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Diminutive vs Elfin - What's the difference?

diminutive | elfin | Related terms |

Diminutive is a related term of elfin.


As adjectives the difference between diminutive and elfin

is that diminutive is very small while elfin is relating to or resembling an elf, especially in its tiny size or features.

As nouns the difference between diminutive and elfin

is that diminutive is (grammar) a word form expressing smallness, youth, unimportance, or endearment while elfin is an elf; an inhabitant of fairy-land.

diminutive

English

Alternative forms

*

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Very small.
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=October 20 , author=Jamie Lillywhite , title=Tottenham 1 - 0 Rubin Kazan , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=Roman Sharonov rose unchallenged to head a corner wide, while diminutive winger Gokdeniz Karadeniz ghosted in with a diving header from the edge of the six-yard box that was acrobatically kept out by Gomes.}}
  • Serving to diminish.
  • * Shaftesbury
    • diminutive of liberty
  • (grammar) Of or pertaining to, or creating a word form expressing smallness, youth, unimportance, or endearment.

    • Synonyms

    * (very small) lilliputian, tiny

    Antonyms

    * (very small) huge, gigantic * augmentative

    Noun

    (wikipedia diminutive) (en noun)
  • (grammar) A word form expressing smallness, youth, unimportance, or endearment.
    • Booklet, the diminutive of book, means ‘small book’ .

    Synonyms

    * nomen deminutivum

    Antonyms

    * augmentative

    External links

    * (wikipedia "diminutive")

    Related terms

    * diminish * dimwit ----

    elfin

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) elven, from (etyl) elfen, .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An elf; an inhabitant of fairy-land.
  • A little urchin or child.

    • Etymology 2

    Partly from attributive use of Etymology 1, but reanalysed by Spenser as if equivalent to .

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Relating to or resembling an elf, especially in its tiny size or features.
  • *
  • *:Three chairs of the steamer type, all maimed, comprised the furniture of this roof-garden, withon one of the copings a row of four red clay flower-pots filled with sun-baked dust from which gnarled and rusty stalks thrust themselves up like withered elfin limbs.
  • *{{quote-news, year=2012, date=May 24, author=Nathan Rabin, work=The Onion AV Club
    • , title= Film: Reviews: Men In Black 3 , passage=He’s forced to travel back to 1969 to prevent an evil alien (a shockingly effective, nearly unrecognizable Jemaine Clement of Flight Of The Conchords, playing sort of a psychotic extraterrestrial-biker serial killer) from destroying the world by killing Brolin. Smith is aided in his quest by an elfin , time-jumping alien with psychic powers played by another Coen brothers veteran, A Serious Man star Michael Stuhlbarg. }}
    Synonyms
    * elvish