minuscule

UK: /ˈmɪnɪskjuːl/

US: /ˈmɪnəˌskjul, mɪˈnʌskjul/

US: (min′ə skyo̅o̅l′, mi nus′kyo̅o̅l)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

mi•nus•cule /ˈmɪnəˌskyul, mɪˈnʌskyul/   adj. 

1. very small.

See -min-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

mi•nus•cule  (min′ə skyo̅o̅l′, mi nus′kyo̅o̅l), adj. 

1. very small.
2. (of letters or writing) small;
   not capital.
3. written in such letters (opposed to majuscule).

n. 

4. a minuscule letter.
5. a small cursive script developed in the 7th century a.d.from the uncial, which it afterward superseded.

• Latin minusculus smallish. See minus, -cule¹
• 1695–1705

mi•nus′cu•lar, adj. 
Usage

Minuscule, from Latin minus meaning "less,'' has frequently come to be spelled miniscule, perhaps under the influence of the prefix mini- in the sense "of a small size.'' Although this newer spelling is criticized by many, it occurs with such frequency in edited writing that some consider it a variant spelling rather than a misspelling.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

minuscule / ˈmɪnəˌskjuːl/, miniscule / ˈmɪnɪˌskjuːl/ noun

1. a lower-case letter
2. writing using such letters
3. a small cursive 7th-century style of lettering derived from the uncial

adjective

1. relating to, printed in, or written in small letters
   Compare majuscule
2. very small
3. (of letters) lower-case

Etymology: 18th Century: from French, from Latin (littera) minuscula very small (letter), diminutive of minor

minuscular / mɪˈnʌskjʊlə/ adjective