petty

adj., -ti·er, -ti·est.

1. Of small importance; trivial: a petty grievance.
2. Marked by narrowness of mind, ideas, or views.
3. Marked by meanness or lack of generosity, especially in trifling matters.
4. Secondary in importance or rank; subordinate. See synonyms at trivial.
5. Law. Variant of petit.

[Middle English peti, from Old French, variant of petit. See petit.]

pettily pet'ti·ly adv.
pettiness pet'ti·ness n.

adjective

1. Contemptibly unimportant: inconsiderable, negligible, niggling, nugatory, paltry, picayune, piddling, small, small-minded, trifling. Slang measly. Idioms: of no account. See important/unimportant.
2. Not broad or elevated in scope or understanding: limited, little, narrow, narrow-minded, small, small-minded. See limited/unlimited, wide/narrow.
3. Ungenerously or pettily reluctant to spend money: cheap, close, close-fisted, costive, hard-fisted, mean², miserly, niggard, niggardly, parsimonious, penny-pinching, penurious, pinching, stingy, tight, tightfisted. See give/take/reciprocity.
4. Below another in standing or importance: inferior, junior, lesser, low, lower², minor, minor-league, secondary, small, subaltern, subordinate, under. Informal smalltime. See over/under.

adj

Definition: trivial, insignificant
Antonyms: consequential, important, major, necessary, prominent, serious, significant, useful

---

IN BRIEF: Of little importance; minor. Also: Having or showing a mean or spiteful character.

We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. — Aesop (620-560 BC)

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - ubetydelig, inferiør, små-

idioms:

• petty bourgeois    småborgerlig
• petty bourgeoisie    småborgerlighed
• petty cash    småbeløb, småpenge
• petty jury    jury, oftest på 12 medlemmer
• petty officer    underofficer

Nederlands (Dutch)
onbelangrijk, bekrompen, onbeduidend, klein

Français (French)
adj. - mesquin, insignifiant, tracassier, étroit (snobisme)

idioms:

• petty bourgeois    petit bourgeois
• petty bourgeoisie    petite bourgeoisie
• petty cash    petite caisse
• petty jury    jury d'accusation
• petty officer    (Naut) maître

Deutsch (German)
adj. - belanglos, geringfügig, kleinlich

idioms:

• petty bourgeois    Kleinbürger
• petty bourgeoisie    Kleinbürgertum
• petty cash    Portokasse
• petty jury    Geschworenengericht mit 12 Geschworenen
• petty officer    (Naut.) Obermaat

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - ασήμαντος, μικρός, ευτελής, τιποτένιος, υποδεέστερος (κν. παρακατιανός), μικρόνους, στενοκέφαλος, ταπεινός, μηδαμινός, μικροπρεπής, κακοήθης

idioms:

• petty bourgeois    μικροαστός
• petty bourgeoisie    μικροαστική τάξη
• petty cash    (οικον.) μικροέξοδα, πρόχειρο ταμείο
• petty jury    (νομ.) ένορκοι ορκωτού δικαστηρίου
• petty officer    (ναυτ.) υπαξιωματικός, υποκελευστής

Italiano (Italian)
minuto, meschino

idioms:

• petty bourgeois    piccolo borghese
• petty bourgeoisie    piccola borghesia
• petty cash    piccola cassa
• petty jury    giuria
• petty officer    sottufficiale

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - insignificante, trivial, inferior

idioms:

• petty bourgeois    pequeno burguês
• petty bourgeoisie    pequena burguesia
• petty cash    pequena quantia
• petty jury    júri ordinário
• petty officer    suboficial (Náut.)

Русский (Russian)
мелкий, незначительный

idioms:

• petty bourgeois    мелкий буржуа
• petty bourgeoisie    мелкая буржуазия
• petty cash    деньги на мелкие расходы
• petty jury    присяжные
• petty officer    старшина

Español (Spanish)
adj. - pequeño, insignificante, de poca importancia, de miras estrechas, mezquino

idioms:

• petty bourgeois    pequeño burgués
• petty bourgeoisie    pequeña burguesía
• petty cash    dinero o fondo para gastos menores
• petty jury    jurado de juicio, jurado
• petty officer    contramaestre, suboficial de marina

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - obetydlig, futtig, lägre, underofficer

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
琐碎的, 小气的, 小规模的

idioms:

• petty bourgeois    小资产阶级分子
• petty bourgeoisie    小资产阶级
• petty cash    小额收支现金, 零用钱
• petty jury    小陪审团
• petty officer    士官, 公务员

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 瑣碎的, 小氣的, 小規模的

idioms:

• petty bourgeois    小資產階級分子
• petty bourgeoisie    小資產階級
• petty cash    小額收支現金, 零用錢
• petty jury    小陪審團
• petty officer    士官, 公務員

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 작은, 좀스러운, 열등한

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 小さい, 劣った, 取るに足りない, 狭量な, 些細な

idioms:

• petty bourgeois    プチブルジョアの
• petty bourgeoisie    プチブルジョア階級
• petty cash    小口現金
• petty jury    小陪審
• petty officer    下士官

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) صغير, زهيد, حقر, تافه, ضيق الأفق‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮פחות-ערך, קטנוני, פעוט, זעיר, זוטר, קטן-מוח, קטן‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.

jim petty	richard petty
tom petty