minuscule
American Heritage Dictionary:
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min·us·cule
(mĭn'ə-skyūl', mĭ-nŭs'kyūl') 
also min·is·cule (mĭn'ĭ-skyūl')
adj.
also min·is·cule (mĭn'ĭ-skyūl')adj.
- Very small; tiny. See synonyms at small.
- Of, relating to, or written in minuscule.
- A small cursive script developed from uncial between the seventh and ninth centuries and used in medieval manuscripts.
- A letter written in minuscule.
- A lowercase letter.
[French, from Latin minusculus, rather small, diminutive of minus.]
minuscular mi·nus'cu·lar (mĭ-nŭs'kyə-lər) adj.Related Videos:
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minuscule
Fowler's Modern English Usage:
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miniscule
is fast establishing itself as an adjective in its own right with the meaning 'very small, minute', although as a corruption (influenced by the prefix mini-) of minuscule it is regarded as non-standard:
Riborg showed her a photograph album, with herself by a fjord in a miniscule bikini—J. Bow, 1991.There is a case to be made for allowing miniscule to have its way and leaving minuscule to its own more technical devices, but since this is not the accepted procedure at present the best advice is to avoid the word altogether in this meaning and use any of several available synonyms such as minute, tiny, microscopic, diminutive, etc.
| minimum, mineralogy, mine | |
| minister, minority, minus |
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia:
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minuscule
Lowercase letters in calligraphy, in contrast to majuscule, or uppercase letters. Unlike majuscules, minuscules are not fully contained between two real or hypothetical lines; their stems can go above or below the line. Developed by Alcuin in the 8th century, it allowed the division of writing into sentences and paragraphs by beginning sentences with capital letters and ending them with periods. The script was originally rounded, but gradually the strokes became heavier until it became what is now known as Gothic or black letter script.
For more information on minuscule, visit Britannica.com.
Roget's Thesaurus:
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minuscule
also miniscule
adjective
- Extremely small: diminutive, dwarf, Lilliputian, midget, miniature, minute2, pygmy, tiny, wee. Informal peewee, pintsize, pintsized, teensy-weensy, teensy, teeny, teeny-weeny, weeny. See big/small/amount.
Word Tutor:
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miniscule
IN BRIEF: adj. - Very small.
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Random House Word Menu:
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categories related to 'minuscule'
Translations:
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Minuscule
Dansk (Danish)
adj. - meget lille
n. - minuskel, lille bogstav
Nederlands (Dutch)
minuscuul, in kleine letter
Français (French)
adj. - minuscule
n. - minuscule
Deutsch (German)
adj. - winzig, kleingeschrieben
n. - Minuskel, Kleinbuchstabe
Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - μικροσκοπικός
Português (Portuguese)
adj. - minúsculo
Русский (Russian)
минускул, рукопись, написанная минускулами, написанный минускулами, очень маленький
Español (Spanish)
adj. - minúsculo
n. - minúsculo
Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - diminutiv
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
草写小字的, 小写字的, 草写小字, 小写字
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 草寫小字的, 小寫字的
n. - 草寫小字, 小寫字
한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 소문자의
n. - 소문자
日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - きわめて小さい, 小文字の
n. - 小文字, 小文字書体の写本
العربيه (Arabic)
(صفه) ضئيل, دقيق, صغير
עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - זעיר, זערער, חסר-חשיבות, קטנה (אות לטינית)
n. - אות קטנה (באלפבית הלטיני)
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American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 1994-2012 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
Roget's Thesaurus
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 byHoughton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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