petit

[ pet-ee; French puh-tee ]

/ ˈpɛt i; French pəˈti /

adjective Law.

small; petty; minor.

Origin of petit

1325–75; Middle English < Middle French; see petty

ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem

[ en-se pe-tit plah-ki-dahm soo b lee-ber-tah-te kwee-ey-tem; English en-see pee-tit plas-i-dam suhb lib-er-tey-tee kwahy-ee-tem ]

/ ˈɛn sɛ ˈpɛ tɪt ˈplɑ kɪˌdɑm sʊb ˌli bɛrˈtɑ tɛ kwiˈeɪ tɛm; English ˈɛn si ˈpi tɪt ˈplæs ɪˌdæm sʌb ˌlɪb ərˈteɪ ti kwaɪˈi tɛm /

Latin.

by the sword she seeks quiet peace under liberty: motto of Massachusetts.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for petit

Petit walks the wire back and forth four times, varying the walks with little routines from time to time.
Philippe Petit’s Moment of Concern Walking the WTC Tightrope|Anthony Haden-Guest|August 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“I study [sic] the Towers in France when they were being planned,” Petit says.
Philippe Petit’s Moment of Concern Walking the WTC Tightrope|Anthony Haden-Guest|August 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Paul Winter played the saxophone and Melissa Leo, the actress, read texts written by Petit himself.
Philippe Petit’s Moment of Concern Walking the WTC Tightrope|Anthony Haden-Guest|August 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Petit says that somebody once told him they understood his reliance on his eyesight, his sense of touch, even his sense of smell.
Philippe Petit’s Moment of Concern Walking the WTC Tightrope|Anthony Haden-Guest|August 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Petit usually marinates his projects, sometimes for many years.
Philippe Petit’s Moment of Concern Walking the WTC Tightrope|Anthony Haden-Guest|August 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The petit bleu did not arrive until after the crime was discovered, so the room remained empty.
Through the Wall|Cleveland Moffett
By its control of the grand and petit juries it possesses large influence over the administration of justice.
Messages and Papers of Rutherford B. Hayes|James D. Richardson
Mr. Petit stated, "Nothing can exceed this nave in beauty and gracefulness."
The Cathedrals of Great Britain|P. H. Ditchfield
The western environment drives the petit bourgeoisie to demand political home rule or local autonomy in legislative government.
The I.W.W.|Paul Frederick Brissenden
Strange to say, the readers of the Petit Moniteur, to whom it was first offered in a serial form, did not like it.
Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern Volume 11|Various

British Dictionary definitions for petit

petit

/ (ˈpɛtɪ) /

adjective

(prenominal) mainly law of little or lesser importance; smallpetit jury

Word Origin for petit

C14: from Old French: little, of obscure origin

Petit

/ (French pəti) /

noun

Roland (rɔlɑ̃). 1924–2011, French ballet dancer and choreographer. His innovative ballets include Carmen (1949), Kraanerg (1969), and The Blue Angel (1985); he also choreographed films, such as Anything Goes (1956) and Black Tights (1960)

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 petit

petit

adj.

mid-14c., "trifling," from Old French petit "small, little, young, few in numbers" (11c.), probably from stem of Late Latin pitinnus "small," of uncertain origin; it corresponds to no known Latin form and perhaps is from a Celtic root pett- "part, piece, bit" also found in Italian pezza, English piece. Attested as a surname from 1086. Replaced by petty in most usages, except in established forms such as petit bourgeois "conventional middle-class" (1832; used in English by Charlotte Brontë earlier than by Marx or Engels); petit mal (1842, literally "little evil," mild form of epilepsy), and petit four (1884), which in French means "little oven," from Old French four "oven," from Latin furnus.