-ula

Also ‑ular.

Forming diminutive nouns.

Latin feminine ending ‑ula.

Examples include auricula (diminutive of Latin auris, ear), an Alpine primula whose leaves supposedly resemble bears' ears; cannula (diminutive of Latin canna, reed), a thin tube inserted into a vein or body cavity during surgery; spatula (diminutive of Latin spatha, a broadsword), an implement with a broad, flat, blunt blade. However, peninsula derives from Latin insula, island; others come from a variety of sources.

Words ending in ‑ular are adjectives, derived from the Latin adjectival ending ‑ularis. They are sometimes related to diminutive nouns in ‑ule or ‑ula (fistular, globular, macular, molecular, pustular). Others are linked to a variety of English nouns in various endings with no diminutive sense (angular, irregular, muscular, oracular, perpendicular).