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 a small cursive script developed in the 7th century a.d. from the uncial, which it afterward superseded.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

/ mɪˈnʌskjʊlə, 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

Etymology

Origin of minuscule

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

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

But the DSA’s total official membership remains at around 100,000: formidable, but a minuscule percentage of the population compared to the two major parties.

From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026

Pollsters say that minuscule lead will hold as the remaining ballots fall in her favor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

Both of them are black, and at a school with a population of about 2,000, they represent a statistically significant portion of the college’s minuscule black population.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026

Scolyer and Long knew the odds of a cure were "minuscule", but hoped the experimental treatment would prolong Prof Scolyer's life.

From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026

She turned it upside down, then stroked, with her index finger, the minuscule frozen folds of its robes.

From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri

Mark, and John, in small Caroline minuscules, but with a large capital at the beginning of St. Mark and interlaced ornamentation.

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

Had the introduction of printing been preceded by a revival of the beautiful Greek book-hand of the eleventh century, similar to the revival of the Caroline minuscules, all would have been well.

From A Short History of English Printing, 1476-1898 by Alfred W. (Alfred William) Pollard

There is abundant evidence elsewhere in the Letters that the immediate ancestor of BF was written in minuscules; I need not elaborate this point.

From A Sixth-Century Fragment of the Letters of Pliny the Younger A Study of Six Leaves of an Uncial Manuscript Preserved in the Pierpont Morgan Library New York by E. A. (Elias Avery) Lowe

Written in regular Italian minuscules of the 15th century, formed on the models of the 11th and 12th centuries.

From Catalogue of the William Loring Andrews Collection of Early Books in the Library of Yale University by Addison Van Name

The first book wholly printed in Greek minuscules was Lascaris' Grammar at Milan in 1476.

From The Century of Columbus by James J. Walsh

Related Words

• insignificant
• microscopic
• small
• tiny