-cle

a suffix found in French loanwords of Latin origin, originally diminutive nouns, and later in adaptations of words borrowed directly from Latin or in New Latin coinages: conventicle; particle.
article;
conventicle;
corpuscle;
particle.

-cle

a suffix found in French loanwords of Latin origin, later in adaptations of words borrowed directly from Latin; in Latin, this suffix formed from verbs nouns that denoted a place appropriate to the action of the verb ( cubicle, receptacle ) or a means by which the action is performed ( vehicle ).

-cle

suffix forming nouns

indicating smallness
cubicle
particle

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Word History and Origins

Origin of -cle¹

From French, Old French, from Latin -culus, -cula, -culum, variant of -ulus -ule with nouns of the 3rd, 4th and 5th declensions, usually with the same gender as the base noun

Origin of -cle²

< French, Old French < Latin -culum, -cula < *-tlom, *-tlā

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Word History and Origins

Origin of -cle¹

via Old French from Latin -culus. See -cule

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Example Sentences

Communities at highest risk for shut-offs include Greenwater, Pierce County; Skykomish; Concrete, Skagit County; rural areas east of Snoqualmie Pass like Cle Elum and Kittitas; and parts of west Thurston County and Vashon Island, which have pockets of dense vegetation.

From Seattle Times

PSE plans to bury some lines near Cle Elum, according to its wildfire plans.

From Seattle Times

A similar project is planned for the I-90 bridge at Cle Elum.

From Seattle Times

The seamless overlap between real life and fictional counterparts, and the faithful reproduction of such well-established facts, conveys the author’s intention to offer a crystal clear clé to this roman à clef.

From New York Times

Around 7:30 p.m., the Washington State Department of Transportation closed both directions of the interstate between North Bend and Cle Elum.

From Seattle Times

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