-kin

suffix

Etymology: From Middle English -kin, -ken (also as -ke, -k), perhaps from Old English -ca, but more likely from Middle Dutch -ken (compare cognate Middle English -chen, -chin, from Old English -ċen), apparently representing Proto-West Germanic *-ikīn, *-ukīn, a double diminutive, from *-ik, *-uk (> Old English -oc) + *-īn (compare Old English -en). Cognate with Dutch -ken, Low German -ken, German -chen, Old English -ċen. More at -ock, -en.

1. Forming diminutives of nouns.