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minion

[min-yuh n]
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noun
  1. a servile follower or subordinate of a person in power.
  2. a favored or highly regarded person.
  3. a minor official.
  4. Printing. a 7-point type.
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adjective
  1. dainty; elegant; trim; pretty.
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Origin of minion

1490–1500; < Middle French mignon, for Old French mignot dainty < ?
Can be confusedminion minyan
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

slave, stooge, lackey, dependent, parasite, follower, groupie, puppet, flatterer, subordinate, toady, fan, hanger-on, flunky, doormat, backscratcher, bootlicker

Examples from the Web for minion

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • But here was a minion of Cynthia riding the country like Paul Revere.

    Dwellers in the Hills

    Melville Davisson Post

  • T will do no harm, and may—ay, this minion will sweep the Rock like a new broom.

    Standish of Standish

    Jane G. Austin

  • Enthroned on the dais, a minion at his feet, he was momentarily monarchial.

    Gigolo

    Edna Ferber

  • I will have a garment reach to my taile; Then am I a minion, for I weare the new guise.

    The Romany Rye

    George Borrow

  • Am I not something more to thee, than the partner of joyous hours—the minion of love?

    Rienzi

    Edward Bulwer Lytton

British Dictionary definitions for minion

minion

noun
  1. a favourite or dependant, esp a servile or fawning one
  2. a servile agentthe minister's minions
  3. a size of printer's type, approximately equal to 7 point
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adjective
  1. dainty, pretty, or elegant
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Word Origin

C16: from French mignon, from Old French mignot, of Gaulish origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for minion

n.

c.1500, "a favorite; a darling; a low dependant; one who pleases rather than benefits" [Johnson], from Middle French mignon "a favorite, darling" (n.), also a term of (probably homosexual) abuse;" as an adjective, "dainty, pleasing, favorite," from Old French mignot "pretty, attractive, dainty, gracious, affectionate," perhaps of Celtic origin (cf. Old Irish min "tender, soft"), or from Old High German minnja, minna "love, memory" (see mind (n.)). Used 16c.-17c. without disparaging overtones.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper