 It is the diminutive sense that has been furthest extended.An extension common to diminutives in many languages is "approximation" and "resemblance" (having a 'little bit' of some characteristic, like "-y" or "-ish" in English).For example, there is "kijani" "green", from "jani" "leaf" (compare English 'leafy'), "kichaka" "bush" from "chaka" "clump", and "kivuli" "shadow" from "uvuli" "shade".