Diminutive means small. A diminutive person is short and small. A diminutive word is a "cute" version of a regular word, "Maggie" is the diminutive of "Margaret."
A diminutive name or word is formed from another by the addition of a suffix expressing smallness in size: a booklet is a small book, a dinette is a small version of a dining set. The adjective diminutive descends from Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin dīminūtīvus, from Latin dēminuere "to lessen."
