-ette
suffix
forming nouns [构成名词]
1
- denoting relatively small size表示“较小”:
kitchenette.
2
- denoting an imitation or substitute表示“仿造”或“替代”:
flannelette.
3
- denoting female gender表示“女性”或“雌性”:
suffragette.
USAGE
The use of -ette as a feminine suffix for forming new words is relatively recent: it was first recorded in the word suffragette at the beginning of the 20th century and has since been used to form only a handful of well-established words, including usherette and drum majorette, for example. In the modern context, where the tendency is to use words which are neutral in gender, the suffix -ette is not very productive and new words formed using it tend to be restricted to the deliberately flippant or humorous, as, for example, bimbette and punkette.
词源
from Old French -ette, feminine of -ET1 .