bantam
Use Bantam in a sentence
təm noun
1.
(often initial capital letter) a chicken of any of several varieties or breeds characterized by very small size.
2.
a small and feisty or quarrelsome person.
adjective
3.
diminutive; tiny: bantam editions of the classics.
00:10
Bantam
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
Origin:
1740–50; apparently after Bantam, through which such chickens may have been imported to Europe
1740–50; apparently after Bantam, through which such chickens may have been imported to Europe
Synonyms
3. miniature, small, petite, wee, pygmy, Lilliputian.
3. miniature, small, petite, wee, pygmy, Lilliputian.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To bantam
Collins
World English Dictionary
bantam (ˈbæntəm) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | any of various very small breeds of domestic fowl |
| 2. | a small but aggressive person |
| 3. | boxing short for bantamweight |
| 4. | (Canadian) |
| a. an age level of between 13 and 15 in amateur sport, esp ice hockey | |
| b. (as modifier): bantam hockey | |
| [C18: after Bantam village in Java, said to be the original home of this fowl] | |
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
bantam
1749, after Bantam, former Dutch residency in Java, from which the small domestic fowl were said to have been first imported. Extension to "small person" is 1837. As a light weight class in boxing, it is attested from 1884, probably from the birds, which are small but aggressive and bred for fighting.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
We have this three-penny dictator, this bantam rooster of no consequence.
He is bantam weight, with light-blue-gray eyes and honey-colored skin.
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