miniscule

English

Etymology

Likely a conflation between miniature and minuscule.

Adjective

miniscule (comparative more miniscule, superlative most miniscule)

1. (usually proscribed) Alternative form of minuscule
   • 1984, Julia Alvarez, Homecoming: Peoms by Julia Alvarez, Grove Press Inc., →ISBN, page 39:

     I remember the whirl and whine of her black Singer...
     Threading the levers, eyepieces, winding the turquoise string
     through hooks, and miniscule wheels, up and down...

Usage notes

• “The correct spelling is minuscule rather than miniscule. The latter is a common error, which has arisen by analogy with other words beginning with “mini”, where the meaning is similarly ‘very small’.” (The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford University Press, 1998)

Further reading

• “miniscule”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• minuscule, miniscule at the Google Books Ngram Viewer.