-ecito

• -ecita (after a feminine noun)

Form of -cito, rebracketed from words ending in -e.

-ecito m (noun-forming suffix, plural -ecitos)

1. Alternative form of -cito; added to masculine nouns to form diminutives

   ‎barrio (“neighborhood”) + ‎-ecito → ‎barriecito (“small neighborhood”)

   ‎cambio (“change”) + ‎-ecito → ‎cambiecito (“small change, tweak”)

   ‎pez (“fish”) + ‎-ecito → ‎pececito (“small fish”)

   ‎pueblo (“village”) + ‎-ecito → ‎pueblecito (“little village”)

   ‎tren (“train”) + ‎-ecito → ‎trenecito (“small train”)

   ‎viejo (“old”) + ‎-ecito → ‎viejecito (“little old man”)

• If the noun has a final vowel (usually -o), it is dropped before adding -ecito.
• In most cases, -ecito is used simply to indicate a small or endeared thing, without changing the basic meaning of the noun. Contrast -ecillo, which often changes the underlying meaning.

• -illo, -cillo, -ecillo, -cecillo

• “-ecito”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2023 November 28