-iello

Old Spanish

Etymology

From Latin -ellum, accusative of -ellus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈ-je.ʎo]

Suffix

-iello (feminine -iella)

1. (added to masculine nouns and adjectives) A diminutive suffix.

Usage notes

Some Old Spanish terms apparently suffixed with -iello may actually be direct descendants of Latin diminutives formed with -ellus, and will therefore not have a corresponding non-diminutive form:

• castiello (“castle”), from Latin castellum, not a diminutive of *casto
• cuchiello (“knife”), from Latin cultellus, not a diminutive of *cucho
• martiello (“hammer”), from Latin martellus, not a diminutive of *marto

Derived terms

Old Spanish terms suffixed with -iello

Descendants

• Spanish: -illo