-ette

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

-ette, suffix. 

-ette is attached to nouns to form nouns that refer to a smaller version of the original noun or root:
kitchen + -ette → kitchenette (= small kitchen);
novel + -ette → novelette (= smaller novel).
-ette is also attached to nouns to form nouns that refer specifically to a female: major + -ette → majorette (= female leader of a band, or baton twirler);
usher + -ette → usherette (= female usher in a movie theater). -ette is attached to nouns to form nouns that refer to a name that is an imitation product of the root:
leather + -ette → leatherette (= imitation leather product)
. Usage
English nouns in which -ette signifies a feminine role or identity have been thought of as implying inferiority or unimportance and are now generally avoided. Only (drum) majorette is still widely used, usually indicating a young woman who twirls a baton with a marching band.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

-ette, 

1. Pronouns a noun suffix occurring originally in loanwords from French, where it has been used in a variety of diminutive and hypocoristic formations (brunette;
   cigarette;
   coquette;
   etiquette;
   rosette);
   as an English suffix, -ette forms diminutives (kitchenette;
   novelette;
   sermonette), distinctively feminine nouns (majorette;
   usherette), and names of imitation products (leatherette). Cf. -et.

• French, feminine of -et -et

Usage

English nouns in which the suffix -ette designates a feminine role or identity have been perceived by many people as implying inferiority or insignificance:
bachelorette; drum majorette; farmerette; suffragette; usherette.
Of these terms, only drum majorette--or sometimes just majorette--is still widely used, usually applied to one of a group of young women who perform baton twirling with a marching band. A woman or man who actually leads a band is a drum major. Baton twirler is often used instead of (drum) majorette. Farmer, suffragist, and usher are applied to both men and women, thus avoiding any trivializing effect of the -ette ending. See also -enne, -ess, -trix. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

-ette suffix:forming_nouns

1. small: cigarette, kitchenette
2. female: majorette, suffragette
3. (esp in trade names) imitation: Leatherette

Etymology: from French, feminine of -et