minuscule

American  

[min-uh-skyool, mi-nuhs-kyool] / ˈmɪn əˌskjul, mɪˈnʌs kjul /

adjective

1. very small.

2. (of letters or writing) small; not capital.

3. written in such letters (opposed to majuscule).

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noun

• minuscules
  plural

1. a minuscule letter.

2. a small cursive script developed in the 7th century a.d. from the uncial, which it afterward superseded.

minuscule British  

/ ˈmɪnəˌskjuːl /

noun

1. a lower-case letter

2. writing using such letters

3. a small cursive 7th-century style of lettering derived from the uncial

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adjective

1. relating to, printed in, or written in small letters Compare majuscule

2. very small

3. (of letters) lower-case

Spelling

Minuscule, from Latin minus meaning “less,” has frequently come to be spelled miniscule, perhaps under the influence of the prefix mini- in the sense “of a small size.” Although this newer spelling is criticized by many, it occurs with such frequency in edited writing that some consider it a variant spelling rather than a misspelling.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• minuscular
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• minuscules
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of minuscule

First recorded in 1695–1705; from Latin minusculus “smallish, pretty small, minor”; see minus, -cule ¹

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Explanation

When something is teeny tiny, it is minuscule. If your mother calls your miniskirt minuscule, it probably means she wants you to change into something a bit less revealing. In minuscule, you see the word, minus, which means lesser. The word minuscule has its roots in the Latin expression minuscula littera, a phrase used to describe the smaller letters in text. In the late 1800s, the use of the word expanded to mean very small in general — so the definition of minuscule became less minuscule.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

minuscule minuscules

That’s a minuscule fraction of the $1.2 million that Americans think they’ll need to retire comfortably, according to the asset-management firm Schroders.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026

"The field is expected to supply only a minuscule share of UK gas demand for a limited period," said Jess Ralston, analyst at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, a non-profit research group.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026

The minuscule yet distinctly humanoid figure of a fairy flaps its wings as it flies into the ancient ruins of a bygone kingdom.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

Gazza's baggy Roman shellsuit, John Charles plundering black-and-white goals in Turin, King Kev's floodlit perm dazzling Volksparkstadion terraces, Glenn Hoddle's minuscule Monegasque shorts.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

“It’s rude to point,” Ron snapped at a particularly minuscule first-year boy as they joined the queue to climb out of the portrait hole.

From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling

Palimpsest, hardly legible, Unc., latter part, as Greg. has discovered, in early minuscules.

From A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament, Vol. I. by Frederick Henry Ambrose Scrivener

And there are a few additions in minuscules by a still later hand.

From Dio's Rome, Volume 1 (of 6) An Historical Narrative Originally Composed in Greek during the Reigns of Septimius Severus, Geta and Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus: and Now Presented in English Form by Cassius Dio

These agree in the main, but differ for the more recently discovered minuscules.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 7 "Bible" to "Bisectrix" by Various

If minuscules are used, the words should be transliterated as quinque, queen, Europe, according to the practice of the old printers themselves.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 7 "Bible" to "Bisectrix" by Various

The letters shown in 182 are fairly typical of the characteristic Blackletter minuscules of Italy.

From Letters and Lettering A Treatise With 200 Examples by Frank Chouteau Brown

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Related Words

• insignificant
• microscopic
• small
• tiny

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