mince
[mins]
- to cut or chop into very small pieces.
- to soften, moderate, or weaken (one's words), especially for the sake of decorum or courtesy.
- to perform or utter with affected elegance.
- to subdivide minutely, as land or a topic for study.
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- to walk or move with short, affectedly dainty steps.
- Archaic. to act or speak with affected elegance.
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- something cut up very small; mincemeat.
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- not mince words/matters, to speak directly and frankly; be blunt or outspoken: He was angry and didn't mince words.
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Origin of mince
1350–1400; Middle English mincen < Middle French minc(i)er < Vulgar Latin *minūtiāre to mince; see minute2
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for mince
Contemporary Examples
But Marcouch does not mince his words: “The greatest insult of ISIS may even be toward the Muslims and Islam itself,” he tells us.
Musk was never one to mince words, but has recently unleashed aggressive broadsides on ULA.
Santa snacks on rice pudding in Denmark, sponge cake in Chile, Kulkuls in India, and mince pies in the U.K.
Never one to mince her words, Leakes is as bawdy as they get on reality television.
Not to mince words,” he tells Gibney in the movie, “my view is I brought myself down… I did what I did, and shame on me.
Historical Examples
Pare the pine-apple, slice it very thin, and mince it small.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various BranchesEliza Leslie
These mince pies may be eaten by persons who refrain from meat in Lent.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various BranchesEliza Leslie
When half done, take them out, drain them, and mince them very fine.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various BranchesEliza Leslie
Place the mince in greased scallop shells, and cover with the potatoes.
The Skilful CookMary Harrison
Put the mince into a quart of boiling milk, with a little butter and salt, cinnamon and sugar, and stir them carefully together.
mince
- (tr) to chop, grind, or cut into very small pieces
- (tr) to soften or moderate, esp for the sake of convention or politenessI didn't mince my words
- (intr) to walk or speak in an affected dainty manner
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- mainly British minced meat
- informal nonsensical rubbish
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Word Origin
C14: from Old French mincier, from Vulgar Latin minūtiāre (unattested), from Late Latin minūtia smallness; see minutiae
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for mince
v.
late 14c., "to chop in little pieces," from Old French mincier "make into small pieces," from Vulgar Latin *minutiare "make small," from Late Latin minutiæ "small bits," from Latin minutus "small" (see minute (adj.)). Of speech, "to clip affectedly in imitation of elegance," 1540s; of words or language, "to restrain in the interest of decorum," 1590s. Meaning "to walk with short or precise steps" is from 1560s. Related: Minced; mincing.
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n.
"minced meat," 1850; see mincemeat.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper