-le

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-le

suffix forming verbs

denoting repeated or continuous action, often of a diminutive nature: twiddle; wriggle; wrestle.

[from Middle English -len, Old English -lian, with similar significance]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

-le

1. a suffix of verbs having a frequentative force: dazzle; twinkle.

2. a suffix of adjectives formed orig. on verbal stems and having the sense of “apt to”: brittle.

3. a noun suffix having orig. a diminutive meaning: bramble.

4. a noun suffix indicating agent or instrument: beadle; bridle; thimble.

[Middle English -len, Old English -lian (v.); Middle English -el, Old English -ol (adj.); Middle English -el, Old English -il (diminutive); Middle English -el, Old English -ol, -ul (agent)]