: one of several ancient and medieval writing styles developed from cursive and having simplified and small forms
b
: a letter in this style
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Minuscule derives from the Latin adjective minusculus, which means "rather small." The minuscule spelling is consistent with the word's etymology, but since the 19th century, people have also been spelling it miniscule, perhaps because they associate it with the combining form mini- and words such as minimal and minimum. Usage commentators generally consider the miniscule spelling an error, but it is widely used in reputable and carefully edited publications and is accepted as a legitimate variant in some dictionaries.
Adjective public health officials have claimed that the chemical is harmless in such minuscule amounts
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
The scale of current domestic mining is minuscule, and new mining operations can take seven to 10 years to establish because of the lengthy permitting process. Christopher S. Tang, The Conversation, 31 Aug. 2022 Now, only minuscule amounts of that rock remain, including just a touch from a special cockroach experiment. Tim Newcomb, Popular Mechanics, 1 June 2022 Called a liquid biopsy, or liquid surveillance, such procedures look for minuscule amounts of the products that cancer cells shed—shards of DNA, proteins and other substances—into the blood or other circulating tissues. Siddhartha Mukherjee, WSJ, 17 Dec. 2021 The other received daily amounts of the SSRI escitalopram plus two minuscule amounts of psilocybin with psychotherapy. Zoe Cormier, Scientific American, 15 Apr. 2021 The prices at Jungsik are arguably justified by the superior cuisine, though some of the ingredients from such far-flung sources, like wagyu, might not be all that necessary when used only in such minuscule amounts. John Mariani, Forbes, 15 Apr. 2021 At a nearby lab bench, a technician named Berrin Baysa was pipetting minuscule amounts of clear, virus-laden solutions from one tube to another and moving her mixtures into small, spinning centrifuges.New York Times, 25 Mar. 2021 To start with, your chance of winning the grand prize is minuscule, at one in 302.5 million. Scott Mcfetridge, Chicago Tribune, 25 July 2022 As the article noted, the chances that two high-ranking political enemies of President Donald J. Trump were audited by pure coincidence are minuscule.New York Times, 7 July 2022
Noun
In 2019, Ukraine sent roughly 200,000 tons of steel to the US, minuscule compared to the 26.3 million tons of steel that the US imported in total that year. Samanth Subramanian, Quartz, 9 May 2022 This finally revealed a Latin inscription written in cursive Carolingian minuscule. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 29 Apr. 2022 Parents who were predisposed not to vaccinate their child tended to dismiss the threat of serious illness from Covid as minuscule, saying that children who became seriously ill most likely had underlying conditions.New York Times, 30 Oct. 2021 Parents who were predisposed not to vaccinate their child tended to dismiss the threat of serious illness from COVID as minuscule, saying that children who became seriously ill most likely had underlying conditions.BostonGlobe.com, 30 Oct. 2021 Those injuries made their margin for error minuscule, and that would be the margin that decided their season. Ben Cohen, WSJ, 21 June 2021 With follower counts ranging from minuscule to massive, choosing the right partnerships can significantly impact a brand. Kelly Ehlers, Forbes, 2 June 2021 Better, but only by the most minuscule of margins. 192. Troy L. Smith, cleveland, 13 May 2021 Dambrogio had noticed minuscule, apparently intentional cuts and creases in a number of historical documents and eventually guessed their purpose. Sophie Bushwick, Scientific American, 21 Apr. 2021 See More
Word History
Etymology
Noun and Adjective
French, from Latin minusculus rather small, diminutive of minor smaller