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Main definitions of -le in English

: -le1-le2-le3-le4

-le1

suffix

  • 1Forming names of appliances or instruments.

    ‘bridle’
    • ‘thimble’

  • 2Forming names of animals and plants.

    • ‘beetle’

Origin

Old English, of Germanic origin.

Main definitions of -le in English

: -le1-le2-le3-le4

-le2

suffix

(also -el)

  • Forming nouns having or originally having a diminutive sense.

    ‘mantle’
    • ‘battle’
    • ‘castle’

Origin

Middle English -el, -elle, partly from Old English and partly from Old French (based on Latin forms).

Main definitions of -le in English

: -le1-le2-le3-le4

-le3

suffix

  • (forming adjectives from an original verb) apt to; liable to.

    ‘brittle’
    • ‘nimble’

Origin

Middle English from earlier -el, of Germanic origin.

Main definitions of -le in English

: -le1-le2-le3-le4

-le4

suffix

  • Forming verbs, chiefly those expressing repeated action or movement (as in babble, dazzle), or having diminutive sense (as in nestle).

Origin

Old English -lian, of Germanic origin.