Origin: Latin suffix -ive
Diminutive has 4 different meanings across 2 categories:
a word that is formed with a suffix (such as -let or -kin) to indicate smallness
A word form expressing smallness, youth, unimportance, or endearment.
very small
"diminutive in stature"
"a lilliputian chest of drawers"
"her petite figure"
"tiny feet"
"the flyspeck nation of Bahrain moved toward democracy"
Very small.
The word diminutive comes from the Latin verb dīminuō, meaning "to make smaller." It entered English through Middle English and Old French around 1398 to describe something of reduced size or importance.