minimus

American  

[min-uh-muhs] / ˈmɪn ə məs /

noun

plural

minimi

1. a creature or being that is the smallest or least significant.

2. Anatomy. the little finger or toe.

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minimus British  

/ ˈmɪnɪməs /

adjective

1. (immediately postpositive) the youngest: sometimes used after the surname of a schoolboy having elder brothers at the same school

   Hunt minimus

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Etymology

Origin of minimus

1580–90; < New Latin, Latin: literally, smallest

Example Sentences

“I never even thought about the apartment. It was de minimus, in my mind,” Weisselberg said.

From Salon • Feb. 7, 2024

“I don't think a country with a de minimus residual coal fleet is necessarily going to shame big coal consumers into radical change,” said Kevin Book, managing director of ClearView Energy Partners LLC.

From Scientific American • Jul. 1, 2021

About calves, hamstrings, Achilles, knees and weak glutes — they’re the three muscles in the buttocks: gluteus maximus, medius and minimus.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 24, 2019

However, “given the lack of priors, the de minimus nature of the contact and the apology letter,” the state dismissed the counts, Knight told the judge.

From Washington Post • Apr. 15, 2019

The specimens listed above vary widely in color patterns; some of the patterns are characteristic of certain named "species": albolabris, imitator, lineatissimus, and minimus.

From A Distributional Study of the Amphibians of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico by Duellman, William E.