MINIMUSADJ.
in some British schools, appended to a surname to designate the youngest (in age or standing) of three or four boys having the same surname; e.g. J. Smith minimus ...1791 NOUN 1. a creature of the smallest size; a dwarf; a small or insignificant person ...1590 2. the little finger, the little toe ...1881 ETYMOLOGY from Latin minimus smallest FIRST DOCUMENTED USE 1590 - See Example below EXAMPLE "...Get you gone, you dwarfe, You minimus of hindering knotgrass made, You bead, you acorn! From: A Midsummer Night's Dream By: William Shakespeare, 1590 SOURCES • A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles, James Murray, 1887-1933 • The Imperial Dictionary of the English Language, Rev. John Ogilvie, 1847-1850 • A Shakespeare Glossary, C.T. Onions, 1911 • Dictionary of Early English, Joseph Shipley, 1955 • The Shakespearian Referee, J.H. Siddons, 1886 • Dictionary of Obsolete and Provincial English, Thomas Wright, 1880
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
September 2021
|