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diminish - 5 dictionary results
di⋅min⋅ish
[di-min-ish] 
ɪʃ
–verb (used with object)
| 1. | to make or cause to seem smaller, less, less important, etc.; lessen; reduce. |
| 2. | Architecture. to give (a column) a form tapering inward from bottom to top. |
| 3. | Music. to make (an interval) smaller by a chromatic half step than the corresponding perfect or minor interval. |
| 4. | to detract from the authority, honor, stature, or reputation of; disparage. |
–verb (used without object)
| 5. | to lessen; decrease. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To diminish
| di·min·ish (dĭ-mĭn'ĭsh) v. di·min·ished, di·min·ish·ing, di·min·ish·es v. tr.
[Middle English diminishen, blend of diminuen, to lessen (from Old French diminuer, from Latin dīminuere, variant of dēminuere : dē-, de- + minuere, to lessen) and minishen, to reduce (from Old French minuiser, from Vulgar Latin *minūtiāre, from Latin minūtia, smallness, from minūtus, small, from past participle of minuere); see mei-2 in Indo-European roots.] di·min'ish·a·ble adj., di·min'ish·ment n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Diminish
Di*min"ish\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Diminished; p. pr. & vb. n. Diminishing.] [Pref. di- (= L. dis-) + minish: cf. L. diminuere, F. diminuer, OE. diminuen. See Dis-, and Minish.]1. To make smaller in any manner; to reduce in bulk or amount; to lessen; -- opposed to augment or increase. Not diminish, but rather increase, the debt. --Barrow. 2. To lessen the authority or dignity of; to put down; to degrade; to abase; to weaken. This doth nothing diminish their opinion. --Robynson (More's Utopia). I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations. --Ezek. xxix. 15. O thou . . . at whose sight all the stars Hide their diminished heads. --Milton. 3. (Mus.) To make smaller by a half step; to make (an interval) less than minor; as, a diminished seventh. 4. To take away; to subtract. Neither shall ye diminish aught from it. --Deut. iv. 2. Diminished column, one whose upper diameter is less than the lower. Diminished, or Diminishing, scale, a scale of gradation used in finding the different points for drawing the spiral curve of the volute. --Gwilt. Diminishing rule (Arch.), a board cut with a concave edge, for fixing the entasis and curvature of a shaft. Diminishing stile (Arch.), a stile which is narrower in one part than in another, as in many glazed doors. Syn: To decrease; lessen; abate; reduce; contract; curtail; impair; degrade. See Decrease.Diminish
Di*min"ish\, v. i. To become or appear less or smaller; to lessen; as, the apparent size of an object diminishes as we recede from it.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : diminish
Spanish:
disminuir,
German:
vermindern,
Japanese:
減少させる
diminish
1417, from merger of two obsolete verbs, diminue and minish. Diminue is from O.Fr. diminuer "make small," from L. diminuere "break into small pieces," variant of deminuere "lessen, diminish," from de- "completely" + minuere "make small." Minish is from O.Fr. menuisier, from L. minuere.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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