Affixes

Some examples are formed from words that were originally Latin diminutives; others have been created in French or as modern Latin coinages: areole (via French from Latin areola, diminutive of area), a small circular area, especially one bearing spines or hairs on a cactus; centriole (modern Latin centriolum, diminutive of centrum, centre), each of a pair of minute cylindrical organelles near the nucleus in animal cells; vacuole (French, diminutive of Latin vacuus, empty), a space or vesicle within the cytoplasm of a cell; fumarole (Latin fumariolum, a vent, a diminutive based on Latin fumus, smoke), an opening in or near a volcano, through which hot sulphurous gases emerge; casserole (French, diminutive of casse, spoon-like container), a kind of slowly-cooked stew or the dish it is cooked in.

See also ‑ula and ‑ule.