minorative

The story

1. Middle French · derived fromminoratif
2. English todayminorative

From the late-Middle French minoratif, minorative (“that diminishes or lessens”, of a medicine “mildly laxative”; as a noun “a mild laxative”), from minorer (“to diminish the importance [of]”). Equivalent to minorate (“diminish”, “lessen”) + -ive. Compare the post-Classical (i.e. 9th C.) Latin minōrātīvus.