-le

1.
suffix forming nouns, esp.:
1 names of appliances or instruments (handle; thimble).
2 names of animals and plants (beetle; thistle).
Usage:
The suffix has ceased to be syllabic in fowl, snail, stile.
Etymology: ult. from or repr. OE -el etc. f. Gmc, with many IE cognates
2.
suffix (also -el) forming nouns with (or orig. with) diminutive sense, or = -AL (angle; castle; mantle; syllable; novel; tunnel).
Etymology: ME -el, -elle f. OF ult. f. L forms -ellus, -ella, etc.
3.
suffix forming adjectives, often with (or orig. with) the sense 'apt or liable to' (brittle; fickle; little; nimble).
Etymology: ME f. OE -el etc. f. Gmc, corresp. to L -ulus
4.
suffix forming verbs, esp. expressing repeated action or movement or having diminutive sense (bubble; crumple; wriggle).
Usage:
Examples from OE are handle, nestle, startle, twinkle.
Etymology: OE -lian f. Gmc

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\\əl, ^əl\ verb suffix (-led ; -led ; -ling \(ə)liŋ, (^ə)l-\\ ; -les)

Etymology: Middle English -len, from Old English -lian; akin to Old High German -ilōn, -alōn, verb suffixes indicating repeated action

— indicating repeated action or movement especially of a trifling or small-scale character

prattle

wriggle

hobble

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1. a suffix of verbs having a frequentative force: dazzle; twinkle.

2. a suffix of adjectives formed originally on verbal stems and having the sense of "apt to": brittle.

3. a noun suffix having originally a diminutive meaning: bramble.

4. a noun suffix indicating agent or instrument: beadle; bridle; thimble.

[ME -len, OE -lian (v.); ME -el, OE -ol (adj.); ME -el, OE -il (dim.); ME -el, OE -ol, -ul (agent)]

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-le,

suffix.

1. small (diminutive), as in icicle, kettle.

2. again and again (frequentative), as in crackle, sparkle.

╂[def. 1, Old English -el; def. 2, Middle English -elen, Old English -lian]

le.,

lease.

l.e.,

Football. left end.

LE (no periods),

1. labor exchange.

2. leading edge.

3. Football. left end.

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I

suffix

1) forming names of appliances or instruments

bridle | thimble

2) forming names of animals and plants

beetle

•

Origin:

Old English, of Germanic origin

II

(also -el) suffix forming nouns having or originally having a diminutive sense

mantle | battle | castle

Origin:

Middle English -el, -elle, partly from Old English and partly from Old French (based on Latin forms)

III

suffix (forming adjectives from an original verb) apt to; liable to

brittle | nimble

Origin:

Middle English: from earlier -el, of Germanic origin

IV

suffix forming verbs, chiefly those expressing repeated action or movement (as in babble, dazzle), or having diminutive sense (as in nestle)

Origin:

Old English -lian, of Germanic origin

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-le, suffix

pronounced (-(ə)l), of various function and origin.

1. The usual mod.Eng. form of ME. -el(e, -le, repr. OE. -el, -ela, -(e)le in ns. and -ol, -ul, -el in adjs. (The form -el is retained where phonetic law or orthographical convention does not permit the change into -le, as after ch, g soft, n, r, sh, th, and v. After m the suffix becomes -ble.)

The OE. ns. and adjs. with l suffixes are prob. in most cases of pre-Eng. formation. The ns. formed on noun-stems have sometimes an originally diminutive sense, as in bramble; sometimes they express the notion of ‘an appliance or tool’, as in thimble, handle. In those formed on vb.-stems the function of the suffix is either agential as in beadle, instrumental as in bridle, girdle, or expressive of some less definable relation, as in bundle. The adjs., which are formed on vb.-stems, have the sense ‘apt or liable’ (to do what the vb. expresses), as in brittle, fickle, gripple, nimble, † swikel.

b. In riddle the suffix represents OE. -els, the s having been confused with the plural ending.

2. An occasional representative of ME. -el(l, -elle, in ns. adopted from Fr. This has several different sources: in castle, mantle, it is OF. -el:—L. -ellum dim. suffix (see -el); in cattle it is OF. -el:—L. -āle, the neut. sing., and in battle it is OF. -aille the neut. pl., of the adjective suffix -ālis (see -al¹); in bottle it is OF. -eille:—L. -icula dim. suffix.

3. A verbal formative, repr. ME. -(e)len, OE. -lian:—OTeut. type -ilôjan, with a frequentative or sometimes a diminutive sense. Among the few examples that go back to OE. are nestle, twinkle, wrestle. In ME. and early mod.E. the suffix was extensively used (like the equivalent forms in MHG. and mod.Ger. and in Du.) to form vbs. expressing repeated action or movement, as in brastle, crackle, crumple, dazzle, hobble, niggle, paddle, sparkle, topple, wriggle, etc. Many of these formations are from echoic roots, as babble, cackle, gabble, giggle, guggle, mumble, etc.