-acchio

Italian

Etymology

From Latin -aculum, which had taken the place of the ending -aculus in diminutives formed by appending the suffix -ulus to nouns whose stem ended in -ac- (e.g. loquāculus ← loquāx).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈak.kjo/, [ˈäkk̟jo]
• Hyphenation: -àc‧chio

Suffix

-acchio m (plural -acchi)

1. Used to derive nouns with an instrumental connotation.

   ‎spaurare (“to scare”) + ‎-acchio → ‎spauracchio (“scarecrow”)

1. Used to derive nouns with a diminutive connotation.

   ‎orso (“bear”) + ‎-acchio → ‎orsacchio (“young or small bear”)

1. Used to derive nouns with an attenuative connotation.

   ‎verde (“green”) + ‎-acchio → ‎verdacchio (“greenish”)

Derived terms

• -acchiare
• -acchiotto

Italian terms suffixed with -acchio