LIETUVIŲ KALBOTYROS KLAUSIMAI, XXXIV (1994)

LIETUVIŲ KALBOS TARMĖS IR JŲ TYRINĖJIMAI

Saulius AMBRAZAS

THE DEVELOPMENT OF LITHUANIAN DIMINUTIVE FORMATION

Lithuanian, like the Baltic languages in general, is renowned for the abundance and variety of its diminutives (diminutive nouns). Many derivational types belonging to this category have counterparts in other related languages. On the other hand, they are distributed unevenly across the Baltic languages and dialects. These differences are often ancient, inherited from the distant past. The formation of diminutives has differed greatly among Indo-European language dialects since time immemorial.

Most Lithuanian diminutive-forming affixes derive from determinatives *-k-, *-l-, *-g’-, *-s-, *-t-; the others come from adjectives, names for possessors of a characteristic or agents, while a few have been borrowed from Slavic languages.

Derivatives with the determinative *-k-

-ikas, -ika, -ikė

In Lithuanian, only remnants of diminutives with the suffix -ikas remain. For example, J. Gerulis and Ch.S. Stang (1933, 25) recorded two derivatives of this type from the fishermen’s dialect of Lithuania Minor: puodikas “little pot,” staldikas “small stable.” The dictionaries of Lithuania Minor also contain the derivatives brolikas “brother’s son” B 295; N; [K] (“cousin” V. Kudir — LKŽ I² 769), karalikas “king of the birds, wren” B 944; R; N; K II 367, stirnikas “young roe deer” N, [K], žandelikas “little cheek” N; compare also tarnikas “servant” DP 160₃₂.

F. Nesselmanno’s dictionary records the diminutive karvika “little dove,” with the suffix -ika.

Diminutives with -ikas are also very rare in dialects today, e.g.: bernikas “young man” Vlk (LKŽ I² 769), galikas “a little bit of a poor thing” M1 (III 66), šmotikas “a small piece” Žr; RtŽ (XV 105), šunikas “an ugly, vicious dog” Pln; “son of a bitch, scoundrel” J; K1 (XV 361). Derivatives with the compound suffix -ik-utas are recorded in the Zietela dialect, e.g.: bernikūtas “little boy,” paršiukūtas “little piglet” (Vidugiris, 1969, 151).

In the past, diminutives with -ikas may have been more widespread in the western part of Lithuania. This is indicated by the paradigmatic variant -ikė of the suffix -ikas. Diminutives are still formed with it quite often in a substantial part of the Samogitian dialect and in some Western Aukštaitian varieties, e.g.: katikė “kitty,” mergikė “little girl,” lazdikė “little stick” (LKA III map no. 116, p. 131). Derivatives of this type also occur in J. Rėza’s songbook (see table).

In Latvian, diminutives with *-iko- are also rare. They occur only in

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in which western dialects, e.g.: pusika “half” (little half), aūnikis “little lamb,” ganikis “little shepherd” (DL 297—298, 300—305).

On the other hand, in the Old Prussian texts, derivatives with *-iko- predominate among all diminutives: acc. sing. gannik̇an “little woman” (Freulein) III 105₂₅, madlikan “little prayer” (Gebetlein) 79₁₀, nom. sing. malnijkix “little child” (Kindlein) 113₆, stūndix “little hour” (Stündlein) 56₉, acc. sing. vijrikan “little man” (Menlein) 105₂₄.

Derivatives gunsix “bump (from a blow)” (Bule) E 162 (cf. Lithuanian gūžis PKEŽ I 422—423 with lit.), geytko, that is, geytiko “bread” (Brot) GrG 12 (cf. geits “bread” (Brodt) III 53₉ — PKEŽ I 342—344), instiks “thumb” (Dume) E 114 (cf. Old Lithuanian inkštis BB 2 Moz 29,20; Teis 1,6, Latvian īkstis “thumb”; see Eckert, 1974, 232; 1983, 83), kuliks “pouch, little bag” (Bütel) E 487 (cf. Lithuanian kulikas, kulis, Latvian kule “the same” PKEŽ II 299—301) and perhaps menig “moon” (Monde) E 8, which V. Mažiulis (1981, 288) reconstructs as *meniks and regards as a diminutive formed from Indo-European *mēnes-; cf. Lithuanian mėnukas “moon” Prn; Gs; Ktč (LKŽ VII 20): mėnuo.

Thus, diminutives with *-iko- (< i + *-ko-) were apparently most characteristic of the dialects of the West Baltic languages, which had long been influenced by the Slavic languages.

Šio tipo vediniai labai paplitę slavų (Бошкович, 1984, 206—245) ir, rodos, tocharų (Иванов, 1958) kalbose. Jų dar randama sen. graikų, indoiranėnų ir kitose kalbose (Chantraine, 1933, 385—386; 1966; Wackernagel, Debrunner, 1954, 311—318 ir lit.).

-eika

The suffix *-iko- has an ablaut variant, *-eiko-. Diminutives were initially formed with this variant too; cf. živeikà “little fish” Zt (Būga, 1959, 140). Today the suffix *-eiko- is found mainly in various proper names in the Baltic languages (DaiktvDrR 139 and lit.).

-ykas(-a)

Diminutives with the suffix -yka are widespread in the Žietela dialect, e.g.: sesyka “little sister,” ausyka “little ear,” kalýka “little bitch,” and so on. Masculine derivatives with -ykas also occur, e.g.: liežuvýkas “little tongue,” brolykas “little brother” (Vidugiris, 1969, 149—150). Derivatives of this type are also found in some other southern dialects, e.g.: saūlyka “sun” Arm; Žrm; “sunset glow” Rod (LKŽ XII 200). The derivative brolykas in the sense “brother’s son” is recorded in the dictionary of Lithuania Minor, Lexicon Lithuanicum (401). The derivative dalýkas may also be diminutive in origin; in old writings it has preserved the older meaning “part.”

The derivatives brolykas (cf. also the place name Brotýkai “a village in the Mosėdis district” ŽD 131) and dalýkas have counterparts in Old Prussian: nom. pl. bratīkai “brothers” (Brüder) III 89₅, dellijks “part” (Artikel) 39₁₆, acc. sing. dellīkans (Stück) 65₈.

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In Latvian, we find two derivatives with the suffix -īca/-īce: mātīca/matīce “mother-in-law,” masīca/masīce “husband’s sister; sister’s daughter” (DL 298—300).

In the Slavic languages (especially the East and West Slavic languages), diminutives with -ikъ are productive (Бошкович, 1984, 229—231). Some derivatives of this type are reconstructed for Proto-Slavic; cf. Lithuanian brolýkas, Old Prussian bratīkai, and Slavic *brat(r)ikъ (Sławski, 1974, 91; Мартынов, 1973, 27).

The suffix *-īko- may have entered the Baltic languages from the Slavic languages, where at one time o-stem nouns were widespread and were later extended with the suffix *-ko- (aut., 1991, 29—30 and references therein).

-(i)ukas(-ė), -(i)uka

Diminutives with this suffix are now widespread throughout almost the entire Lithuanian-speaking area, with the sole exception of the northernmost part of the Samogitian dialect area (LKA III map No. 116, pp. 130—131). However, it was not possible to find any derivatives of this type in the 16th–17th-century texts examined, apart from the somewhat unclear ezerukai (Krebe) Lex 56. They are also rare in the collection of Lithuanian folk songs prepared by L. Rėza in the early 19th century (see table) and in the writings of S. Daukantas (Subačius, 1993, 152—153). Apparently, derivatives of this type were not widespread from ancient times in all Lithuanian dialects.

In Latvian, derivatives with *-uko- are productive only in some eastern dialects, e.g.: sunuks “puppy,” dēluks “little son,” bērnuks “little child” (DL 276—286, map No. 3).

In Old Prussian, the derivative wosus “goat” (Bok) E 675 has the suffix *-uko- (cf. Lithuanian ož(i)ukas ‘little goat’), but has lost its diminutive meaning.

In the Slavic languages, diminutives with *-uko- are not clearly distinguished from other derivatives with *-ko-; cf. *domъka “little house,” *synъka “little son” (Belić, 1901, 137; Sławski, 1974, 93—94; Vaillant, 1974, 352—355).

Corresponding derivatives in Old Indic, formed from u-stem nouns (e.g., śiśukah “little child”: śiśus “child”), are classified among derivatives with the suffix *-ko-, which is frequently used here to form diminutives from stems of various types (Edgerton, 1911; Wackernagel, Debrunner, 1954, 515—540 and references therein).

Thus *-uko- (< u + *-ko-) may have become a separate suffix on Baltic soil. Eastern and central Lithuania may be regarded as the center of the spread of diminutives with *-uko-, since many hydronyms with *-uko- are found there (cf. Vanagas, 1970, 193—194, 418).

In the past, alongside derivatives with -ukė, Lithuanian also had feminine diminutives with the older suffix -uka. This is evidenced by the derivative varnuka “young crow” N, and to some extent by antuka “songbird” MŽ; B; N; [K] (cf. Slavic *gъtka “duck”). In addition, affectionate girls’ names with -(i)uka have been noted in some dialects, e.g.: Mar(i)ukà, Onukà (Būga, 1958, 270; Senkus, 1972, 154). They were already recorded in J. Čiulda’s grammar (35). Diminutives with -uka also occur in Latvian dialects, e.g.: kaļuka “little sack,” Annuka (DL 286—287).

-uikas(-a)

In the Lithuanian dialects of the Vilnius region, diminutives with the suffix -uikas, -a have been noted, e.g.: akmuikas, vanduikas, akmuika, sesuika, skyluika. P. Skardžius

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(1937, 131—132) believes that this suffix arose through the blending of the suffixes -ukas and -ykas (cf. also Vidugiris, 1969, 149—150).

-iokas, -iokė

In the eastern and southern Aukštaitian dialects of Lithuanian, diminutives with the suffix -iokas are common; they mostly denote medium-sized objects, people, and animals, e.g.: berniōkas, ančiōkas, akmeniōkas (ŽD 133—134; DaiktvDr 279—280). One or another derivative of this type is also found in the western part of Lithuania. For instance, from the so-called Kapsai and Zanavykai dialects, J. Senkus (1972, 152) recorded the derivative paršiōkas ‘a medium-sized pig.’

In the eastern Latvian dialects there are also derivatives with the corresponding suffix -āks; cf. Lithuanian berniōkas and Latvian berņāks, Lithuanian kumeliōkas and Latvian kumelāks. However, they are less common than in the eastern Aukštaitian dialect of Lithuanian (DL 289—294).

Diminutives with the suffix *-(i̯)āko- are attested in Slavic languages (Polish kočiak ‘kitten’, Belarusian коняк ‘bad horse’, Czech synák ‘puppy’, see Brugmann, 1906, 501; Gāters, 1955, 47) are relatively recent. For instance, in Polish they appeared only in the 17th century, as the old derivatives in -ę were disappearing (Rospond, 1979, 185). In other respects, in Slavic languages, nouns denoting bearers of qualities and agents have generally been formed with the suffix *-ako- since ancient times (Vaillant, 1974, 326—329).

In other Indo-European languages, during their early developmental periods, adjectives were formed with the suffix *-āko- and, in some languages, nouns denoting bearers of qualities (Brugmann, 1906, 498—500).

Thus, it is possible that diminutives with the suffix *-āko- (< ā + *-ko-) began to be formed in Proto-Baltic, first in its eastern dialects.

A few diminutives with the variant -iokė of the suffix -iokas have been noted in Lithuanian dialects, e.g.: mergāiōkė ‘a little girl’ Grv; ‘an adolescent girl’ Šts (LKŽ VIII 29), mergaičiōkė ‘a small girl’ Sr (VIII 24), trupūžiōkė ‘a worthless child or animal’ (Senkus, 1972, 152).

-ekas(-a), -ėkė

Lithuanian diminutives with the suffix -ėkas, -a are used only in some Aukštaitian dialects (ŽD 126; DaiktvDr 283) and have pejorative, less often diminutive or endearing meanings, e.g.: arklėkas “a wretched horse” Arm; Dv (LKŽ I² 302), bernėkas “child, lad, boy” Ob; Asv; Bn; Arm; Lz; “youngster” Rdš; Nmn (I² 768), koštuвėkas “a poor, small strainer” Arm (VI 382), krūmėkai “poor shrubs” Ob; Kp (VI 698), kumelėkas “a growing colt” Dv; Rdm (VI 867—868), laukėkas “a poor field” Dv (VII 179), meitelėkas “little piglet” Krsn (VII 1019), motinėka “dear mother” Rod (VIII 369), paršėkas “piglet” Rdm; Vs; Drsk; Rod; Lz; Mrj; Švnč; Dv (IX 430; LŽ 185), ponėkas “a gentleman (derog.)” Kp (X 427), sáulėka “little sun” Bn; Rod; Pls (XII 196), šunėkas “puppy” Rod; Pls; Dv; “a small, worthless dog” Ob (XV 357), žydelėkas “little Jew (derog.)” Ob (LKŽK).

In Latvian dialects (especially in Latgale), diminutives with -ēks are more

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more widespread than the corresponding derivatives with -āks (DL 295—296). Thus, Lithuanian and Latvian differ markedly here. However, a few derivatives with *-ēko- (< ē + *-ko-) are common to Lithuanian and Latvian; cf. Lithuanian bernekas and Latvian bęrnęks ‘little child’, Lithuanian šunėkas and Latvian suņęks ‘poor dog’.

This type of derivative, too, apparently arose in Proto-Baltic.

The derivative karvėkė ‘poor cow’ Pls (LKŽ V 355) has a more recent suffix -ėkė.

-aka, -ekas(-a), -ek-šis(-ė)

F. Nesselmanno’s dictionary records the derivative kalvaka “little hill” with the suffix -aka.

In Latvian dialects and folklore, a few diminutives with a similar suffix -aks have been noted, for example: suņaks, teļaks “a coarse, cruel person (in sayings)” (DL 124).

Lietuvių kalbos pietų aukštaičių tarmėje diminutyvai kartais daromi su išplėsta priesaga -ek-šis, -ė, (plg.p. 141—142) pvz.: bernėkšis ”prastas bernas”, kirvėkšis ”prastas kirvis”, žmonėkšė ”ne kokia žmona” (DaiktvDr 285; Grinaveckis, 1991, 230). Atitinkama neišplėsta priesaga -ekas, -a turi vedinys lydėkas, lydėka (plg. la. līdęka, līdaka, līdaks ”lydeka” ME II 477, lie. lydùs), plg. dar lie. melek-ėlis ”atauuga užpakalinėje gomurio dalyje, liežuvėlis” ir la. mēle (ME II 613—614).

Diminutives with the suffix *-oko-/-eko- (< o/e + *-ko-) are also found in some other related languages, e.g.: O.Ind. aśvakaḥ “little horse,” Greek μεῖραξ “girl” (Gāters, 1955, 48).

The data discussed suggest that diminutives were widely formed with the suffix *-ko- in Proto-Baltic. Various stem-final elements began attaching to it long ago. As a result, derivatives with *-i-ko- are more widespread in some Proto-Baltic dialects, those with *-u-ko- in others, and those with *-ā-ko- in still others, and so on.

The *-ko-/-k- suffix diminutives are very old and widespread in many Indo-European languages (Ewald, 1924), and have parallels in other so-called Nostratic (Boreal) languages as well (Иллич-Свитыч, 1971, 14). It is possible that derivatives of this type initially had not a diminutive meaning, but a broader individualizing one; cf. OCS kamyka “a certain stone”: kamy “stone,” Polish kośtka “kernel; playing die”: kość “bones,” Lithuanian ožka, Slavic koza “goat”: Indo-European *ag’- “he-goat,” Avestan pasuka- “domestic animal”: pasu- “animal” (cf. Knobloch, 1958; Otrębski, 1967, 219—220; Отрембский, 1968, 135—136). This would explain why since ancient times *-ko-/-k- has been used to form not only diminutives, but also denominal adjectives and names for possessors of a quality (aut., 1991, 27—28 and references therein).

Derivatives with the determinative *-l-

-elis(-ė)

This suffix has become the most important means of forming diminutives in Lithuanian

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(Brender, 1925; DaiktvDr 254–265). Derivatives formed with it predominate in 16th–17th-century texts (see table); they occur in all present-day Lithuanian dialects. Diminutives with the suffix -elis, -ė are most often formed from disyllabic nouns, e.g.: kalnėlis: kalnas, tėvėlis: tėvas, vištėlė: višta, etc. However, in Samogitian and some East Aukštaitian dialects (around Ignalina, Švenčionys, Breslauja, Apsas, and Lazūnai), derivatives with the suffix -elis, -ė are also formed from polysyllabic nouns, e.g.: vainikėlis ‘little wreath’: vainikas, dobilėlis ‘little clover’: dobilas, siuvėjėlė ‘little seamstress’: siuvėja, etc. (LKA III map no. 117, pp. 131–132).

In many dialects, the stressed vowel e in the suffix -elis, -ė has lengthened. However, in the southeastern part of the Samogitian dialect and in some sub-Samogitian Aukštaitian varieties, it has remained short, e.g.: berž’ėlis ‘little birch’, trob’ėlė ‘little house’ (LKA II map no. 11, p. 30). The vowel e is also short in some South Aukštaitian dialects. Here, however, derivatives with the suffix -ėlis denote largeness rather than smallness, e.g.: ber nėlis ‘a big, burly farmhand’, kirvelis ‘a large axe’, svetėlis ‘a large guest’ (Grinaveckis, 1991, 230). Alongside the latter forms, this dialect also uses diminutive derivatives with the suffix -ėlis, with a long but often altered e (cf. p. 136).

It is possible that derivatives with the suffix -elis, -ė have not been widespread from ancient times in all dialects. For example, derivatives with -elis, -ė denoting water-weeds are very rare in Samogitian and in parts of the West Aukštaitian dialects (Vanagas, 1970, 113–124, 396).

In Latvian dialects, there are far fewer diminutives with the corresponding suffix -elis, -e. They are most characteristic of the western and central parts of Courland and Semigallia. In addition, derivatives of this type often have a softened consonant preceding the suffix (e.g. s→š, z→ž, etc.). Thus, some Latvian derivatives almost entirely coincide with Lithuanian ones, e.g.: maišelis: maiss ‘sack’ (cf. Lithuanian maišėlis), vistēle: vista ‘hen’ (cf. Lithuanian vištėlė), āželis: āzis ‘goat’ (cf. Lithuanian ožėlis), etc. (DL 246–270). For this reason, A. Bielenstein (1863, 308–309) and A. Leskien (1891, 481) believed that Latvian diminutives with -elis, -e arose under the influence of Lithuanian. However, J. Endzelynas (1909, 376; LVG 343) and V. Rūķe-Dravinia (DL 259–262) question this, since derivatives of this type are used not only close to the Lithuanian border but also much farther away. Moreover, derivatives with the suffix -elis, -e do not have a softened consonant everywhere; cf. sunelis ‘little dog’, maiselis ‘little sack’. On the other hand, no Lithuanian influence can be discerned in derivatives such as čaurumelis ‘little hole’, čučelis ‘little cow’, and the like.

In Prussian, a derivative formed with the suffix *-elio- is patōwelis ‘stepfather’ (Stiffater) E 179, which has acquired a specific, non-diminutive meaning (cf. Lithuanian patėvis), as well as the personal names Madelle, Jonnel, Katell and place names Grubelle, Scadelle, Wirbelle (Gerullis, 1920, 250; Trautmann, 1925, 175; SV 48). No derivatives with a clearly diminutive meaning are attested here.

This suggests that diminutives with the suffix *-elio- became established in only some of the Baltic languages.

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-ėlys

With the variant -ėlys of the suffix -ėlis, the form vaikelýs ‘young rascal, young lad’ is derived: Graž; Kt; Kbr; Alk; Ldvn; Brb; Kv; Auk; Azr (LKŽK).

-ėlis (-ė)

Across a large area of the Aukštaitian dialect, the suffix -ėlis, -ė has the variant -ėlis, -ė. Diminutives are widely formed with it from polysyllabic nouns, e.g.: vainikėlis: vainikas, ąžuolėlis: ąžuolas, lel jėlė: lelija, etc. (LKA III map no. 117).

In some Southern Aukštaitian dialects, as the vowel e narrowed, the suffix -elis, -ė in derivatives formed from disyllabic nouns also came to be pronounced very similarly to the suffix -ėlis, -ė, e.g.: dun’kt’ėl’is ‘little lid’ (LKA II 30–31).

In Lithuanian dialects, diminutives with the suffix -ėlis, -ė are very rare and are most often formed from disyllabic nouns, e.g.: sunėlis ‘little dog’, vistelė ‘little hen’ (DL 270–271).

Thus, perhaps the suffix *-ėl̇io- developed from *-ėl̇io- through lengthening and narrowing of the vowel e in the stressed position. Moreover, from a synchronic perspective, the morphonological alternation -elis: -ėlis can also be identified (Akelaitienė, 1993, 83–84).

-ėlius, -ėlius

In some old texts, derivatives with the suffixes -ėlis, -ėlis have iu-stem forms, e.g.: karalelus ^{DP 354₄₃–₄₄; Ev 13₁₂–₁₃; SE 226₇,} litelus ^{DP 398₄₃,} poterelus ^{SD³ 281 (Jonikas, 1952, 100; Palionis, 1967, 131). Diminutives with} -ėlius also occur today in the Samogitian dialect. For instance, the derivative žmogėlius is used fairly widely in the northern part of the Samogitian dialect (it was already used by S. Daukantas; moreover, it is also recorded in Gl; Dv — LKŽK); compare also the surnames of unmarried men Butkėlius || Butkėlis, Intėlius || Intėlis, Ružėlius || Ružėlis, Bružėlius || Bružėlis Vkš, Klk (LKA III 120).

-alis (-ė)

Diminutives with this suffix are formed in the western part of the Samogitian dialect area, where the Curonians once lived (LKA III map no. 117, p. 132). In some subdialects (e.g., Pagramantis), derivatives of this type have a diminutive meaning (e.g.: krantālis “little shore”, miestālis “little town”, pėlkālė “little bog”; see Jonikas, 1939, 34), while in others (e.g., Švėkšna and Salantai) they have a pejorative meaning (e.g.: stalālis “poor-quality table”, mergālė “big girl, no-good girl”; see ŽD 175; Salys, 1992, 75, 337).

The Prussian derivative podalis “pot-hanger” (Bosetop) E 351 has a pejorative meaning and corresponds exactly to Lithuanian puodālis. Prussian personal names Pretralle, Micalle, Waikale, etc., were also formed with the suffix *-al̇io- (Trautmann, 1925, 176; SV 48).

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These diminutives can also be linked to very rare Latvian derivatives with the suffix -ala/-aļa, e.g.: māmala “little mother”, naktal-iņa “little night”, žurkal-ēns “young rat” (DL 276).

The distribution of hydronyms and place names containing *-oļo- suggests that derivatives with this suffix were most characteristic of the Curonian language (cf. Būga, 1963, 244; Endzelin, 1934, 134; Vanagas, 1970, 84–90, 392).

Diminutives with the suffix *-olo-/-elo- (< o/e + *-lo-) are also found in Slavic (cf. Lithuanian brolelïs, broterėlïs and Slavic *bratel’ “little brother”; see Slawski, 1974, 108), Germanic and Italic (cf. Lithuanian paršėlis and Old High German farheli, Latin porculus “piglet”; see Brugmann, 1906, 366; Meid, 1967, 87), and perhaps also Tocharian (Иванов, 1958, 59–60).

That derivatives of this type spread later than diminutives with *-ko- is indicated by Italic-language derivatives with the suffix -culus (< *-ko- + *-lo-), cf. Latin homullus, homunculus ir homuncio “little man, poor man”, oviculus “little ewe”, and Old Church Slavonic ovьca, Sanskrit avikā “sheep” (Hofmann, Leumann, 1928, 216; Tuttle, 1975 and literature cited there).

-(i)ulis(-ė)

In the Southern Aukštaitian dialect, diminutives with this suffix are quite often formed from various disyllabic nouns, e.g.: alùlis, arklùlis, dukrùlė, katùlė, saulùlė (Grinaveckis, 1991, 228). A few derivatives of this type are also used in other dialects. Thus, J. Otrębski (1934, 153–154) recorded the derivatives sesùlė, cetùlė “auntie”, Agnùlė, Katriùlė, Krisùlė, Mariùlė, Rožùlė from the Tverečius dialect. A. Vidugiris (1969, 151) recorded bočiùlis “dear father” and Dievùlis from Žietela; E. Grinaveckienė (1961, 240) recorded motùlė, sesùlė from the Mituva river-basin dialect; and J. Senkus (1972, 159) recorded dedùlis, Dievùlis, pačiùlė, svočiùlė, tetùlė from the Kapsai and Zanavykai dialects. L. Rėza’s song collection records only the derivative Dievùlis.

In Latvian, diminutives with -ulis, -e are rare and are most often formed from personal names (e.g.: Jānulis, Līžulis) and animal names (e.g.: jēriņš “lamb”, kazulis “kid”). A few derivatives of this type, formed from kinship terms, have equivalents in Lithuanian; cf. Lithuanian tėtulis and Latvian tētulis “dear father” (DL 271–275).

Personal names such as Mattule (cf. Lithuanian Matùlis: Mãtas) indicate that derivatives of this type may also have existed in Prussian (Trautmann, 1925, 176; SV 48).

Diminutives with *-ulo- (< u + *-lo-) were also formed in other related languages; cf. Gothic magula “little boy” (Meid, 1967, 87), Greek ἀρκτύλος “little bear” (Schwyzer, 1939, 485).

-uila

In the Samogitian dialect we find the diminutives mergùila “a small girl, a girl” J; Als; Ms (LKŽ VIII 32), ragùilos “little sleds, sleds” J; Gd (XI 39), skrabùila “a dried-up, aged person” Kal (XII 1026).

These derivatives are, on the one hand, related to the diminutives with the suffix -ulis, -ė, and on the other hand to agent nouns such as kramùila (DaiktvDrR

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123).

Diminutives with the determinative *-l- probably originated from derivatives of augmentative nature such as Lithuanian didėlis: didis, Greek μεγάλο-: μέγα-, Gothic mikils, Old Indian bahula- “large” (Schulze, 1966, 75—79; Schwyzer, 1939, 484—485; Wackernagel, Debrunner, 1954, 862—864). These, in turn, may have developed from forms of heteroclitic inflection, whose existence is evidenced by the relationship of Greek μεγάλο- to Latin magnus, Old Indian mahānt- “large,” Hittite hāstai alongside hāstal “bone” (Benveniste, 1935; Otrębski, 1939, 102; Иванов, 1965, 49). Perhaps this is how Lithuanian erėlis, Latvian nom. pl. ereļi, Old Prussian arele (Are) E 709, and Slavic *orbl “eagle” can be explained in relation to Hittite gen. sing. ḫaranas “of the eagle,” Greek ὄρνις “bird” (cf. LEW 122; ПЯ A-D 101—102; PKEŽ I 90 and literature cited therein).

The determinative *-l- was used to form diminutives in the Indo-European languages to varying degrees. Even among the Baltic languages, the productivity of derivatives of this type varied. Diminutive meanings became most widespread in Lithuanian, perhaps already during the period of its independent development.

Derivatives with the determinative *-g̑-

-užis(-ė)

In Lithuanian folk songs, diminutives with this suffix are quite widespread. For instance, in L. Rėza’s song collection they account for about 15% of all the diminutives recorded there, e.g.: tėvuzis, vainikuzis, žirgužis, žodužis, menužis, anytuzė, alyvuzė, varguzė, žemužė, lelijuzė, etc. (see table).

Diminutives with the suffix -užis, -ė are also characteristic of the Samogitian dialect of the Klaipėda region (Grinaveckis, 1991, 240). J. Senkus (1972, 184) gives several derivatives of this type from the so-called kapsai and zanavykai dialect. E. Grinaveckienė (1961, 240) mentions the derivative kunigužis “evangelical pastor” from the dialect of the Mituva River basin; it has lost its diminutive meaning.

The derivative mergùžė has a counterpart in Old Prussian, merguß (Mayth) GrG 88. The suffix -užė may perhaps also be discerned in the derivative gegužė (Schmid, 1975, 326; PKEŽ I 337—338), which has counterparts in Latvian and Old Prussian (cf. Latvian dziguzę, Old Prussian geguse “cuckoo” (Kukug) E 731), and partly in Slavic languages as well (cf. Old Russian жегъ-уля “cuckoo”).

-suffix

F. Nesselmanno’s dictionary records the derivative vaik užas ‘a child who is growing up’ with the older suffix -užas.

In Latvian dialects, diminutives with the suffix -uža occur. They are usually formed from personal names (e.g., Annuža, Karluża) and only very rarely from common nouns, e.g., pir tuža ‘little bathhouse’, mātuża ‘poor mother’ (DL 313—315).

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Kitos priesagos

In Lithuanian dialects, diminutives are sometimes formed with other derived suffixes as well, originating from the determinative *-g′-:

-ėža: varlėža ‘an insignificant person’ Skd; Kal; Užv; Šv; Krš (LKŽK);

-ėžas: varlėžas ‘the same’ Užv (LKŽK);

-ožis: varložis ‘tadpole’ Tl; Grg; Klp (LKA I 155), varložis ‘the same’ I; J; Kv; Pln; Klt; Rt; Vvr; Šv; Šk; ‘small child’ DūnŽ; Pvn; Klp; Sg; End (LKŽK);

-ožė: valōžė ‘tadpole’ Šv (LKA I 155);

-(i)ūzas: piemẽnūzas ‘shepherd boy, snot-nosed brat’ Šts; Plt; Mrj (LKŽ IX 911), vaikūžas ‘young lad, adolescent’ (widespread in the Samogitian dialect and in Lithuania Minor; recorded as early as R; MŽ), valkataūžas ‘vagabond’ Er; Brb; V. Krėv., varlūžas ‘mischievous child’ Slč; Pn; Upt; Ut; Srv, varliūžas ‘tadpole’ Yl; ‘small child’ Ddv, varlūžas ‘tadpole’ Brst; Sd (LKŽK);

-ūžė: kepūžė ‘shaggy hat’ N; StngŽ 27; I.Simon; Prk (LKŽ V 596);

-ezas: vaikėzas ‘adolescent’ (widespread in the Samogitian dialect and in some Western Aukštaitian subdialects), varlėžas ‘small child’ Alz; Sl; Ds (LKŽK);

-ėzas: vaikėzas ‘adolescent’ Plv; Rmš; Graž; Tlž; Ožk; Str; Pn (LKŽK);

-(i)ozas: vaikiozas ‘young rascal’ VIkv; Pg; Gs (LKŽK), varložas ‘tadpole’ Skd (LKA I 155);

-izas: valīzas ‘little rascal’ Sb; Kp (LKŽK);

-yzas: piemenyžas ‘shepherd boy, snot-nosed brat’ Rd (LKŽ IX 911).

In Lithuanian, a considerable number of derived suffixes arose from the determinative *-g-/-g’ (cf. -ėgas and -ėžas, -agis and -ažis, etc.), which are used to form agent nouns with pejorative meaning (DaiktvDrR 162—164). Similar deverbal and denominal derivatives also occur in Slavic languages (Slawski, 1974, 65—70).

In Germanic languages, diminutives with the formant -k- were formerly formed fairly frequently; this formant may also have arisen from the determinative *-g-, e.g.: Middle English hillock “little hill,” Middle Low German hoveke “little yard,” Middle Low German vogelke-en “little bird,” etc. (Meid, 1967, 214—218).

A few diminutives with *-g- are also attested in Ancient Greek, e.g.: λαῖγξ “little stone,” ῥανθάμιγξ “little crumb” (Brugmann, 1906, 509, 676).

Derivatives with the determinative *-s-

-esas, -esa, -esė, -esis, -os-nas

Diminutives with these suffixes, which probably originated from the determinative *-s- (cf. DaiktvDrR 165), are formed very rarely: vaikėsas “young man, adolescent; hired hand, farmhand” Lnkv; Jnšk; Psv; Škn; Šd; Kri; Sml; Sdb; Žml; Šl; Lg; Jnš; Žg; Šd; Trg; Mžk; Šauk; Klk (LKŽK), mergesà “grown girl” JR 104, mergėsė “also” J; Vb; Sb; Lg; Jnšk; Lnkv; Šl; Stč; “female hired hand” Grž

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(LKŽ VIII 27), krūmėsiai “poor-quality bushes” Rsn (VI 698), kalvóšnas “little hill” Plt; Pln; Ggr (V 167).

They can be associated in part with Latvian sunēsis “little dog,” kūndzess “son of a lord,” jaucēs “warm young beer” (LVG 374).

Many more diminutive suffixes arose from the determinative -š-, which probably originated from *-s- (cf. DaiktvDrR 166 and the literature cited there).

-šė

Diminutives with this suffix, most often having a derogatory meaning, are used only in some Lithuanian dialects (mostly western and southern ones), e.g.: bóbšė Užv; Alk; Jns; Gs, bóbšė “a lousy woman” Jrb (LKŽ I² 964), kepùršė Mrs, kepùršė “a lousy hat” Lp; Kp (V 596), kumelšė “a poor, scrawny mare” Vlk; Rdm; Mk (VI 871), mėr̃gšė “a poor girl” Skr; Gs; Brb; Mrs; Lp; Sn; Slv; Ms; “an adolescent girl” Vl; Lzd; Lp; “a hired girl” Vl; Raud (VIII 32), skėpšė “a worn kerchief” Lp (XII 813).

J. Endzelynas (LVG 373—374) relates derivatives of this type to Latvian depsīs: depis “a fat, small child”, lapsa “fox” (cf. Lithuanian lãpė).

-ašas, -išas, -išius, -iušas, -ušis(-ė)

There are several diminutives in dialects formed with these derivative suffixes, which likewise developed from the determinative -š- (< *-s-):

-ašas: piemenãšas “adolescent, rascal, big boy” Ggr; Vgr; Trk (LKŽ IX 909);

-išas: vagìšas “petty thief” Krš; Lkv; Vn; Up; Kair; Rdn (LKŽK);

-išius: vagìšius “ditto” K; J; Tl; Vkš; Slv; Skr; Šk; Pnd; Drsk; Krs; Skp; Lel; Ds (LKŽK);

-iušas: vagìušas “ditto” L (1887,15; Žem; Slnt; Pln; KlvrŽ; Plt; Up; End; Vvr (LKŽK);

-ušis(-ė): brotaũšis “brother’s son” R; MŽ, brotùšė “brother’s daughter” R; K; NdŽ, motùšė “mother dear, mother” N; Pš; LTR(Lnkv) (LKŽ VIII 374), tetùšis “father, dear father” Sut; JD 73; StnD 16; D 3; Klk; Gsč; Gdl; Ktk; Tr; Lnkv; Kp (LKŽK, cf. Latvian tētusis, Polish tatuś).

A somewhat larger number of agent nouns with a derogatory meaning are formed with similar suffixes (DaiktvDrR 165—167 and literature cited therein).

W. P. Schmidas (1990, 205—206) vagìšus tipo deminutyvus sieja su šiais sen. indų kalbos vediniais: kṛṣṇáśa ”juodokas”: kṛṣṇa- ”juodas”, haríṣa- ”gelsvokas”: hari- ”geltonas”, bahutṛṣá ”rusvokas”: bahru- ”rudas”, plg. dar alb. vogl’ś ”labai mažas”: vogelė ”mažas” (Gāters, 1955, 50). Juose irgi galima įžvelgti deminutyvinę reikšmę.

-iščias(-ia), -iščė, -yščia, -yščius, -yštis(-ė)

In the former region of Sūduva (around Kybartai, Vilkaviškis, and Virbalis)

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diminutives with the suffix -iščias, -ia are quite widespread, e.g.: ėriščias ‘lamb’, paršiščias ‘piglet’, kelmiščias ‘little stump’, karviščia ‘little cow’, mergiščia ‘little girl’ (Buga, 1958, 305; 1959, 229; ŽD 332, 767).

Derivatives of this type correspond to Prussian eristian ”ėriukas” (Lam) E 68 (cf. Lithuanian ėriščias, gertistian ”viščiukas” (Kuchel) E 765, prastian (i.e. parsistian) ”paršiukas” (Ferkel) E 686 (cf. Lithuanian paršiščias), wolistian (i.e. wosistian) ”ožiukas” (Czickel) E 677, werstian (i.e. wersistian) ”veršiukas” (Kalb) E 674 (cf. Lithuanian veršisščias); probably camstian (i.e. camistian) ”avis” (Schoff) E 678 also belongs here (Mažiulis, 1981, 41; PKEŽ II 105—107), and possibly swintian (< *swinistian) ”kiaulė” (Swin) E 682 as well (Karaliūnas, 1992, 19—20). They appear to have cognates in Illyrian, too (Specht, 1938; Fraenkel, 1941, 92).

The suffix *-ist̨o-, which arose when another determinative *-t- (see pp. 142—144) and the affix *-i̯o- (see p. 146) were added to the determinative *-s-, is probably related to the ancient Indo-European suffix *-isko-, which was widely used to form diminutives in Ancient Greek (e.g. ἄνθρωπίσκος ‘little man’, σαμβαλίσκον ‘little sandal’, παιδίσκη ‘little girl’), but adjectives in Baltic, Slavic, Germanic, and some other related languages (e.g. Lithuanian teviškas, Latvian tēvisks, Prussian tawiskan ‘paternal’ (vatterlicher) III 41₁₂, Old Church Slavonic dětьskъ ‘childlike’, Gothic mannisk-s ‘human’).

On the other hand, in some eastern and southern Aukštaitian dialects, the suffix -iščias, -ia may be a borrowing from Belarusian -išče (Otrębski, 1934, 151—152; ŽD 332). Under the influence of the latter suffix, the following variants of the suffix -iščias, -ia may have arisen in some areas:

-iščė: mergiščė ‘little girl’ Dv (LKŽ VIII 30);

-yščia: mergyščia ‘same’ Grš; Lkš (LKŽ VIII 30);

-yščius: bernyščius ‘young lad’ Pls; LTR(Mrk) (LKŽ I² 770), šunyščius ‘big dog’ Dbč (XV 363);

-yštis(-ė): bernyštis ‘young lad’ Kb; Dbč (LKŽ I² 770), karvūystė ‘puny cow’ Arm (V 358), mergyštė/mergyštė ‘grown-up girl’ Gl; Vlk; Rod; ‘little girl’ Asv; Dv; Bn; Arm (VIII 31), pirkūštė ‘small old, dilapidated house’ Arm (IX 1095), ragūštis ‘big horn’ Pls (XI 35), rankūštė ‘puny hand’ Dv; Pls (XI 168);

-ištis: arklištis ‘poor-quality horse’ Vlk; Lp; ‘large, good horse’ Vrnv (I² 307), berništis, beřništis ‘young lad’ Smn (I² 770), ėrištis ‘lamb’ Rdm; Vlk (II² 1143), pilvištis ‘bad belly’, ragištis ‘big horn’ Arm (IX 1029; XI 35).

Other suffixes

The determinative -š- (< *-s-) is inserted into some suffixes:

-ek-šis(-ė) (see p. 134);

-el-šė: bobėlšė “a worn-out little hut” Rdm (LKŽ I² 961), trobėlšė “a shabby hut” Lp; Lnkv (LKŽK);

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-(i)ok-š-nis(-ė): balókšnis “a small puddle, a little hollow” Lp; Skr; “a pool” J (LKŽ I² 600), dirvóokšnis Grž; Slm (II² 588), ežeriókšnis “a spring, a water-filled hollow” Pl (II² 1168), ežerókšnis “a lake nearing the end of its filling-in” Sb; Skp, ežerókšnė “same” Sb. Kp (II² 1169), kelmókšnis “a small, insignificant stump” Lnkv (V 526), krūmókšnis “a small, insignificant bush” J; Skr; Jnšk; Slm; Ds (VI 701), pieviókšnis Er, pievókšnis “a small meadow among fields” J; Slm; Žml; Pš; Kp; “a poor, barren meadow” Lnkv (IX 936), upókšnis “a stream” Ds; Kp; Skp; Vdšk; Šv; Mlt; Lnkv; Krs (LKŽK);

-(i)ok-š-lis: berniókšlis “a grown boy” Ds (LKŽ I² 769), dirvókšlis “a small plot of soil” J; Ds; Rk (II² 588), kerókšlis “a poor bush” J I 131; Šts; “a short, lanky person” KlvrŽ (V 616), krūmókšlis “a small, insignificant bush” Rk; Ktk; Ds (VI 701), pievókšlis “a small meadow” J; Užv; Ml; Sb; Brž; “a poor, barren meadow” Dkk; Žg (IX 936), upókšlis “a stream” Ds; Ktk; Klk (LKŽK);

-(i)ok-š-tis(-ė): arkliókštis “a poor horse” Dglš (LKŽ I² 306), berniókštis “a young fellow” Dgl (I² 769), mergiókštė “an adolescent girl” Kč; “a half-grown girl” Rdm (VIII 29);

-uk-š-lis: vaikūkšlis “a little child” Rod (LKŽK);

-ėk-š-lis: krumėkšlis “an insignificant, poor bush” Pg; Grl; Nč (LKŽ VI 698), upėkšlis “a poor little stream” DūnŽ; Krš; Rdn; Trš; Ds; Rk (LKŽK);

-ėk-š-nis: upėkšnis “same” Kp (LKŽK);

-k-š-lis: kepūrkšlė “an old, torn hat” Nč (LKŽ V 594);

-(i)ūkštis(-ė) (from -ūtis, -ė) — derivatives of this type are used in a considerable number of Aukštaitian and Samogitian dialects, e.g.: berniūkštis, vaik(i)ūkštis, velniūkštis (attested as early as R), merg(i)ūkštė (LKA III map no. 119, pp. 133—134);

-ykštis(-ė) (from -ytis, -ė): bulbýkštė “a small (pig-feed) potato” Pkr (LKŽ I² 1149), kiaulýkštė “an insignificant pig” Skdv, kiaulýkštis “a small pig” Lk; Skr; Jrb (V 696), kirmykštis “a little worm” BB Joz 41,14; ApD 10,12, levykštis “a little lion” Jer 51,38, šuny kštis “a young puppy” Sut; GN Mt 15,27; S.Dauk; TP 1881,21; NdŽ (LKŽ XV 361), varnykštis “a little crow” Vln 38; C II 257; R; MŽ; RB Ps 147,9; Ns 1850,1; [K], velnykštis “a little devil” BsMt II 59(Srd) (LKŽK);

-aikštis (from -aitis): botágaikštis “a poor whip” Ds (LKŽ I² 976), pagalaikštis “a stick” Prng; Dglš (IX 70—71)¹.

Derivatives with the determinative *-t-

-ūtis(-ė), -utas(-a)

Diminutives with the suffix -utis, -ė are formed in many dialects, especially in the southwestern and southern parts of Lithuania. Derivatives of this type are also found in old written sources, e.g.: brolutis, mamutis, tėvutis BP II 409₂₄, žmogutis II 105₂₃, tetutė SIG 82₁₂, 83₂.

¹ In the suffixes -(i)ūkštis, -ykštis, -aikštis, in addition to the determinative *-s-, there is also an inserted consonant -k- (on the latter, see Endzelins, 1974, 420—431; Zinkevičius, 1966, 194—195; 1980, 155—157; Stang, 1966, 108—113; Smoczyński, 1989, 39).

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The older form of this suffix, -utas, -a, is attested in the surroundings of Kaišiadorys and Prienai, as well as in Lazūnai and Žietela, e.g.: langùtas “small window,” vaikùtas “little child,” mergùtė “little girl” (LKA III map no. 118).

In Latvian, diminutives with the suffixes -utis, -uta are very few; compare Lithuanian alùtis and Latvian alutis, Lithuanian ragùtės and Latvian ragutas (DL 243–244).

In Prussian, derivatives with the suffix -ut- that have a concrete, non-diminutive meaning are formed: nagùtis “nail” (Nagel) E 117, locutis “bream” (Bresme) E 562, personal names Brangut, Geruthe, Ackute, Jagutte, etc., and the place name Wangut-kaym (Gerullis, 1925, 258; Trautmann, 1925, 182; SV 52).

Baltic diminutives with *-ùtį-o- are compared with Slavic derivatives with -ъtь: *nagъtь “nail” (cf. Prussian nagùtis), *lapъtь “shovel,” *palъtь “a piece of meat” (Belić, 1901, 183; Otrębski, 1939, 55, 56; Отрембский, 1968, 137; Мартынов, 1973, 43–44). They denote concrete objects without an explicit diminutive meaning.

In Lithuanian, too, there are derivatives with the suffix -utas denoting concrete objects, e.g.: ašùtas “horse-tail hair” (cf. Slavic *osъtъ “thistle”?: Indo-European *os- “sharp” LEW 19), degùtas (cf. Latvian deguts, Lithuanian dègti, degàs), grùmutas “clump” J (cf. grùm-ulas “piece, lump”: grumùs “clumping, coagulating” Ggr; Žeml – LKŽ III 667–668), kėkutas “cluster” Grl; “group, troop” Ms (LKŽ V 504; cf. the derivative kėk-ulas, widespread in the Samogitian dialect, “lump, clod; group, troop”: kėkė, kiàukutas “husk, shell” Kos 45; J; Kp; Vb (cf. kiàuk-las “same” J; Trgn – LKŽ V 685, 687, Latin caucum “cup,” etc. LEW 232), kriaukutai “frog eggs, tadpoles” Kos 46; J; Svn; Ppl (cf. kriauk-ulai “same” J; Vl: kriàukti “to spawn tadpoles” Vlk; “to clear one’s throat” Rmš – LKŽ V 566), riešutas (cf. Prussian bucca-reisis “beech nut” (Buchecker) E 593, Slavic *orěcho “nut” LEW 731). Notably, the derivative riešutas has preserved in some eastern Aukštaitian dialects the nominative plural form riešutės and genitive singular riešutės of consonant-stem inflection. The Old Czech forms dehet “tar,” genitive singular degyte “of tar,” suggest that the derivative degùtas may once have had a consonant stem as well (Trautmann, 1923, 49, 241; Fraenkel, 1936, 192–193; ŽD 361; Stang, 1966, 223; Zinkevičius, 1966, 265; Kazlauskas, 1968, 286).

Derivatives with the suffix -ut- in Old Indic, which also arose from the determinative *-t-: Marut- “storm god,” garmut- “a kind of grass,” garmut-mant “winged,” kapuc-chale “hair on the back of the head”—likewise have concrete, non-diminutive meanings. The latter is compared with Latin caput-, Old Icelandic hǫfuð “head” (Burrow, 1950, 165; Wackernagel, Debrunner, 1954, 483–485 with literature).

Thus, Prussian nagùtis, Slavic *nogъtь, Lithuanian riešutas, and the like apparently reflect an earlier state, when derivatives with the determinative *-t- did not yet have a diminutive meaning (PKEŽ I 163–164; Smoczyński, 1989, 43–44). The determinative *-t- itself may have originated from elements of heteroclitic inflection (Иванов, 1965, 48).

Matyt, teisus buvo Ch.S. Stangas (1966, 4) deminutyvus su priesaga -ut- laikęs baltų kalbų inovacija. Jie galėjo atsirasti dėl vedinių su priesaga *-ùtį-o- (žr. p. 146–147) įtakos. Ši inovacija ypač išplito lietuvių kalboje, o prūsų kalba geriausiai iš baltų kalbų išlaikė senąją būklę.

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-učìs, -učė, -učia

In some dialects, an occasional diminutive occurs with the very rare variants -učis, -učė, -učia of the suffix -utis: karvučis “a small cow” VIk (LKŽ V 359), mergučė “a girl, adolescent” Žal; Lkč; Jrb; Kdl; Btg; “a little girl” Skr; Žgn; Trg; Erz, mergučia “a girl, adolescent” Vdžg; Zt (VIII 32). Their formation was probably influenced by the suffixes -ička, -učka (cf. p. 151).

-(i)ūtis(-ė), -ī̄ta, -uitis

In the Samogitian dialect and in some Eastern and Southern Aukštaitian subdialects (mostly along the Belarusian border), the suffix -(i)utis, -ė has the variant -(i)ūtis, -ė, e.g.: kišk(i)ūtis, vaikūtis, kūrmėlūtė, and so on (LKA III map no. 118, p. 133).

In the Eastern Aukštaitian dialect, alongside the derivative kelūtė, the derivative kelūta “a small, little-travelled road” (LKŽ V 522) has also survived, with the older suffix -iūta.

In some Samogitian subdialects and nearby Aukštaitian ones, diminutives are also frequently formed with the suffix -uitis from names of living beings, e.g.: arklūitis, kiaulūitis, mergūitis, vaikūitis, and so on (DaiktvDr 282). K. Būga (1959, 293–294) and P. Skardžius (1937, 132) thought that this suffix may have arisen through the blending of the suffixes -ūtis and -ytis.

-štė, -estis

The determinative *-t- is also attached to certain other suffixes:

-š-tė: bóbštė “an old woman, a crone” Alk; Šk; “a midwife” J (LKŽ V 964, cf. bóbšė, see p. 140);

-es-tis: vaikěstis “young man” MŽ; N; K.Donel; K; Sut; BŽ 114 (cf. vaikėsas, see p. 139).

The determinative *-t- is also present in the suffixes already discussed: -ok-š-tis (see p. 142), -iš-čias (Prussian -iš-tian, see pp. 140–141).

Derivatives with the adjectival suffix *-no-

-ynas(-a)

Nowadays, diminutives with the suffix -ynas, -a are formed in the southern and some eastern Aukštaitian dialects. In southern Aukštaitian they have a genuinely diminutive meaning (e.g.: bernȳnas “little boy”, kelmýnas “little stump”, motýna “little mother”), whereas in eastern Aukštaitian they have a pejorative meaning (e.g.: arklýnas “a poor horse”, balȳna “a large, poor-quality puddle”, bernýnas “a lanky, useless lad”; see LKA III, map no. 119, pp. 134–135).

In the past, diminutives with -ynas, -a also occurred in the western part of Lithuania. This is demonstrated first of all by the derivatives of this type from the fishermen’s dialect of Lithuania Minor cited by J. Gerulis and Ch. S. Stang (1933, 26–27), e.g.: vaikūnas “a very small child”, žąsýnas “a very small goose”, langýnas “a very small window”. In addition, the derivative vaikýnas “young man” was recorded by A. Juška in Skirsnemunė; compare also miškýnas “small forest” J; Ggr (LKŽ VIII 289). In the writings of Lithuania Minor—

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we find kinship terms avýnas “mother’s brother” MT 223; RB Tob 7,1; B; R; MŽ (also Pgg; Vlkš — LKŽ I² 527), brolýnas “brother’s son” B; A 1885,150, seserýnas “sister’s son” Lex 78; C II 527; Q 474; Krz 184; NdŽ; “aunt’s son” N, seserynai “sisters’ children” [K]. The derivative mótyna “mother” is found in both eastern and western Aukštaitian dialects (Būga, 1959, 147).

In Latvian dialects, diminutives with the suffix -iņš, -a are likewise used in two non-contiguous areas: in the southwestern corner along the Lithuanian border and across a considerable area in the northeast near Estonia (DL 198–199, map no. 1).

There are very few Baltic adjectives with the suffix *-ī-no themselves (e.g.: Lithuanian mėlynas, Latvian talīns “distant”, Old Prussian alkūnes “hungry” (nüchtern) III 872), from which the diminutive derivatives mentioned above arose (SV 45; LVG 319; BKGF 79). On the other hand, diminutives with *-īno- are also attested in Slavic, Germanic, Italic, Celtic, and Greek (Brugmann, 1906, 275). This indicates the antiquity of this word-formation type.

-inas(-a)

Alongside the old derivatives with *-ī-no-, diminutives with another adjectival suffix, *-i-no-, also began to arise on Baltic linguistic soil.

In the fishermen’s dialect of Lithuania Minor, diminutives were formed with both suffixes: -ynas and -inas. Only derivatives with the suffix -inas denoted objects or creatures somewhat larger than the corresponding derivatives with the suffix -ynas (cf. p.), e.g.: vištinas “a pullet, not yet laying eggs”, żąsinas “a young, feathered goose”, vaikinas “adolescent”, langinas “a somewhat small window” (Gerullis, Stang’as, 1933, 26–27). Derivatives of this type are also found in F. Kurschat’s Lithuanian–German dictionary: ănginas “a large snake” (already recorded in Mž 196¹¹), arklinas “an average-sized horse”, jautinas “a fairly good bull”, kīrminas “a large worm, snake”, merginà “an unmarried girl; a large, strong girl”, mùsinas “a blowfly, dung fly”, vaikinas “young man, adolescent; a large, ugly young man”.

Nowadays, diminutives with the suffix -inas are mainly formed in the southwestern part of the Samogitian dialect, roughly between Klaipėda and Šilutė (Salys, 1992, 337; LKA III, map no. 119, p. 135). They are occasionally found considerably farther from this area as well, e.g.: mùsinas “a large fly” Ds; Sb (LKŽ VIII 438), paršinas “a grown piglet” not only in Grš; Pk; Vn, but also in Akm; Šts; Ldvn; Plv; Pžsl (IX 432). Moreover, the derivative mótyna, having lost its diminutive meaning, was already widely used in the 16th–17th centuries. Derivatives merginà “unmarried woman” and vaikinas “young man; adolescent; child; son” are also known in many dialects.

In Latvian dialects, diminutives with the suffix -iņs, -a are used in the same places as the corresponding derivatives with -iņs, -a. However, derivatives with -iņs, -a are less common, e.g.: liepiņ “little linden tree”, darziņc “little garden” (DL 200–201, map no. 1).

It is possible that names for male animals with the suffix -inas derive from diminutives (Schulz, 1966, 77; DL 201–204). They are fairly widespread in Lithuanian (DaiktvDr 418) and have counterparts in Latvian and Old Prussian; compare Lithuanian ăvinas and Latvian avins, àuns, Old Prussian avins “ram” (Ster) E 679, Lithuanian kàtinas and Latvian katins “tom-

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nas”, Lithuanian žąsinas and Latvian žuosins “gander”, Lithuanian pýlinas and Latvian pỹlins “drake” (LVG 310; BKGF 77).

This shows that diminutives with *-ino- arose in the Proto-Baltic language.

-inis(-ė)

Lietuvių kalboje su priesaga -inis, -ė (< *-in̥io- < *-ino- + *-i̯o-, žr. aut., 1991, 16) plačiai daromi būdvardžiai, o diminutyvų su šia priesaga pasitaiko labai retai, pvz.: bobinė ”prasta moteris” Tvr; Aps (LKŽ I² 962), karvinė ”karvutė” (Salys, 1992, 338), lazdinė ”lazdelė”, pirštinė ”pirštinukė” Grdm (LKA III 135), mergelinė ”maža mergaitė” Sv, merginė ”tarnaitė” Pnd; Kp; Sb; Sl (LKŽ VIII 26, 28), vaikinis ”vaikinas” K.Donel (Kabelka, 1964, 249).

In Latvian, the corresponding suffix -iņš, -a is now the most important means of forming diminutives, e.g.: dēliņš “little son”, bērziņš “little birch”, zvaigzniņa “little star” (DL 168—169). By contrast, adjectives in *-in̥io- are already very rare here; cf. geležinis and Latvian dzelzinis “iron”, Lithuanian lapinis and Latvian lapiņš “made of leaves” (LVG 312—313).

Thus, Lithuanian data show the very beginnings of the formation of diminutives in *-in̥io-, whereas Latvian records the completion of this process.

It is possible that diminutives with *-in̥io- developed not directly from adjectives, but from designations of possessors of a characteristic. For in Lithuanian, denominal adjectives in -inis, -ė, when converted into nouns, most often acquire the meaning of a possessor of a characteristic. This nominalization pattern is old; cf. Lithuanian káiminis “villager” Alk; Gs (LKŽ V 56) and Latvian kaimiņš “neighbor” (LVG 313), Lithuanian drėvinė “wooden barrel for tallow” Pkr (LKŽ II² 692) and Old Prussian drawine “(wooden) tub” (Bote) E 393 (PKEŽ I 223—226). Some other Baltic diminutive-forming affixes also originated in the category of designations of possessors of a characteristic.

Derivatives with affixes for designations of possessors of a characteristic (nomina attributiva)

-is

In the Baltic, Slavic, and Germanic languages, designations of possessors of a characteristic began to be formed with the adjectival affix *-i̯o- (aut., 1991, 17). In Lithuanian dialects, however, a few derivatives in the ending -is have also acquired a diminutive meaning, e.g.: bérnis “little boy” Prk (LKŽ I² 769), vaikis “young man, lad; boy; son” (common in the Samogitian dialect).

Baltic diminutives are formed much more frequently with compound suffixes characteristic of designations of possessors of a characteristic, which arose when the affix *-i̯o- attached to other adjectival suffixes.

-ytis(-ė)

In Lithuanian, diminutives with the suffix -ytis, -ė are widely used

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(DaiktvDr 272—274). Derivatives of this type are already found in old writings, e.g.: asilýtis SP I 245₂₁; II 143₂₁, érytis Lex 57, érytelis Mž 462₉, karvelytė SP I 216₂₂, karvelytis 369₂₈, mergytė DP 254₂₄, ožkytis Ch¹ Luk 15,29, šunytis VlnE 54₆; BP I 278₁₄; SD¹ 122.

In Latvian dialects, derivatives of this type have now almost disappeared, but they are still widely used in folklore, e.g.: brālītis “little brother”, krūmītis “little shrub” (DL 232—239).

It is difficult to say what meaning derivatives with the suffix *-īti̯o- had in Prussian, since this suffix is attested almost exclusively in personal names (e.g.: Moldite, Bludit, Waikitte, see Trautmann, 1925, 182) and place names (e.g.: Laukiten, Pelite, Pelkiten, see Gerullis, 1923, 257). V. Mažiulis (PKEŽ II 105) emends Prussian kampnit “horse” (Pferd) GrG 6 to *kamanītis and believes it had the meaning “little horse, pony.” However, other interpretations of this word have also been proposed (cf. ПЯ I-K 191—192).

The suffix *-īti̯o- (< *-īto- + *-i̯o-) is an innovation shared by the Baltic, Slavic, and Germanic languages. Initially, it was used to form names denoting possessors of a characteristic (e.g.: Lithuanian eglytis “cloth woven with fir branches”, Latvian lēnītis “warm south wind”, South Slavic golīt’b “naked, poor person”); only later did diminutives also begin to be formed with *-īti̯o- in the Baltic languages, and through ancient Baltic–Slavic language contacts they subsequently entered the South Slavic languages; cf. Lithuanian vilkytis and South Slavic vlč’t’b “little wolf” (for more detail, see the author, 1991, 18—20, with references).

-aitis (-ė), -aitė

There are quite a few diminutives with this suffix (DaiktvDr 271—272). Some are also used in old writings, especially in S. B. Chilinskis’s translation of the New Testament (see the table). In addition to the derivatives asilaitis, jaunikaitis, tarnaitė, tarnaítis, which are also attested in other 16th–17th-century writings, we find the following here: deivaitė ApD 19,27; 19,35; 19,37, duktaitė Mr 5,41, kalnaitis Luk 3,5, karvelaitė 414₂₀ (in explanations added at the end), mokytinaitė ApD 9,36, žvirblaitis Mt 10, 29; 10,31. Derivatives of this type are very common in L. Rėza’s song collection (see the table) and in S. Daukantas’s writings (Subačius, 1993, 153).

However, the diminutive function of the suffix -aitis, -ė is not its oldest function. In Lithuanian, this suffix is also occasionally used to form names denoting possessors of a characteristic, e.g.: gimináitis, kalváitis “blacksmith’s son”, jaunáitis “young man”, laukináitis “inhabitant of the fields”, and so on (ŽD 359—360). They also have a Latvian counterpart, tautaitis “bridegroom” (BKGF 98).

Names denoting possessors of a characteristic, usually with a sense of belonging, are formed even more often with another related suffix, -ietis, -ė, e.g.: kaunietis, -ė, sodiėtis, -ė, vókietis, -ė, and so on (DaiktvDr 411—412; Lenkevičiūtė-Norkaitienė, 1983; LKA III map no. 10, 110, p. 27, 115). They have counterparts in Latvian, cf. vācietis “German”, raunietis “inhabitant of Rauna”, sāviete “woman” (BKGF 98).

The suffixes -aitis, -ietis and -ytis are vowel-grade variants of the same suffix, *-īti̯o-/-eit̯i̯o-/-oit̯o- (cf. Lithuanian vókietis, Latvian vācietis and Lithuanian vókytis, Latvian vācītis “German”); initially, the suffix was used to form names denoting possessors of a characteristic

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names.

Thus, diminutives with the suffix -aitis, -ė began to be formed during the period of independent development of the Lithuanian language, but well before the appearance of the first written texts.

The suffix -aitė has a very rare variant -aičė: mergaičė “little girl” Vdk (LKŽ VIII 23). It probably arose under the influence of the suffix -aička (cf. p. 151).

-eitė

The derivative tarmeitė “maidservant,” fairly common in the 16th–17th centuries, can also be classified partly among diminutives. It was formed with the very rare suffix -eitė, which likewise developed from the aforementioned suffix *-it̄o-/-eit̄o-/-oit̄o-. Also compare agent nouns denoting bearers of a characteristic: pašalėtis “an uninvited guest who has come to a wedding,” pra šalėtis “a person not of the household, a stranger,” treinėitis “triangular” (ŽD 361).

-iotė, -iočė, -iočius

In the Eastern Aukštaitian dialect, many diminutives are formed with the suffix -iotė, e.g.: mergžotė “a grown-up little girl, a hired girl,” kumeliotė “a fairly grown-up filly,” kojotė “a fairly large foot” (ŽD 352; DaiktvDr 280—281).

In Latvian, it seems that only one dialectal derivative was formed with the corresponding suffix -atė: kučtė: kuce “bitch” (DL 244).

These diminutives are related to Lithuanian agent nouns denoting bearers of a characteristic, such as ąsotės: ąsotas “having a handle,” barzdotis “one with a beard”: barzdotas, gyslotis “plantain”: gyslotas (ŽD 351—352). Also compare the hydronyms Ilgotis Šil, Margotė Srj and the like (Vanagas, 1970, 190).

The suffix -otis, -ė arose when the affix *-i̯o- was added to the adjectival suffix *-āto-.

The suffix -iotė has very rare variants -iočė, -iočius: mergiočė “little girl” Vrn; Vlk; “an adult unmarried girl” Vrn; Rdš, mergiočius “little girl, adult unmarried woman” Arm; also compare mergiočiotė “half-grown girl” Trgn, mergiočgalė Dr, mergiočgalys “little girl” Dbk (LKŽ VIII 29). The suffix -očiūs may have influenced their emergence, e.g.: barzdōčius, pilvōčius, kuprōčius, etc. (on these derivatives see ŽD 352—353; Grinaveckis, 1991, 175—178).

-ētis

Diminutives formed with the suffix -ėtis (< *-ēto- + *-i̯o-) include vaikėtis “childish child” Kb (LKŽK), varnėtis “little crow” KN 234₅.

They are related to names of bearers of a quality such as eglėtis “a homespun fabric woven with fir-tree patterns”: eglėtas “having the shape of fir needles”; šukėtis “with chips and broken places”: šukėtas “with chips, knocked-out or battered areas.”

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-uolis(-ė)

Alongside names of bearers of a quality such as jaunuolis, gudruolis, snieguolė and the like (DaiktvDr 346), several diminutives are also formed with this suffix: bernuolis “a grown boy” Lš; Nmn; Grv; Rod (LKŽ I² 771), merguolė “an adult but unmarried girl” Rdm; Nmn; Rm; Onš; Mrs; Švnč; Trgn; Rod; “half-grown girl, adolescent (derog.)” Mrs; Žž; Lp; Nč; Grv (VIII 32).

-ėnas

Diminutives with the suffix -ėnas are used only in some Aukštaitian dialects (mostly eastern ones) and usually denote young animals or have a pejorative meaning, e.g.: arklėnas “a middling horse”, bernėnas “a half-grown boy, a poor fellow” Ds (LKŽ I² 303, 768), botagėnas “a poor whip” Trgn (I² 977), gyvatėnas “a snake’s young, a little snake” OG 116, katėnas “a no-longer-tiny, grown-up kitten” Ds (LKŽ V 407), kiaulėnas “a little pig” Ds; Akm; “a rascal, a scamp” Trgn (V 691), šunėnas “a worthless dog” Ds; “a young dog” K (XV 358), žydelėnas “a little Jew (derog.)” Ds; Dglš; Tvr, žmogėnas “a little person (derog.)” Ds; Švnč; Dgl (LKŽK).

In Latvian, diminutives with -ēns, -a are more widespread. They are used in many dialects and usually denote young animals, e.g.: pīlēns “a young duck”, kaķēns “a young cat”. In some dialects, however (especially in western Courland), they also have other meanings, e.g.: puikēns “a little boy”, uōzolēns “a little oak”, mātēna “mummy” (DL 217—230).

These diminutives, too, derive from names of bearers of a quality. For instance, derivatives with the suffix -ėnas, denoting the place where people live or originate, are widespread in Lithuanian (especially in the eastern Aukštaitian dialect), e.g.: ankštėnas, kapiškėnas, etc. (LKA III map no. 110, p. 116). They already have this meaning in 16th–17th-century texts, e.g.: įsrutėnas C II 36, nazarėnas DP 7X; SP II 152, tilžėnas KLG 65. Kinship terms brōlēnas/brolėnas “brother’s son”, seserėnas “sister’s son”, tetėnas “aunt’s husband”, and the like, have also been in use for a long time (ŽD 238). Derivatives of this type have clear counterparts in Latvian and Slavic, cf. Old Latvian brālēns “brother’s son”, dialectal māsēns “sister’s child”, piebaldzēņi “inhabitants of Priekuļi” (LVG 303—304; DL 226, 228—229); Slavic *bratrēnъ “brother’s son”, *sestrēnъ “sister’s son” (Slawski, 1974, 128—129).

In Baltic and Slavic languages, names of bearers of a quality with *-ēno- sometimes also have other meanings, e.g.: Lithuanian balėnas “tree bark”, pelėnas “chaff hawk”, varnėnas; Latvian raibēns “a speckled young calf”; Slavic *moldēnъ “young man”.

The suffix *-ēno- probably developed from consonant-stem nominative singular forms with *-ēn-, expanded by o-stem forms; cf. Lithuanian kelėnas, Slavic *kolěno (< *kolę) “knee”, and Greek κωλήν “shoulder bone” (Трубачев, 1959, 161), Old Church Slavonic slověne “Slavs” (Vondrák, 1924, 660).

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Derivatives with the suffixes -yklė, -uklis

With these suffixes, which derive from *-tlo-, diminutives have been formed: beržuklis ‘a poor little birch’ Sug, bobýklė ‘a poor woman’ Dr (LKŽ I² 778, 962).

From ancient times, the suffix *-tlo- was used in Baltic languages to form names of tools. Later, because of the genetic and semantic relationship between names of tools and agent nouns, agent nouns with pejorative meaning began to be formed (e.g., baigūklė, miegūklis ‘sleeper’, see DaiktvDrR 153—156, 171—178). The latter probably also prompted the formation of the aforementioned diminutives, which likewise have a pejorative meaning. In addition, some secondary suffixes deriving from *-tlo- are occasionally used in Lithuanian to form nouns denoting bearers of a quality (e.g., jauniklis, -ė, jaunėklis, -ė ‘a young, immature person or animal’, šykštuoklis ‘a miser’, etc.; DaiktvDr 357, 358); diminutives are also closely related to these.

Derivatives with Slavic suffixes

-ka, -elka, -ilka, -kė

Slaviška priesaga -ka turi deminutyvai kumélka ”prasta kumelė” K; LC 1883,45; BsP III 126; IV 170; Žem; Pgr (ŽD 161; LKŽ VI 870; taip pat dar pietų ir kai kuriose vakarų aukštaičių tarmėse, žr. Senkus, 1972, 150; Grinaveckis, 1991, 230), pieménka ”piemenaitė, piemenegalė” Skr (LKŽ IX 911), plg. dar seną skolinį motkà ”motina” (iš lenk. matka, gud. мamкa, žr. Skardžius, 1931, 135).

When this suffix was added to the Lithuanian suffix -elis, -ė, the hybrid suffix -elka arose. In the Southern Aukštaitian dialect, it is often used to form diminutives with a pejorative meaning, e.g., avélka ‘a poor, bedraggled sheep’, bobélka ‘a worthless woman’, karvélka ‘a poor cow’, mergélka ‘a wretched, worthless girl’, trobélka ‘a poor, dilapidated little hut’, žmonélka ‘a poor wife’, etc. (Grinaveckis, 1991, 230—231). J. Senkus (1972, 150) recorded the derivatives bobélka, mergélka in the Kapsai and Zanavykai dialects. Derivatives of this type also occur in some other dialects; cf. bobélka ‘a woman of poor repute’ Ds (LKŽ I² 961), mergélka ‘a grown-up girl’ Grg; Užv; Krtn (VIII 27), trobélka ‘a little storehouse’ Žg (LKŽK).

The diminutives vagílka ‘little thief’ (widespread) and mergílka ‘a frivolous girl’ Zt (Vidugiris, 1969, 152) have another hybrid suffix, -ilka.

Diminutives are also sometimes formed in Latvian with the suffix -ka, e.g., Janka ‘little John’, činka ‘little hummock’ (DL 309—311).

Diminutives formed with the suffix -ka and its paradigmatic variant -kė include bóbškė ‘a poor woman’ Srv (LKŽ I² 964), púodkė ‘a poor head’ Gs (X 923).

-(i)uška, -uškas, -uškė, -ūška

Diminutives formed with the suffix -(i)uška include dainiuškà “a frivolous, poor song” Lž; Jzm; Pkš (LKŽ II² 230; DunŽ 65), dainuškà “the same” LzP; Vlv; Lnkv; “a little song” NS 1313; Gdr; Lz (LKŽ II² 232; LŽ 49), and the very widespread

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vakaruškà “an evening gathering, entertainment for young people”, voveruškà; compare also the latter’s variants voveriškas Gdr, voveriškė Gdl; Krm; Rš; Ūd, voverūška Šlv; Trak (LKŽK).

In Latvian dialects, diminutives with the suffix -uška are formed much more frequently, e.g.: sunuškà “puppy”, meituškà “girl” (DL 306—308).

The suffix -uška (< uch-bka) is a borrowing from the East Slavic languages; compare Russian старушка, лягушка, etc. (Kiparsky, 1975, 264—265).

-icà, -ičkà, -yčkà, -ičkė, -aičkà, -učkà, -ečkas

The diminutive mergicà/mergìca “a grown girl” J; Rs; Rdd; Žp; Prn; Žgn; Vv; Vrd; “a little girl” Ar; Srd; Vl (LKŽ VIII 27) is formed with the very common Slavic suffix -icà (compare Slavic *dèvica “goddess; girl”, *babica “old woman”, etc.; see Бошкович, 1984, 215—228; Sławski, 1974, 98—99).

Another suffix of similar origin, -ičkà (< -icà + -bka; e.g., Russian водичка, Czech vodíčka; see Kiparsky, 1975, 224) occurs in the diminutive mergìčkà “a grown girl” Rz; Žml; Sb; Ds; VIkv; “a little girl” BsP II 72; compare also its variants mergỹčka “a grown girl” Gs, mergìčkė “a little girl” Pš (LKŽ VIII 27; Senkus, 1972, 150).

The blending of the Slavic suffix -ička with the Lithuanian suffix -aitis, -ė gave rise to the hybrid suffix -aička, widespread in some Eastern Aukštaitian dialects, e.g.: avaiška “little ewe, lamb”, kalaička “little bitch”, kiaulaička “little pig”, mergaička “adolescent girl” (DaiktvDr 285).

The blending of the suffix -ička with another Lithuanian suffix, -utis, -ė, gave rise to the suffix -učka, used to form mergùčkà “girl” Rš (LKŽ VIII 32).

The derivative ežerėčkas “a tiny, insignificant lake” is recorded in the Zietela dialect; it is formed with the Slavic suffix -ečkas (Vidugiris, 1969, 152).

-usis(-ė)

In the Žietela dialect, we find several diminutives with this suffix, e.g.: mamùšė “mother dear,” tatùšis “dear father,” Bòlùsis “Baliukas,” Kastùsis “Kastukas,” Marùšė “Marytė” (Vidugiris, 1969, 152).

In the Slavic languages (especially Polish, Belarusian, and Ukrainian), the suffix -us- is used to form various denominal and deverbal derivatives, often with expressive meaning, e.g.: Polish dialectal lenius “idler,” rabùs “servant,” ligus “restless child,” etc. (Sławski, 1976, 34—35).

-iznà, -yznà, -znà, -žnà, -inžė

The derivative bobìznà Skr, with variants bobýznà Rm, bobžnà “a poor woman” Žln (LKŽ I² 963, 965), is a borrowing derived from the old Slavic word babìzna (on its formation, see Sławski, 1974, 123—124). Following the model of the borrowed word bobìznà, the derivative karùžnà “a small, thin cow” was formed in Vlk; Vrn; Eiš; it has a variant

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The Distribution of Diminutives in Old Writings and L. Rėza’s Song Collection

Number of diminutives in various texts Suffix | Mž count% | Vin count% | BP count% | DP count% | SIG count% | Ch1 count% | SP count% | RD count% -elis(-ė)/ -elis(-ė) | 24 80 | 12 63,16 | 38 79,17 | 66 91,67 | 37 94,87 | 14 51,85 | 31 81,58 | 227 49,56 -alis | — — | — — | — — | — — | — — | — — | — — | 1 0,22 -ulis | — — | — — | — — | — — | — — | — — | — — | 1 0,22 -(i)ukas(-ė) | — — | — — | — — | — — | — — | — — | — — | 21 4,58 -ikas | — — | — — | — 1,39 | 1 1,39 | — — | — — | — — | — — -ikė | — — | — — | — — | — — | — — | — — | — — | 3 0,66 -užis | — — | — — | — — | — — | — — | — — | — — | 70 15,28 -utis(-ė) | — — | — — | 4 8,33 | — — | 1 2,56 | — — | — — | 4 0,87 -inas | 1 3,33 | — — | — — | — — | — — | — — | — — | — — -y(č)is(-ė) | 1 3,33 | 1 5,26 | 2 4,17 | 1 1,39 | — — | 1 3,70 | 3 7,89 | 26 5,68 -a(l)tis(-ė) | 3 10 | 5 26,31 | 4 8,33 | 4 5,55 | 1 2,56 | 12 44,44 | 4 10,53 | 105 22,93 -eitė | 1 3,33 | 1 5,26 | — — | — — | — — | — — | — — | — — Total | 30 | 19 | 48 | 72 | 39 | 27 | 38 | 458

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karvinže “a small, poor cow” Vlk; Rdm; Sn (LKŽ V 358), and under the influence of the same borrowed clipped form bobzną the derivative mergžna arose, with the variant mergžna “woman, wench” Lz (VIII 33). The consonant z may have changed to ž here under the influence of the derivative mergūžė (see p. 133).

Conclusions

The data discussed make it possible to distinguish the following chronological layers of Lithuanian diminutives:

1. The oldest formations are those with the determinative *-k-, which formed the basis of the category of diminutive formation in the Indo-European languages.

2. In individual Indo-European language dialects and groups, diminutives began to be formed in the earliest periods of their development with the determinatives *-l-, *-g-/-g’-, *-s- and with the adjectival suffix *-īno-.

3. In Proto-Baltic, the following formants were used to form diminutives: the determinative *-t-, the adjectival suffix *-ino-, and the suffix for names of possessors of a quality *-ītio- (< *-īto- + *-i̯o-). In Lithuanian and Latvian, diminutives are also formed with the suffixes *-ēno- (< *-ēn- + *-o-), *-in̨io- (< *-ino- + *-i̯o-), *-ātio- (< *-āto- + *-i̯o-), also probably borrowed from the names of possessors of a quality, and with the Slavic suffixes -ka, -uška.

4. During the period of independent Lithuanian development, diminutives began to be formed with the affixes -aitis(-ė), -eitė, -uolis(-ė), -is, characteristic of names of possessors of a quality; with the suffixes -yklė, -uklis, probably originating in the category of agent nouns; and with various Slavic suffixes, derived mostly from *-iko-. In addition, diminutives with the suffixes -ėlis (-ė), -ukas (-ė) are very widespread in Lithuanian, but quite rare in the other Baltic languages.

Abbreviations

BKGF — Endzelynas J. Baltų kalbų garsai ir formos. V., 1957.

BP — Postilla tatai e/ti Trumpas ir Pra/tas Ižguldimas Evangeliu [...] Per JANA BRETKŪNA [...] Karaliaučiuje [...] 1591.

Ch¹ — Biblia litewska Chylińskiego. Nowy Testament. Tom 2 — Tekst. Poznań, 1958.

DaiktvDr — Urbutis V. Daiktavardžių daryba. — Lietuvių kalbos gramatika. V., 1965. T. 1. P. 251—473.

DaiktvDrR — Ambrazas S. The Development of Noun Formation. Verbal Derivatives in the Lithuanian Language. V., 1993.

DL — Rūke-Draviņa V. Diminutiven im Lettischen. Lund, 1959.

DP — Postilla Catholicka [...] Per Kúnigą MIKOLAIV DAV-KSŽĄ Kanoniką Mediniku / iš lėkibko pergūldita [...] Wilniui [...] 1599.

DūnŽ — Vitkauskas V. Šiaurės rytų dünininkų šnektos žodynas. V., 1976.

GrG — A copy of S. Grunau’s Prussian-language glossary (c. 1517–1526), held in the Göttingen University Library (cited according to Mažiulis, 1981). Other Prussian-language texts are abbreviated as in the works of Prof. V. Mažiulis.

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KZ — Journal of Comparative Linguistic Research in the Field of Indo-European Languages, founded by A. Kuhn. B. etc.

LEW — Fraenkel E. Litauisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. Heidelberg; Göttingen, 1962.

LKA — Lietuvių kalbos atlasas / Ats. red. K. Morkūnas. V., 1977–1991. T. 1–3.

LKK — Questions of Lithuanian Linguistics. Vol. V.

LKŽ — Lietuvių kalbos žodynas. V., 1956–1991. T. 1–15.

LKŽK — The Lithuanian Language Dictionary card file.

LVG — Endzelīns J. Latviešu valodas gramatika. Rīgā, 1951.

LŽ — Petrauskas J., Vidugiris A. Lazūnų tarmės žodynas, V., 1985.

ME — Mülenbachs K., Endzelīns J. Latviešu valodas vārdnīca. Rīgā, 1923–1932. S. 1–4.

Mž — Gerullis J. (ed.). Mažvydas. The oldest monuments of the Lithuanian language up to 1570. K., 1922.

PKEŽ I—II — Mažiulis V. Prūsų kalbos etimologinis žodynas. V., 1988–1993. T. 1–2.

Pkš — Pakšteliai, Šiauliai District.

RD — Biržiška M. (ed.). The Songs of Liudvikas Rėza. 3rd edition of the first Lithuanian songbook. K., 1935–1937. Vols. 1–2.

SIG — Lebedys J. (ed.). S. M. Slavočinskis. Hymns belonging to the Catholic faith, 1646. V., 1958.

SP — Specht F. (par.). Šyrwids Punktay sakimu [...]. Göttingen, 1929.

SV — Endzelīns J. Senprūšu valoda. Rīgā, 1943.

Vln — The writings of B. Vilentas (without page references); Enchiridion Catechiſmas maʒbas [...] iſch wokiſchka lieʃbuwia ant lietu wiſchka pilnai ir wierna pergulditas per Baltramieju Willenta [...] Iſchſpauſtas Karalauʒui [...] 1575 (with page reference).

ŽD — Skardžius P. Lietuvių kalbos žodžių daryba. V., 1943.

ГЯ — Toporov V. N. The Prussian Language. Dictionary. M., 1975.

Other abbreviations are the same as in the Large Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language.

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THE DEVELOPMENT OF DIMINUTIVES IN LITHUANIAN

Summary

The following chronological strata of diminutives in Lithuanian have been established in the present paper:

1. The oldest derivatives are those with the Proto-Indo-European determinative *-k- which formed a basis for several Baltic suffixes: *-i-ko- (cf. Lith. dial. puodìkas ”small cup”, OPruss. malnijkix (Kindlein) III 1136, Latv. ganiķis ”small shepherd”), *-īko- (cf. Lith. brolykas ”brother”, OPruss. bratīkai (Brüder) III 895, Latv. mātiča ”mother-in-law”), *-u-ko- (cf. Lith. ož(i)ukas ”little goat”), OPruss. wosux (Bok) E 675; Lith. šun(i)ukas, Latv. sunuks ”little dog”), *-ā-ko- (cf. Lith. berniōkas,

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Latv. bernāks ”lad”), *-ē-ko- (cf. Lith. bernėkas, Latv. bērņeks ”lad”), *-o-ko/-e-ko- (Lith. kaloka ”hill”, bernėk-šīs ”simple lad”, Latv. bērņaks ”child”).

2. In different Indo-European dialects during the oldest periods of their development diminutives were derived by means of the determinatives *-l- (cf. Lith. paršėlis, OHG farheli, Lat. porculus ”small pig”) *-g-/-g’- (cf. Lith. mergùžė ”lass”, OPruss. merguβ (Mayth) GrG 88, Latv. pirtuża ”small bathhouse” and ME hillock ”hill”, Gk. λαῖγξ ”small stone”), *-s- (cf. Lith. vagìšas ”pilferer” and Skr. hariśá- ”yellowish”, Alb. vog’l’s ”very tiny”), and the adjective suffix *-ino- (cf. Lith. berñynas ”young child” and Kymr. colwyn ”cub”, OHG geizīn ”young goat”, Gk. κοραϊνος ”young raven”).

3. The following affixes were used to form diminutives in Proto-Baltic: the determinative *-t- (cf. Lith. nagùtis ”small nail” and OPruss nagūtis (Nagel) E 117, Slav. *naǫtъ ”nail”, Lith. ragùtės, Latv. ragutas ”sledge”), the adjective suffix *-ino- (cf. Lith. vaikìnas ”teenager”, Latv. dial. darziņc ”small garden”) and the suffix *-ītio- (< *-īto- + *-io-) from nomina attributiva (cf. Lith. brolýtis, Latv. brālītis ”little brother” and Lith. eglýtis ”cloth woven in the herring-bone pattern”, Latv. lēnītis ”warm southern wind”). In Lithuanian and Latvian the diminutives are derived with suffixes *-ēno- (< *-ēn- + *-o-, cf. Lith. dial. gyvatėnas ”snake’s child”, Latv. kaķēns ”young cat” and Lith. brólėnas/brólėnas, Latv. brālēns, Slav. *bratrēnъ ”brother’s son”), -inio- (< -ino- + *-io-, cf. Lith. dial. mergelinė ”girl”, Latv. zvaigznina ”little star” and Lith. dial. auštrinis ”noth-eastern wind”, Latv. austrinis ”eastern wind”), *-ātio- (< -āto- + *-io-, cf. Lith. mergiōtė ”girl”, Latv. kučāte ”bitch” and Lith. ąsótis ”jug”) which also came from nomina attributiva and with Slavic suffixes -ka (cf. Lith. kumėlka ”badmare”, Latv. čiņka ”small hummock”), -uška (cf. Lith. dainuškà ”simple song, ditty”, Latv. sunuška ”little dog”).

4. The suffixes -aitis (cf. jaunikáitis ”young man” and gimináitis ”relative”), -eitė (cf. tarneitė ”maidservant” and praśalėitis ”stranger”), -ėtis (cf. vaikėtis ”urchin” and eglėtis ”home made of cloth, woven in herring-bone pattern”), -uolis (cf. bernuõlis ”boy” and jaunuõlis ”young man”), -is (bēŗnis ”boy” and bēŗis ”bay”) from nomina attributiva, -uklė (cf. bobūklė ”plain old woman”), -uklis (cf. beržūkis ”weak birch”) from nomina instrumenti and Slavic suffixes based mostly on *-iko- (cf. -ica, -ička, -aička, -učka: mergicà, mergiċkà, mergaička, merguċkà ”girl” a.o.) were used to form the diminutives in Lithuanian. Derivatives with the suffixes -elis, -ukas became very productive in Lithuanian.

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