Meaning of iminutive | Babel Free

Definitions

In Yiddish, a second-degree or more intensive diminutive form.

no-plural, rare

Examples

“What is not common, however, in German dialects is the existence of an intensive diminutive (or, as it sometimes is called, an iminutive) having the shape⟳ -ele.”

“Faber and King note⟳ that Yiddish and Bavarian both have⟳ an "intensive diminutive," i.e., a second degree of diminution (iminutive); thus, StY štot 'city,' štetl 'market town', štetɘlɘ 'little market town [endearing].'”

“The main point⟳ in the diminutive and iminutive system is, however, not only that elements of two dialectally different subsystems of German have⟳ fused in the German component.”

“In addition to the diminutive, Yiddish has an 'iminutive', which is used to indicate⟳ that something is even smaller (as well as cuter, more lovable, or possibly more inferior) than a diminutive noun.”

CEFR level