definitions

-elle

a noun suffix occurring in loanwords from French, where it originally formed diminutives, now often with a derivative sense in which the diminutive force is lost (bagatelle; prunelle; rondelle); also in Anglicized forms of Latin words ending in -ella (organelle).

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Nearby words

-ee, -een, -eer, -ein, -ella, -elle, -eme, -emia, -en, -ence, -enchyma

Origin of -elle

< French < Latin -ella, feminine of -ellus, forming diminutives corresponding to stems ending in -ul- -ule, -r- (see castellum), -n- (see patella)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019