Diminutive

“Festie” is a person who attends festivals regularly. This word comes from the word “festival”, and it is easy to understand this meaning by analogy with other words like homie, roomie, veggie, etc. The same thing can happen with people’s names as well. (e.g. Charles -> Charlie)

This derivation is called “diminutive” and denotes something little or expresses endearment. In most languages, there is a corresponding derivation. In Japanese, this is called 指小辞.

Other common diminutives include the words suffixed with -ling and -let. The words “darling” and “duckling” are derived from “dear” and “duck”, respectively. Words with -let include “applet” and “ringlet,” which come from app and ring. Just for the record, applet means “a small application program” and ringlet means “a small ring”.

The suffix -let in “bracelet” has a similar form, but rather than functioning as a diminutive, it functions with the parts of the body to describe an article of ornament. (e.g. necklet, wristlet, armlet, etc.)

Japanese diminutives include 小腹, 飴ちゃん, etc.