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Affixes: the building blocks of English
Affixes: the building blocks of English
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-elle

Forming nouns.

[Latin diminutive suffix -ella.]

Some examples derive directly from Latin, but most have come via French words ending in -elle. Examples include the game bagatelle (French, from Italian bagatella, perhaps from baga, baggage, or from a diminutive of Latin baca, berry); nacelle (French, from late Latin navicella, diminutive of Latin navis, ship), a streamlined housing or tank on the outside of a vehicle; organelle (modern Latin organella, diminutive of organum, instrument, tool), any of a number of specialized structures within a living cell; gazelle (French, probably via Spanish from Arabic ghazāl), a type of antelope.

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