2. _According to their meaning._--In the word _hillock_ there is the simple expression of comparative smallness in size. In the word _doggie_ for _dog_, _lassie_ for _lass_, the addition of the _-ie_ makes the word not so much a diminutive as a term of tenderness or endearment. The idea of smallness, accompanied, perhaps, with that of neatness, generally carries with it the idea of approbation. The word _clean_ in English, means, in German, _little_=_kleine_. The feeling of protection which is extended to small objects engenders the notion of endearment. In Middle High German we have _vaterl[`i]n_=_little father_, _muetterl[`i]n_=_little mother_. In Middle High German there is the diminutive _sunnel[`i]n_; and the French _soleil_ is from the Latin form _solillus_. In Slavonic the word _slunze_=_sun_ is a diminutive form. The Greek word [Greek: meiosis] (_mei[^o]sis_) means diminution; the Greek word [Greek: hupokorisma] means an endearing expression. Hence we get names for the two kinds of diminutives; _viz._, the term _meiotic_ for the true diminutives, and the term _hypocoristic_ for the diminutives of endearment.--Grimm, Deutsche Grammatik, iii. 664. {284} 3. _According to their historical origin._--The syllable _-ock_, as in _hillock_, is of Anglo-Saxon and Gothic origin. The _-et_, as in _lancet_, is of French and classical origin. 4. _According as they affect proper names or common names._--_Hawkin_, _Perkin_, _Wilkin_, &c. In these words we have the diminutives of _Hal_, _Peter_, _Will_, &c. s. 338. The diminutive forms of Gothic origin are the first to be considered. 1. _Those formed by a change of vowel._--_Tip_, from _top_. The relation of the feminine to the masculine is allied to the ideas conveyed by many diminutives. Hence in the word _kit_, from _cat_, it is doubtful whether there be meant a female cat or a little cat. _Kid_ is a diminutive form of _goat_. 2. _Those formed by the addition of a letter or letters._--Of the diminutive characteristics thus formed the commonest, beginning from the simpler forms, are _Ie._--Almost peculiar to the Lowland Scotch; as _daddie_, _lassie_, _minnie_, _wifie_, _mousie_, _doggie_, _boatie_, &c.--Deutsche Grammatik, iii. 686. _Ock._--_Bullock_, _hillock_. _Kin._--_Lambkin_, _mannikin_, _ladikin_, &c. As is seen above, common in proper names. _En._--_Chicken_, _kitten_, from _cock_, _cat_. The notion of diminution, if indeed that be the notion originally conveyed, lies not in the _-en_, but in the vowel. In the word _chicken_, from _cock_, observe the effect of the small vowel on the c. The consideration of words like _duckling_ and _gosling_ is purposely deferred. The chief diminutive of classical origin is-- _Et_, as in _trumpet_, _lancet_, _pocket_; the word _pock_, as in _meal-pock_=_a meal-bag_, being found in the Scottish. From the French _-ette_, as in _caissette_, _poulette_.