-lin m

-lin is an Old High German diminutive suffix used to create diminutive forms of names.

It derives from a combination of an L-suffix and the Germanic diminutive -īn (see also -chen). Later on, the l + īn was added to words not ending with an l, building a new diminutive suffix -līn, which in modern High German is -lein.

This German diminutive suffix is typical for southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland, but rarely used in northern Germany.

South German dialectal variants include -el (variant forms -il, -ilo), -l, -la, -le and -li