-cle

¹

1. a suffix found in French loanwords of Latin origin, originally diminutive nouns, and later in adaptations of words borrowed directly from Latin or in New Latin coinages: conventicle; particle.

   article;

   conventicle;

   corpuscle;

   particle.

-cle

²

1. a suffix found in French loanwords of Latin origin, later in adaptations of words borrowed directly from Latin; in Latin, this suffix formed from verbs nouns that denoted a place appropriate to the action of the verb ( cubicle, receptacle ) or a means by which the action is performed ( vehicle ).

-cle

suffix forming nouns

1. indicating smallness

   cubicle

   particle

Word History and Origins

Origin of -cle¹

From French, Old French, from Latin -culus, -cula, -culum, variant of -ulus -ule with nouns of the 3rd, 4th and 5th declensions, usually with the same gender as the base noun

Origin of -cle²

< French, Old French < Latin -culum, -cula < *-tlom, *-tlā

Word History and Origins

Origin of -cle¹

via Old French from Latin -culus. See -cule

Example Sentences

Communities at highest risk for shut-offs include Greenwater, Pierce County; Skykomish; Concrete, Skagit County; rural areas east of Snoqualmie Pass like Cle Elum and Kittitas; and parts of west Thurston County and Vashon Island, which have pockets of dense vegetation.

From Seattle Times

PSE plans to bury some lines near Cle Elum, according to its wildfire plans.

From Seattle Times

A similar project is planned for the I-90 bridge at Cle Elum.

From Seattle Times

The seamless overlap between real life and fictional counterparts, and the faithful reproduction of such well-established facts, conveys the author’s intention to offer a crystal clear clé to this roman à clef.

From New York Times

Around 7:30 p.m., the Washington State Department of Transportation closed both directions of the interstate between North Bend and Cle Elum.

From Seattle Times

Words That Use -cle

What does -cle mean?

The suffix -cle 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 -cle is occasionally used in a variety of everyday and technical terms. The suffix -cle 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. The suffix -cle comes from Latin -cula and -culum by way of French or Old French.

What are variants of -cle?

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

Examples of -cle with the sense "diminutive noun"

One example of an everyday term that uses the suffix -cle is particle, “a minute portion, piece, fragment, or amount; a tiny or very small bit.”

The part- part of the word means “portion” or “piece.” The suffix -cle means “small” and denotes a diminutive. Particle literally translates to “small part.”

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

• article
• conventicle
• corpuscle (using the equivalent form of -cle in Latin)
• muscle (using the equivalent form of -cle in Latin)
• vernicle

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

• -cele
• -coel
• -ule

Not every word that ends with the exact letters -cle, such as treacle or icicle, is necessarily using the suffix -cle to denote “diminutive” or “place where verb or action is performed.” Learn why treacle means “sentimental” at our entry for the word.

Break it down!

The combining form arti- means “joint.” With this in mind, what does article literally translate to?