Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
minuscule \minuscule\ adj. a. Of or relating to a minuscule[2] or of a script written in minuscules[2]; of the size and style of minuscules[2]; written in minuscules[2]; minuscular.
These minuscule letters are cursive forms of the
earlier uncials.
--I. Taylor
(The
Alphabet).
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1705, "small (not capital) letter;" as an adjective, "small," from 1727 (in printing; general sense of "extremely small" by 1893), from French minuscule (17c.), from Latin minuscula, in minuscula littera "slightly smaller letter," fem. of minusculus "rather less, rather small," diminutive of minus "less" (see minus). Related: Minuscular.
Wiktionary
a. 1 Written in minuscules, lower-case. 2 Written in minuscule handwriting style. 3 Very small, tiny. alt. 1 A lower-case letter. 2 Any of the two medieval handwriting styles minuscule cursive and Caroline minuscule. 3 A letter in these styles. n. 1 A lower-case letter. 2 Any of the two medieval handwriting styles minuscule cursive and Caroline minuscule. 3 A letter in these styles.
WordNet
adj. of or relating to a small cursive script developed from uncial; 7th to 9th centuries [syn: minuscular] [ant: majuscule]
lowercase; "little a"; "small a"; "e.e.cummings's poetry is written all in minuscule letters" [syn: little, small]
very small; "a minuscule kitchen"; "a minuscule amount of rain fell" [syn: miniscule]
n. the characters that were once kept in bottom half of a compositor's type case [syn: small letter, lower case, lower-case letter] [ant: capital]
a small cursive script developed from uncial between the 7th and 9th centuries and used in medieval manuscripts
Wikipedia
Minuscule is a French series of short video animations giving "a bird's eye view of insects' day to day existence, distorted through a burlesque, yet poetic lens". The characters are computer-modelled in 3D and set against natural scenery. Each animation has a self-contained and usually humorous storyline. The audio is a combination of genuine insect and ambient recordings with artificial sound effects. The various protagonist insects often perform anthropomorphic activities, displaying ironically portrayed intelligence, enjoyment and, sometimes, pathos. The background settings are generally of rural France, and include farm houses, fences, cars, road surfaces, drains, gutters and garbage bins. In Season 1 episodes, humans appeared only peripherally (e.g., as mute drivers of intrusive vehicles) and large farm animals were the main reluctant witnesses to the variety of insect, spider and mollusc activities. Some Season 2 episodes depict more explicit interaction with humans. Production of a feature film that shares the same creative universe was commenced in March 2012. The feature film titled Minuscule: Valley of the Lost Ants, was released on January 29, 2014.
Minuscule may refer to:
- of very small size
- Lower case letter
- Minuscule script, a group of writing styles in ancient and medieval Greek or Latin manuscripts:
- Minuscule cursive or new Roman cursive, used in Latin manuscripts (3rd–7th century AD)
- Carolingian minuscule, used in western Europe (8th–12th century AD)
- Minuscule Greek, used in Greek manuscripts since the 9th century AD
- Some varieties of Insular script, used in British Isles in the Early Middle Ages
- Any book written in minuscule script, especially
- Greek biblical manuscripts, New Testament minuscules
- Minuscule (TV series), a French-made animated television series
- Minuscule: Valley of the Lost Ants, a 2013 France/Belgium animated film
- Minuscule (DVD), a video album by Björk
- Minuscule representation in mathematics
als:Minuskel be:Мінускул be-x-old:Мінускул bar:Minuskel ca:Minúscula cs:Minuskule da:Minuskel de:Minuskel el:Μικρογράμματη γραφή es:Minúscula eo:Minusklo gl:Minúscula io:Minuskulo it:Minuscolo lt:Minuskulai mk:Мала буква nl:Onderkast ja:小文字 no:Minuskel nn:Minuskel pl:Minuskuła ru:Минускул sv:Gemen uk:Мінускул war:Gamay nga agi
Minuscule is an official DVD released by Björk on November 3, 2003. The DVD contains a documentary offering a behind-the-scenes look at Björk and her touring entourage for the 2001 Vespertine tour. It includes interviews with harpist Zeena Parkins, the Inuit choir from Greenland, electronic duo Matmos, and an ongoing conversation with Björk herself about her recordings and her tours. The documentary is interspersed with live footage of songs from the tour shot by Ragnheidur Gestsdóttir, which themselves correspond to the performances chosen for the Vespertine Live album. A work-in-progress version of this documentary is to be found as a bonus feature on the Live at Royal Opera House DVD, which includes some material that is not included on Minuscule, such as the short interviews with composer Simon Lee.
Usage examples of "minuscule".
Given the minuscule quantities of magnetite actually involved, it was extremely unlikely that any of them could act as a human compass.
Underfoot the ice is white, with tiny broken air bubbles marring the surface, like minuscule crater rings.
Some trucks carried hay bales which farmers dumped into dusty corrals or into minuscule overgrazed plots for horses and sheep.
But then one should not forget that van Leeuwenhoek also looked at human semen, observed sperm, and described each individual spermatozoon as a perfectly formed, minuscule mannikin, thus reinforcing a long-held preformationist superstition about human reproduction that took at least another century to outgrow.
This magnificent home had overwhelmed her even as she approached: its towering crest, its ramifying branches garlanded with countless luminants, its far-spread webs designed to protect the occupants against wingets and add their minuscule contribution to the pool of organic matter at its roots, cleverly programmed to withdraw before a visitor so that they would not be torn all, all reflected such luxury as far surpassed her youthful experience.
But this scene occupies only a minuscule slice of what is otherwise a bang-up hybrid of Kabbalah and terrorists, transcension and realpolitik.
The handwriting, too, is clear and legible, whether capital, uncial, or minuscule.
The same reasoning might lead to the conclusion that even unwrapped strings have a minuscule yet nonzero minimum mass.
Because the transmission wattage was minuscule, it was almost impossible to DP, and we could use it quite safely.
Thus, the number of those in Vidya was minuscule, while the numbers in Avidya were enormous.
Can I integrate the minuscule observations of this behaviour of the chicks I work with and the chemistry of their brains with such richness of evocation?
The audience got to see real-life footage of cops pulling their guns, busting down crack-house doors, handcuffing squirming suspects and seizing relatively minuscule amounts of dope.
With rare insight and rarer taste he discountenanced the prevalent Merovingian hand, and substituted in eclectic hand, known as the Carolingian Minuscule, which way still be regarded as a model of clearness and elegance.
The selection of an Englishman for the post naturally leads us to inquire what hands were then used in England, and what amount of English influence the Carolingian Minuscule, the foundation of our modern styles, exhibits.
Along the lower courses of the walls of these ducts grew expanses of green liverwort, while the parapets, where the stones remained dry, were covered with blue-tongued lichens, their scarlet apothecia upstanding like myriads of minuscule warriors on guard above the sacred water below.