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Origin and history of minuscule

minuscule(n.)

1705, "small (not capital) letter," from French minuscule (17c.), from Latin minuscula, in minuscula littera "slightly smaller letter," fem. of minusculus "rather less, rather small," diminutive of minus "less" (from PIE root *mei- (2) "small"). It refers to the kind of reduced alphabetical character which arose 7c. and was from about 9c. substituted in writing for the large uncial. From it the small or lower-case letters of the modern Latin alphabet were derived.

As an adjective, from 1727 in printing, "not capital, of reduced form, small" (of letters); the general sense of "extremely small" is attested by 1893. Related: Minuscular.

also from 1705

Entries linking to minuscule

miniscule

a common misspelling of minuscule attested from late 19c.

*mei-(2)

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "small."

It might form all or part of: administer; administration; comminute; diminish; meiosis; Menshevik; menu; metier; mince; minestrone; minim; minimum; minister; ministration; ministry; minor; minuend; minuet; minus; minuscule; minute; minutia; Miocene; mis- (2); mite (n.2) "little bit;" mystery (n.2) "handicraft, trade, art;" nimiety.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit miyate "diminishes, declines;" Greek meion "less, smaller;" Latin minus, minor "smaller," minuere "to diminish, reduce, lessen;" Old English minsian "to diminish;" Russian men'she "less."

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    little
    Old English lytel "not large, not much, small in size or number; short in distance or time; unimportant," from Proto-Germanic *lutilla- (source also of Old Saxon luttil, Dutch luttel, Old High German luzzil, German lützel "little"), perhaps originally a diminutive of the root of
    small
    Middle English smal, smale, from Old English smæl "thin, slender, narrow; fine," from Proto-Germanic *smal- "small animal; small" (source also of Old Saxon, Danish, Swedish, Middle Dutch, Dutch, Old High German smal, Old Frisian smel, German schmal "narrow, slender," Gothic smali
    character
    mid-14c., carecter, "symbol marked or branded on the body;" mid-15c., "symbol or drawing used in sorcery;" late 15c., "alphabetic letter, graphic symbol standing for a sound or syllable;" from Old French caratere "feature, character" (13c., Modern French caractère), from Latin ch
    cursive
    in reference to writing in which the letters are joined and formed rapidly without lifting the pen or pencil, 1784, from French cursif (18c.), from Medieval Latin cursivus "running," from Latin cursus "a running," from past participle of currere "to run" (from PIE root *kers- "to
    minus
    late 15c., "with subtraction of," from Latin minus "less," neuter of minor "smaller" (from PIE *mi-nu-, suffixed form of root *mei- (2) "small"). According to OED, this mathematical prepositional use in expressions of calculation was not in the classical Latin word and probably i
    letter
    c. 1200, "graphic symbol, alphabetic sign, written character conveying information about sound in speech," from Old French letre "character, letter; missive, note," in plural, "literature, writing, learning" (10c., Modern French lettre), from Latin littera (also litera) "letter o
    profound
    c. 1300, "characterized by intellectual depth, very learned," from Old French profont, profund (12c., Modern French profond) and directly from Latin profundus "deep, bottomless, vast," also "obscure; profound; immoderate," from pro "forth" (from PIE root *per- (1) "forward") + fu
    tutor
    late 14c., "guardian, custodian," from Old French tuteor "guardian, private teacher" (13c., Modern French tuteur), from Latin tutorem (nominative tutor) "guardian, watcher," from tutus, variant past participle of tueri "watch over, look at," a word of uncertain origin. De Vaan su
    canon
    "a rule or law," Old English canon "rule, law, or decree of the Church," from Old French canon or directly from Late Latin canon "Church law, a rule or doctrine enacted by ecclesiastical authority," in classical Latin, "measuring line, rule," from Greek kanon "any straight rod or

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