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Search results for 'minuscule':

minuscule adj 1 extremely small. 2 said of letters or script: lower-case, not upper-case or capital. noun 1 printing a lower-case letter. 2 a variety of small, cursive script originated by monks in the 7c. Compare majuscule. minuscular adj.
ETYMOLOGY: 18c in sense 2: from Latin littera minuscula small letter.

minuscule, miniscule

Minuscule is originally a technical word that has developed a more general meaning. The grammar has also changed, because the word was originally a noun and is now familiar as an adjective, meaning 'very small'. This makes it awkward in use:•

• She struggled with a minuscule portion of chicken.

• His wide chest tapers to a minuscule waist and spindly useless legs.

For this reason, and because the word is not often marked by a distinct pronunciation, it is sometimes written as miniscule, under the influence of the productive prefix mini-:•

?• She showed him a photograph album, with herself by a fjord in a miniscule bikini.

However, this spelling is not yet widely accepted.

RECOMMENDATION: use minuscule in more formal writing and print; be cautious about using miniscule, although this form is likely to win in the end.

minuscule adj 1 extremely small. 2 said of letters or script: lower-case, not upper-case or capital. noun 1 printing a lower-case letter. 2 a variety of small, cursive script originated by monks in the 7c. Compare majuscule. minuscular adj.
ETYMOLOGY: 18c in sense 2: from Latin littera minuscula small letter.

minuscule, miniscule

Minuscule is originally a technical word that has developed a more general meaning. The grammar has also changed, because the word was originally a noun and is now familiar as an adjective, meaning 'very small'. This makes it awkward in use:•

• She struggled with a minuscule portion of chicken.

• His wide chest tapers to a minuscule waist and spindly useless legs.

For this reason, and because the word is not often marked by a distinct pronunciation, it is sometimes written as miniscule, under the influence of the productive prefix mini-:•

?• She showed him a photograph album, with herself by a fjord in a miniscule bikini.

However, this spelling is not yet widely accepted.

RECOMMENDATION: use minuscule in more formal writing and print; be cautious about using miniscule, although this form is likely to win in the end.

minuscule adj 1 extremely small. 2 said of letters or script: lower-case, not upper-case or capital. noun 1 printing a lower-case letter. 2 a variety of small, cursive script originated by monks in the 7c. Compare majuscule. minuscular adj.
ETYMOLOGY: 18c in sense 2: from Latin littera minuscula small letter.

minuscule, miniscule

Minuscule is originally a technical word that has developed a more general meaning. The grammar has also changed, because the word was originally a noun and is now familiar as an adjective, meaning 'very small'. This makes it awkward in use:•

• She struggled with a minuscule portion of chicken.

• His wide chest tapers to a minuscule waist and spindly useless legs.

For this reason, and because the word is not often marked by a distinct pronunciation, it is sometimes written as miniscule, under the influence of the productive prefix mini-:•

?• She showed him a photograph album, with herself by a fjord in a miniscule bikini.

However, this spelling is not yet widely accepted.

RECOMMENDATION: use minuscule in more formal writing and print; be cautious about using miniscule, although this form is likely to win in the end.