-cule

The suffix -cule has two distinct senses.

The first of these senses is to denote a diminutive noun, meaning to indicate something small in size or importance. It is also used in other French loanwords from Latin. This form of -cule is occasionally used in a variety of everyday and technical terms. The suffix -cule comes from the Latin endings -culus (masculine), -cula (feminine), and -culum (neuter), which originally designated diminutive nouns.

The second of these senses is in words borrowed from Latin where it formed verb nouns that denoted a place appropriate to the action of the verb or means by which the action is performed. This form of -cule is used very rarely in everyday and technical terms. The suffix -cule comes from Latin -cula and -culum by way of French or Old French.

What are variants of -cule?

A variant of -cule in both senses of the suffix is -cle, as in article or vehicle. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use article on -cle.

A word you may be familiar with that features the suffix -cule is molecule, “the smallest physical unit of an element or compound.”

The mole- part of the word means “mass,” from Latin mōlē(s). The suffix -cule here means “small.” Molecule literally translates to “small mass.”

What are some words that use the combining form -cule?

• animalcule (using the equivalent form of -cule in Latin)
• crepuscule
• lenticule
• minuscule
• reticule

What are some other forms that -cule may be commonly confused with?

• -cele
• -coel
• -ule

Given the meaning of the suffix -cule, what does animalcule literally mean?