repr. OE. -el, -ela, -ele (OTeut. *-ilo-, -ilon-, -ilôn-), has in mod.Eng. usually become -LE, q.v., though the older form is retained after v, th, ch, n, as in hovel, brothel, hatchel, kernel.
OE. -el is added to vbl. stems to form agent-nouns, instrumental sbs., and adjs., and to sbs. to form diminutives; -ela, -ele, are chiefly used to form diminutives from sbs. and object-nouns from vbl. stems. See further under -LE.
