LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
suffixfirst/second-declension suffix

-ulus

-ulus (feminine -ula, neuter -ulum)
Classical[ʊ.ɫʊs]Ecclesiastical[u.lus]

Meaning

  1. morphemesuffixUsed to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating small size or youth.
  2. morphemesuffixUsed to form a diminutive of an adjective with diminished effect, indicating “somewhat” or “-ish”.
  3. morphemesuffixUsed to form an agent noun or adjective from a verb.

Origins

From Proto-Italic *-elos (whence Faliscan -𐌄𐌋𐌏𐌔 (-elos)), from Proto-Indo-European *-elós, thematized from Proto-Indo-European *-lós. Cognate with Proto-Germanic *-ilaz and *-ulaz, whence scarcely productive English -le (as in dimple and nozzle), Dutch -el, German -el.

Descendants
  • English-ule
  • English-le
  • Italian-olo
  • Italian-ola
  • Spanish-uelo
  • Spanish-uela
  • Galician-ófrom Old Galician-Portuguese -oo
  • Galician-oafrom Old Galician-Portuguese -oo
  • Greek-ούλα
  • Sicilian-ulu

Quick answers

What does -ulus mean in Latin?
-ulus, a suffix, means “Used to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating small size or youth.; Used to form a diminutive of an adjective with diminished effect, indicating “somewhat” or “-ish”.; Used to form an agent noun or adjective from a ver”.
How do you pronounce -ulus?
In classical Latin, [ʊ.ɫʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [u.lus].