luettelette

Luettelette is a rarely used term that appears in obscure or speculative discussions of typography and linguistics. It does not have a standard definition in major dictionaries and is not part of established technical vocabulary. The word seems to be a French neologism formed from luette, a nonstandard or informal word for “letter,” plus the diminutive suffix -ette, yielding a sense of “little letter.” Because luette is not widely used in formal contexts, the precise meaning of luettelette remains unsettled and varies by author.

In some informal or experimental writings, luettelette may be invoked to denote a hypothetical tiny letter form that accompanies a base letter to convey extra phonetic information or to indicate a subordinate or secondary letter in a constructed orthography. In typography or font design discussions, it has been used to describe extremely small letterforms that might appear as ornamental or micrographic elements within a typeface or in decorative layouts. The term tends to be exploratory rather than normative and is not part of standard design practice.

Due to its lack of widespread adoption, luettelette should be understood as a provisional or contextual label rather than a fixed technical term. When encountered, its meaning is best inferred from the surrounding discussion. Related concepts include diacritics, ligatures, microtypography, and experimental orthographies.