miniature
/ˈmɪn.ɪ.tʃə/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.72 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An illustration in an illuminated manuscript.
noun
A musical composition which is short in duration.
noun
A chess game which is concluded with very few moves.
noun
A token in a game representing a unit or character.
Example Sentences
- "There was a miniature of a whaling ship in a glass bottle over the mantelpiece."
- "The twelve days from Christmas to Epiphany are conceived as a miniature of the whole year, the character of each particular day answering to the character of a particular month."
- "The miniature was a picture of Leo's Greek mother - a lovely, dark-eyed creature."
- "Sacha composed a miniature for strings as a final project at the conservatory."
- "Jack had dozens of miniatures of Napoleonic footsoldiers painted in detailed period regalia for his wargames."
- "There's no miniature / In her fair face, but is a copious theme / Which would, discoursed at large of, make a volume."
Etymology
Etymology tree Paleo-Hispanicbor. Latin Minius Proto-Indo-European *-om Proto-Italic *-om Latin -um Latin minium Italian minio Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Italian -are Italian miniare Proto-Indo-European *-tew-? Proto-Indo-European *-r-eh₂? Latin -tūra Italian -tura Italian miniaturabor. English miniature Borrowed from Italian miniatura (“manuscript illumination”), from miniare (“to illuminate”), from Latin miniō (“to colour red”), from minium (“red lead, minium”). Not related to minimum, minor or min (which are all from a different root, *mi-n-), though the sense development may have been influenced by association with them or sound symbolism.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: miniatura, miniō
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈmɪn.ɪ.tʃə/
- British English: /ˈmɪn.ɪ.tʃə/
Usage
Inflected Forms
miniatures (plural)
more miniature (comparative)
most miniature (superlative)
miniatures (present, singular)
miniaturing (participle, present)
miniatured (participle, past)
miniatured (past)