haedillus

lapillus

maxilla

myrtillus

pabillus

punctillum

pupilla

Quintillus

scortillum

suavillum

taxillus

verticillus

vespillo

Descendants

• Sicilian: -iḍḍu, -illu