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-le

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-le¹

  • /əl/
  • /l̩/

Where it comes from

From Middle English -len, -elen, from Old English -lian (frequentative verbal suffix), from Proto-West Germanic *-lōn, from Proto-Germanic *-lōną (frequentative verbal suffix).

Cognate with West Frisian -elje, Dutch -elen, German -eln, Danish -le, Norwegian Bokmål -le, Norwegian Nynorsk -la, Swedish -la, Icelandic -la. Compare -er.

suffix -el

  1. morpheme A frequentative suffix of verbs, indicating repetition or continuousness assle, buzzle, crackle, cuddle, dazzle, draggle, drawl, dribble, drizzle, fumble, gamble, grapple, handle, jostle, kissle, maddle, mingle, nestle, nuzzle, prattle, quibble, ramble, rattle, ripple, scribble, sile, sizzle, sniffle, snuggle, startle, stopple, suckle, tattle, tickle, topple, waggle, whe

-le²

  • /əl/
  • /l̩/

Where it comes from

From Middle English -el, -le (adjectival), from Old English -el, -ol, from Proto-Germanic *-ulaz and *-ilaz (adjective suffixes). Cognate with West Frisian -el, Dutch -el, Low German -el, German -el, Icelandic -ill.

suffix -el

  1. morpheme Forming adjectives from verbs with the meaning of "prone to", "tending to", "apt to", "capable of"; compare -ative battle, breakle, brittle, fickle, forgettle, little, newfangle, nimble, wankle

-le³

  • /əl/
  • /l̩/

Where it comes from

From Middle English -el (agent suffix), from a combination of two suffixes:

* Old English -el, -il (diminutive suffix), from Proto-Germanic *-ilaz (diminutive suffix).

* Old English -el, -ol, -ul (agent suffix), from Proto-Germanic *-ilaz (agent suffix). Cognate with West Frisian -el, Dutch -el, Low German -el, German -el.

suffix -el

  1. morpheme Forming diminutives from other nouns. dump + -le → dimple

    Similar: -cule, -ee, -el, -et, -ette, -icle, -ie, -kin, -let, -ling, -ole, -ule

  2. morpheme Forming agent nouns from verbs beadle, beetle, bridle, bundle, cripple, fettle, girdle, ladle, losel, runnel, shovel, spindle, spittle, steeple, stile, stopple, thimble, tool, towel, trundle

Translations

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suffix frequentative suffix

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MLA

"-le." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/-le. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

-le. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/-le

Chicago

"-le." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/-le.

BibTeX
@misc{le_2026,
  title = {-le},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/-le},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}