petit
EnglishEdit
PronunciationEdit
Etymology 1Edit
From Middle English petit, from Old French petit, from Latin *pitittus, diminutive of Latin *pit-, possibly from Proto-Celtic *pett- (“part, bit, piece”). Compare also Latin pitinnus (“small”), pitulus. Doublet of petty.
AdjectiveEdit
petit (comparative more petit, superlative most petit)
- (now uncommon, of size) Petite: small, little.
- 1684 or 1685 February 22, Robert South, A Sermon preached at Westminster-Abbey:
- And by what small, petit Hints does the Mind catch hold of, and recover a vanishing Notion?
- 1684 or 1685 February 22, Robert South, A Sermon preached at Westminster-Abbey:
- Petty, in its various senses:
Derived termsEdit
Related termsEdit
See alsoEdit
NounEdit
petit (plural petits)
Etymology 2Edit
From French petit (“brevier”) directly or via German Petit (“brevier”).
NounEdit
petit (uncountable)
AnagramsEdit
CatalanEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Old Occitan [Term?], from Vulgar Latin *pittitus, an expressive creation (with variant forms pitinnus, pitulus, piccinus, pitikkus, etc.). Compare French petit.
PronunciationEdit
AdjectiveEdit
petit (feminine petita, masculine plural petits, feminine plural petites)
Derived termsEdit
Further readingEdit
- “petit” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “petit” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
- “petit” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “petit” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
FinnishEdit
VerbEdit
petit
- Second-person singular indicative past form of pettää.
AnagramsEdit
FrenchEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Old French petit, from Vulgar Latin pittitus (775; compare Latin pitinnus, pitulus), possibly from Celtic or Frankish. Compare Spanish pequeño.
PronunciationEdit
- IPA(key): /pə.ti/, /p.ti/
audio (file) - (Quebec) IPA(key): [p(ə)tsi]
- (Louisiana) IPA(key): /pti/, /piti/, /ti/
AdjectiveEdit
petit (feminine singular petite, masculine plural petits, feminine plural petites)
- small
- un petit verre de vin ― a small glass of wine
- little
- un petit garçon ― a little boy
- petty
- Certaines personnes sont vraiment petites à propos des plus petites choses.
- Some people are really petty about the smallest things.
Usage notesEdit
Only three French adjectives have an irregular comparative: petit (moindre, but in certain senses only), mauvais (pire) and bon (meilleur).
NounEdit
petit m (plural petits, feminine petite)
- small one (anything that is small)
- little one (anything that is little)
- little one; child (of humans or other animals)
- the young (of a species)
- Le petit du lapin s'appelle le "lapereau".
Usage notesEdit
Often contracted, in popular or familiar speech, to p'tit (/pti/).
Derived termsEdit
DescendantsEdit
- Portuguese: petiz
Further readingEdit
- “petit” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
LatinEdit
PronunciationEdit
VerbEdit
petit
Middle FrenchEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Old French petit.
AdjectiveEdit
petit m (feminine singular petite, masculine plural petitz, feminine plural petites)
DescendantsEdit
- French: petit
NounEdit
petit m (plural petits, feminine singular petite, feminine plural petites)
- something that is small
OccitanEdit
AdjectiveEdit
petit m (feminine singular petita, masculine plural petits, feminine plural petitas)
Derived termsEdit
Further readingEdit
- Joan de Cantalausa (2006) Diccionari general occitan a partir dels parlars lengadocians, 2 edition, →ISBN, page 743.
Old FrenchEdit
Alternative formsEdit
EtymologyEdit
From Latin *pitittus (compare Latin pitinnus, pitulus).
AdjectiveEdit
petit m (oblique and nominative feminine singular petite)