The Greek Diminutive Suffix -laxo- -lay.i}-. 181 



utive in Antiphan. frg. 3. 17 Asuxy] /Xavi?, cpaioc yt,TO)vicrxo? xalo?, 

 IldtBiov kr.oCkdv (with the notion of elegance, see § 69). Plato 

 Legg. 12. 954 A yupo? •?! yi-omay.oy (merely a )(.) s/^wv a^wcr-o?. 

 Dem. 21. 216 [j.ixpoQ ytjjxvov sv tw yiTtovicmco ysvscrQ-ai. When on 

 the other hand the derivative does not differ from the primitive 

 at all, the former on reinterpretation becomes a diminutive pure 

 and simple. So 6^€liay.og = o^zXoc, ' spit ' is felt as a diminutive 

 in Insc. Del. Mich. 833. 128 OjBs^arrxoi [xixpoi AAAF. 



II. Faded Diminutives. 



73. The ideas of small size, youth, etc. can fade in two ways. 

 When the diminutive refers to an individual as compared to a 

 class it takes place if a word originally formed with the notion of 

 small size uppennost and yet designating something looked upon 

 as different from the primitive is no longer analyzed, as if e. g. 

 x(,ovi<7xo5 ' a little pillar ' would no longer be referred to its primi- 

 tive xiwv, but would come to be recognized as an altogether dif- 

 ferent architectural concept. In the nature of the case such words 

 can not be separated from others formed \\ith the notion of simi- 

 larity uppermost (§ 32), or from the pattern types of the di- 

 minutives (§ 56). In all three instances the result is the same: 

 the derivative designates a smaller object looked upon as different 

 from the primitive, and the idea ' little ' may be absent. 



74. When the diminutive refers to a class, fading takes place 

 very easily because in want of strong indications of contrast of 

 size between the diminutive and another class the hearer will often 

 not follow the speaker when the latter uses such a diminutive. 

 Most of the words given above as referring to a class will illustrate. 

 fisiQaxi(fxog : ^.sipaxiov, diminutive because any lad is young com- 

 pared to an adult, is not felt as a diminutive e. g. in Plato Theag. 

 122 C, where without contempt and apparently without endear- 

 ment a youth present at the conversation is referred to as 6 [j.£i- 

 paxtoxo? o3to?. vsavtaxog becomes a synonym of vsavia? ' youth ' 

 as early as Herodotus, and later is almost never used with con- 

 scious diminutive force, and Aeschines does not use the primitive 

 at all. Cf. also Poll. 2. 4, where vsavtoxo? also supplants veavCa?: 

 Y) TSTapTY] (sc. Y]lixta) vsavi(7xo?. A good example of the use of the 

 word without ' diminutive ' elements is Xen. Hell. 2. 3. 23 Tcapay- 

 ysiXavTSi; vsaviGTtoic 01 IBoxouv auToT^ O-pao-JTaTOi sTvai . . . Tzccpccyzviab^xi. 

 If riXLaaoc (§ 67 B) : ijlo? ' nail ' was a diminutive, its force 

 faded in the same way, similarly naaaaXCaxog (§ 67 B). Direct 

 proof of fading we have in acfsXliJxov = crcpsXa? ' foot-stool ' 



