miniscule

miniscule
miniscule
is fast establishing itself as an adjective in its own right with the meaning ‘very small, minute’, although as a corruption (influenced by the prefix mini-) of minuscule it is regarded as non-standard:

• Riborg showed her a photograph album, with herself by a fjord in a miniscule bikini —J. Bow, 1991.

There is a case to be made for allowing miniscule to have its way and leaving minuscule to its own more technical devices, but since this is not the accepted procedure at present the best advice is to avoid the word altogether in this meaning and use any of several available synonyms such as minute, tiny, microscopic, diminutive, etc.

Modern English usage. 2014.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • miniscule — common misspelling of MINUSCULE (Cf. minuscule) …   Etymology dictionary

  • miniscule — / minuscule [adj] tiny, very small diminutive, dwarf, infinitesimal, itsy bitsy, Lilliputian, little, meager, microscopic, mini*, miniature, minute, pint sized*, puny*, short, slight, small scale, stunted, teensy*, teeny, trivial, undersized,… …   New thesaurus

  • miniscule — [min′i skyo͞ol΄] adj. disputed var. of MINUSCULE …   English World dictionary

  • miniscule — variant of minuscule Usage: The adjective minuscule is etymologically related to minus, but associations with mini have produced the spelling variant miniscule. This variant dates to the end of the 19th century, and it now occurs commonly in… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • miniscule — adjective extremely small: a minuscule amount | Her office is miniscule …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • Miniscule of Sound — ist die Bezeichnung der laut Guinnessbuch der Rekorde kleinsten Diskothek der Welt. Das Miniscule of Sound öffnete im August 1998 in der Umkleidekabine eines Schwimmbads im Londoner Stadtbezirk London Borough of Hackney als die kleinste Diskothek …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Miniscule of Sound — The Miniscule of Sound opened in Hackney, London as the world s smallest nightclub in August 1998, in the changing booth of a disused outdoor swimming pool (Hackney Lido, in London Fields), as a parody of Ministry of Sound. The music policy… …   Wikipedia

  • miniscule — /min euh skyoohl /, adj. minuscule. Usage. See minuscule. * * * …   Universalium

  • miniscule — adjective spelling|minuscule …   Wiktionary

  • miniscule — I (Roget s 3 Superthesaurus) a. tiny, small, wee, minute, microscopic, micro, mini, miniature, little, trifling, trivial, insignificant, pint sized, infinitesimal. ANT.: gargantuan, gigantic II (Roget s Thesaurus II) adjective See minuscule …   English dictionary for students

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