| 释义 |
-let, suffix
appended to ns. The oldest words in Eng. with this ending are adoptions of OF. words formed by adding the dim. suffix -et, -ete (see -et1) to ns. with the ending -el, in some cases repr. the L. dim. suffix -ellum, -ellam, and in others the L. ending -āle of neuter adjs. (see -al1). Examples are bracelet, chaplet, crosslet, forcelet, frontlet, gauntlet, hamlet, mantelet. It is somewhat difficult to see how these words gave rise to the Eng. use of -let as a diminutive suffix, as none of them, exc. the heraldic crosslet, have the appearance of being diminutives of Eng. words; possibly Fr. diminutives like enfantelet, femmelette, osselet, tartelette, were directly imitated by some Eng. writers.
An early diminutive in -let is armlet (sense 2, ‘little arm of the sea’, recorded 1538); others are ringlet (Shakes.), kinglet (Florio 1603, after F. roitelet). The formation did not become common until the 18th c.; from the first half of the century we have streamlet (Thomson), from near the end of it, cloudlet, leaflet. In the 19th c. the number of derivatives formed with the suffix is very great; among those recorded in this Dictionary are booklet, brooklet, courtlet, crownlet, dukelet, hooklet, jokelet, keylet; and in the formation of nonce-wds. -let is now perh. the most frequent of dim. endings.
In addition to its diminutive force, the suffix is in a few words (anklet, armlet, leglet, necklet, wristlet) appended to ns. denoting parts of the body, forming names for articles of ornament or attire. The oldest word of this type, armlet, was perh. suggested by a false analysis of frontlet (cf., however, OF. armillet); in the formation, or at least the use, of the later words the analogy of bracelet has prob. been chiefly operative. |