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miniature

 - 3 dictionary results
Miniature
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min⋅i⋅a⋅ture

  [min-ee-uh-cher, -choor, min-uh-cher]
Use miniature in a Sentence
–noun
1. a representation or image of something on a small or reduced scale.
2. a greatly reduced or abridged form or copy.
3. a very small painting, esp. a portrait, on ivory, vellum, or the like.
4. the art of executing such a painting.
5. an illumination in an illuminated manuscript or book.
–adjective
6. being, on, or represented on a small scale; reduced.
—Idiom
7. in miniature, in a reduced size; on a small scale: The zoo exhibition offered a jungle in miniature.
Origin:
1580–90; < It miniatura miniature painting < ML miniātūra, equiv. to miniāt(us) (see miniate ) + -ūra -ure; sense development perh. influenced by L base min- (see mini-, minor )

Synonyms:
6. minute, microscopic, diminutive, tiny, minuscule.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Miniature
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min·i·a·ture   (mĭn'ē-ə-chŏŏr', -chər, mĭn'ə-)   
n.  

    1. A copy or model that represents or reproduces something in a greatly reduced size.

    2. Something small of its class.

    3. A small painting executed with great detail, often on a surface such as ivory or vellum.

    4. A small portrait, picture, or decorative letter on an illuminated manuscript.

    5. The art of painting miniatures.

    1. A small painting executed with great detail, often on a surface such as ivory or vellum.

    2. A small portrait, picture, or decorative letter on an illuminated manuscript.

    3. The art of painting miniatures.

adj.  Being on a small or greatly reduced scale. See Synonyms at small.

[Italian miniatura, illumination of manuscripts, small painting, from miniare, to illuminate, from Latin miniāre, to color red, from minium, red lead.]
min'i·a·tur'ist 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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Word Origin & History

miniature 
1586 (n.) "a reduced image," from It. miniatura "manuscript illumination or small picture," from pp. of miniare "to illuminate a manuscript," from L. miniare "to paint red," from minium "red lead," used in ancient times to make red ink. Extended sense of "small" (adj.) is first attested 1714, because pictures in medieval manuscripts were small, infl. by L. min-, root expressing smallness (minor, minimus, minutus, etc.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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