a. OF. -el (mod.F. usu. -eau), -elle, repr. L. -ello-, -ella-. This suffix is in classical Latin used to form diminutives from sbs. or adjs. in -er and -ra, as libellus, libella, from liber book, libra balance; it is also substituted for -ulo-, -ula-, to form diminutives of nouns of that termination, where the latter had lost its original diminutive force, as in porcellus little pig, dim. of porculus, f. porc-us pig. In Romanic it was much more widely used in the formation of diminutives. Examples in Eng. (with the spelling -el) are (from the masc. -el), tunnel, bowel, carnel; (from the fem. -elle) chapel, novel, pimpernel, etc.
2. It should be noted that the ending -el in Eng. words adapted from Fr. frequently represents other L. suffixes than -ello-, -ella-; e.g., in jewel, vowel, it stands for Fr. -el:L. -āli- (see -AL); in apparel for Fr. -eil:L. -iculo- (see -CLE); in kennel for Fr. -il:L. -īle, as in ovīle sheepfold.