--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Patrick Ryan" <proto-language@...>
wrote:
> You are relying on a, what many of us would consider, highly dubious
authority.
>
> In my opinion, -k is always a diminutive.
>
> I have never seen an example of -k in any language that I could
analyze as a singulative.
I wonder if there may be an automatic potential semantic overlap. A
recent example in English would be slang _quidlet_ 'pound (money)'
from slang _quid_ 'pound', which has uninflected plural. I don't
recall 'quidlet' being used for large sums, though that may have
changed since my youth.
Richard.