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minuscule

 - 3 dictionary results

mi⋅nus⋅cule

  [min-uh-skyool, mi-nuhs-kyool]
Use minuscule in a Sentence
–adjective
1. very small.
2. (of letters or writing) small; not capital.
3. written in such letters (opposed to majuscule ).
–noun
4. a minuscule letter.
5. a small cursive script developed in the 7th century a.d. from the uncial, which it afterward superseded.
Origin:
1695–1705; < L minusculus smallish. See minus, -cule 1

Related forms:
mi⋅nus⋅cu⋅lar, adjective

Usage note:
Minuscule, from Latin minus meaning “less,” has frequently come to be spelled miniscule, perhaps under the influence of the prefix mini- in the sense “of a small size.” Although this newer spelling is criticized by many, it occurs with such frequency in edited writing that some consider it a variant spelling rather than a misspelling.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To minuscule
min·us·cule   (mĭn'ə-skyōōl', mĭ-nŭs'kyōōl')   
adj.  

  1. Very small; tiny. See Synonyms at small.

  2. Of, relating to, or written in minuscule.

n.  

  1. A small cursive script developed from uncial between the seventh and ninth centuries and used in medieval manuscripts.

  2. A letter written in minuscule.

  3. A lowercase letter.


[French, from Latin minusculus, rather small, diminutive of minus, neuter of minor, smaller; see mei-2 in Indo-European roots.]
mi·nus'cu·lar (mĭ-nŭs'kyə-lər) adj.
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

minuscule 
c.1730, "small (not capital) letter," from Fr. minuscule, from L. minuscula, in minuscula littera "slightly smaller letter," fem. of minusculus "rather less," dim. of minus "less" (see minus). Extended meaning of "extremely small" is first attested 1893.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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