minuscule

[min-uh-skyool, mi-nuhs-kyool]

adjective

1. very small.

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

3. written in such letters (majuscule ).

noun

1. a minuscule letter.

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 a small cursive script developed in the 7th century a.d. from the uncial, which it afterward superseded.

minuscule

/ 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

adjective

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

2. very small

3. (of letters) lower-case

Spelling Note

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

• minuscular adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of minuscule¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of minuscule¹

C18: from French, from Latin ( littera ) minuscula very small (letter), diminutive of _minor

Example Sentences

Repeatedly, he compares Garland’s Fund to bigger charitable organizations, like the Rockefeller Foundation, and shows that with a minuscule fraction of the funding, Garland’s Fund touched at least as many lives.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The paper was covered in flow charts, arrows and text so minuscule you almost needed a magnifying glass to read it.

Read more on Salon

As for that relatively minuscule number of pass attempts since high school?

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Tompkins Square Park is minuscule and less popular for birding compared to the 843-acre Central Park, but it’s convenient and perfectly sufficient for Gray, who isn’t always vying for the rarest bird.

Read more on Salon

The rarest was the minuscule rinodina isidioides - its tiny structures, when seen through a hand lens, resemble its common name, skeletal fingers.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• insignificant 
• microscopic 
• small 
• tiny