-ikin

A form of -kin — Used to form adjectives expressing resemblance or likeness to, similar to -like.

OriginMiddle English -ekyn ← Proto-West Germanic *-ikīn →
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Meanings

suffix
  1. alternativeAlternative form of -kin (diminutive suffix).

Origin

  1. Proto-West Germanic*-ikīn
  2. Middle English-ekyn
  3. English-ikin

From Middle English -ekyn. Representing Proto-West Germanic *-ikīn, *-ukīn, a double diminutive, from *-ik, *-uk (> Old English -oc) + *-īn (compare Old English -en). Possibly influenced by Dutch, Middle Dutch, and Old Dutch diminutives ending in -eken and -ekijn and their English borrowings, such as Old Dutch spelleken (English spilikin), Middle Dutch cannekijn /kanneken (English canakin /canikin /cannikin), mannekijn (Dutch manneken, English manikin /mannikin), minnekijn (English minikin), and Dutch godeken (English goddikin /godkin), or other English formations with -kin ending in -ikin, such as bodikin, boikin, sillikin, and the possibly so formed larrikin.

More words from Middle English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

-ikin. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-ikin

MLA

“-ikin.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-ikin. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “-ikin,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-ikin.

Source: -ikin on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.