minuscule
Use Minuscule in a sentence
əˌskyul, mɪˈnʌs 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a small cursive script developed in the 7th century a.d. from the uncial, which it afterward superseded.
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Minuscule
is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
Related forms
mi·nus·cu·lar, adjective
Can be confused: minimal, minimize, minimum, minuscule, minutia (see usage note at the current entry).
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.
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. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To minuscule
Collins
World English Dictionary
minuscule (ˈmɪnəˌskjuːl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a lower-case letter |
| 2. | writing using such letters |
| 3. | a small cursive 7th-century style of lettering derived from the uncial |
| —adj | |
| 4. | Compare majuscule relating to, printed in, or written in small letters |
| 5. | very small |
| 6. | (of letters) lower-case |
| [C18: from French, from Latin (littera) minuscula very small (letter), diminutive of | |
| minuscular | |
| —adj | |
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
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, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Six minuscule species in many thousand is a small price to pay.
She would rather eat a minuscule amount of something really good, she said, than heap her plate with less tasty foods.
In one poem he more than suggests that he has found more mind in a minuscule midge than in some of his contemporaries.
The minuscule keyboard proved difficult to use, requiring considerable dexterity to thumb-type on it with any speed.
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