Morpheme
-eau
Type
suffix
Denotation
French diminutive, collective, and abstract noun suffix
Etymology
French -eau; Old French -el; Latin -ellus, from rebracketing of diminutives (e.g. libellus from liber + -lus, fēmella from fēmina + -la) and diminutives of diminutives (porcellus from porculus + -lus), variant of -ulus
Evidence
bateau, bureau, chalumeau, chapeau, chateau, flambeau, plateau, tableau, -eaux
