marionette

‘a jointed puppet manipulated from above by strings or wires attached to its limbs, a puppet with jointed limbs, usually operated by strings’

Lexical development traced from the Tamil root:

    E. marionettmarrioneté < F. Marionette ( < O.F. mariole ‘figurine, idol, picture of the Virgin Mary’ < Marie < mary) + -ette < O.F. -et < Vulgar Lat. -ittum / -itta < et < -et < Tamil iṭṭu

 

  English words derived from iṭṭu connoting 'small'