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Mincing
is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
verb (used with object)
1.
to cut or chop into very small pieces.
2.
to soften, moderate, or weaken (one's words), especially for the sake of decorum or courtesy.
3.
to perform or utter with affected elegance.
4.
to subdivide minutely, as land or a topic for study.
verb (used without object)
5.
to walk or move with short, affectedly dainty steps.
6.
Archaic. to act or speak with affected elegance.
noun
Idiom7.
something cut up very small; mincemeat.
8.
not mince words/matters, to speak directly and frankly; be blunt or outspoken: He was angry and didn't mince words.
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English mincen < Middle French minc(i)er < Vulgar Latin *minūtiāre to mince; see minute2
1350–1400; Middle English mincen < Middle French minc(i)er < Vulgar Latin *minūtiāre to mince; see minute2
Related forms
minc·er, noun
un·minced, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To Mincing
Collins
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
mince
late 14c., from O.Fr. mincier "make into small pieces," from V.L. *minutiare "make small," from L.L. minutiæ "small bits," from L. minutus "small" (see minute). Related: Minced. Mince-pie is attested from c.1600; as rhyming slang for "eye" it is attested from 1857.
EXPANDmincing
"affectedly dainty," 1520s, probably originally in reference to speech, when words were "clipped" to affect elegance, or to walking with short steps; prp. adj. from from mince
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Easton
Bible Dictionary
Mincing definition
(Heb. taphoph, Isa. 3:16), taking affectedly short and quick steps. Luther renders the word by "wag" or "waggle," thus representing "the affected gait of coquettish females."
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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