-ín

See also: Appendix:Variations of "in"

Asturian

Suffix

-ín

1. A suffix to form the diminutives of nouns.

Galician

Etymology 1

Suffix

-ín

1. forms the first-person singular indicative preterite of -er and -ir verbs

See also

• -é

Etymology 2

Suffix

-ín (adjective-forming suffix, feminine -iña, masculine plural -íns, feminine plural -iñas)

1. (northeastern Galician) Alternative form of -iño (diminutive suffix)

Irish

Etymology 1

The suffix -ín replaced the Old Irish suffixes -án, -én, and others probably under the influence of forms like Áugustín from Latin Augustīnus.

Suffix

-ín m

1. Suffix used to form diminutive nouns, sometimes with semantic shift from the original noun.

   ‎capall (“horse”) + ‎-ín → ‎capaillín (“pony”)

   ‎lacha (“duck”) + ‎-ín → ‎lachín (“duckling”)

   ‎pota (“pot”) + ‎-ín → ‎poitín (“poteen”)

   ‎teach (“house”) + ‎-ín → ‎teachín (“cottage”)

Etymology 2

From English -ine, from Old French -ine, from Latin -īnus, from Ancient Greek -ινος (-inos).

Suffix

-ín m

1. (chemistry) -ine

   aimín (“amine”)

   anailín (“aniline”)

   iaidín (“iodine”)

Usage notes

All nouns ending in a broad consonant change to a slender consonant before taking -ín, except words with stems ending in -ach

Declension

Declension of -ín (fourth declension)

bare forms case singular plural nominative -ín -íní vocative a -ín a -íní genitive -ín -íní dative -ín -íní forms with the definite article case singular plural nominative an -ín na -íní genitive an -ín na -íní dative leis an -ín don -ín leis na -íní

Derived terms

Irish terms suffixed with -ín

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “-ín”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN

Spanish

Suffix

-ín (adjective-forming suffix, feminine -ina, masculine plural -ines, feminine plural -inas)
-ín m (noun-forming suffix, plural -ines)

1. (Northern Spain, especially Asturias) forms the diminutives of nouns, often one already with a diminutive suffix

   ‎chiquito (“little boy”) + ‎-ín → ‎chiquitín (“very young boy”)

   ‎poquito (“little bit”) + ‎-ín → ‎poquitín (“tiny bit”)

Usage notes

• This suffix is most commonly used in Spain, particularly in Asturias. It can be used for nouns (cafetín) or adjectives (pequeñín).

Derived terms

Spanish terms suffixed with -ín

Further reading

• “-ín”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10