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Augmentative

An augmentative is a suffix or prefix added to a word in order to convey the sense of a larger size. It is the opposite of a diminutive.

Augmentatives are generally more common in non-English languages.

In Spanish, -o becomes -ón and -a becomes -ona most frequently, but -ote/-ota and -azo/-aza are also commonly seen. Others include -udo/-uda, -aco/-aca, -acho/-acha, -uco/-uca, -ucho/-ucha, -astro/-astra and -ejo/-eja.

In Portuguese, -o becomes -ão, and -a becomes -ona. An -e becomes either -ão or -ona depending on whether it (if it is a noun) or what it is describing (if it is an adjective) is considered masculine or feminine, respectively.

01-04-2007 01:18:14
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