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puny

 - 3 dictionary results

pu⋅ny

  [pyoo-nee]
Use puny in a Sentence
–adjective, -ni⋅er, -ni⋅est.
1. of less than normal size and strength; weak.
2. unimportant; insignificant; petty or minor: a puny excuse.
3. Obsolete. puisne.
Origin:
1540–50; sp. var. of puisne

Related forms:
pu⋅ni⋅ly, adverb
pu⋅ni⋅ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To puny
pu·ny   (pyōō'nē)   
adj.   pu·ni·er, pu·ni·est

  1. Of inferior size, strength, or significance; weak: a puny physique; puny excuses.

  2. Chiefly Southern U.S. Sickly; ill.


[Variant of puisne.]
pu'ni·ly adv., pu'ni·ness 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

puny 
1548, "inferior in rank," from M.Fr. puîné, from O.Fr. puisné "born later, younger" (12c., contrasted with aisné "first-born"), from puis "afterward" (from V.L. *postius, from L. postea, from post "after") + O.Fr. né "born," from L. natus, pp. of nasci "be born." Sense of "small, weak, insignificant" first recorded 1593.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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