minuscule

(mĭn'ə-skyūl', mĭ-nŭs'kyūl') also min·is·cule (mĭn'ĭ-skyūl')
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.]

minuscular mi·nus'cu·lar (mĭ-nŭs'kyə-lər) adj.

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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.

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For more information on minuscule, visit Britannica.com.

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.

IN BRIEF: adj. - Very small.

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For a list of words related to minuscule, see:

• Printing and Typefaces - minuscule: lowercase letter

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See words rhyming with "minuscular."

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

Italiano (Italian)
minuscolo

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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