Finnish

Suffix

-illa ‎(front vowel harmony variant -illä)

1. Forms frequentative verbs. The resulting verb often describes a more or less leisurely or long-lasting activity, or an activity that is not overly goal-oriented.

   salata ‎(“to keep secret”) -> salailla ‎(“to be secretive”)

2. Forms action verbs which denote an activity closely related with a noun.

   auto ‎(“car”) -> autoilla ‎(“to drive a car”) (but not ˣautota)

   maja ‎(“hut”) -> majailla ‎(“to stay temporarily”) (but not ˣmajata)

   pallo ‎(“ball”) -> palloilla ‎(“to play a ballgame”) (but not ˣpallota)

Derived terms

See also

• -skella

References

• Hakulinen, Lauri. 1941–2000. Suomen kielen rakenne ja kehitys ('The Structure and Development of the Finnish Language'). Helsinki: Otava/Helsingin yliopisto.

Latin

Suffix

-illa

1. nominative feminine singular of -illus
2. nominative neuter plural of -illus
3. accusative neuter plural of -illus
4. vocative feminine singular of -illus
5. vocative neuter plural of -illus
6. ablative feminine singular of -illus

Spanish

Etymology

From Old Spanish -iella, from Latin -ella(m).

Suffix

-illa ‎(masculine counterpart -illo)

1. Added to feminine nouns to denote a diminutive form.

Usage notes

• If the noun has a final vowel (usually -a), it is dropped before adding -illa.
• In most cases, -illa is used simply to indicate a small or endeared thing, without changing the basic meaning of the noun; however, in some cases, it is used to effect a greater change in meaning, such as bombilla ‎(“light-bulb”), from bomba ‎(“bomb”).
• Different nouns tend to prefer different diminutive suffixes (see synonyms below), though some nouns accept multiple diminutives and there is often regional or personal variation.
• For masculine nouns ending in “-a”, there is some alternation between the gender-reflecting diminutive -illo and the ending-reflecting diminutive -illa. When the latter is used, -ill- may be considered an infix.

Synonyms

• (denoting a diminutive): -ita, -cita

Derived terms