Etymologically
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miniature

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈmɪnɪtʃə/ (UK); /ˈmɪn(i)ətʃɚ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian miniatura (“illumination of manuscripts, small picture”),[2][3][4][5] from the past participle of miniare “to illuminate a manuscript”,[4][5][2] from Latin miniō (“to colour red”),[2][3][4][5] from Latin minium (“red lead”),[2][3][4][5] which was used in antiquity to make red ink.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A reduced image; anything represented on a small scale (before 1586).[6][4][5][3]

Semantic evolution

Its link with smallness comes from the small pictures in medieval manuscripts,[4][5] helped by the chance resemblance to those Latin words for “small”.[4][5][7] In English it was used for the illuminating of manuscripts (1645) and for an illumination (1680), but above all for a small, finely detailed portrait, often on ivory or vellum (1716).[6] The adjective “on a small scale” dates from 1714.[5][3][4] It was applied to dog breeds from 1889 and to miniature golf from 1893,[5] and miniaturize was coined in 1946.[4]

Timeline

  • before 1586 – a representation on a small scale.[6][4][3]
  • 1645 – the illuminating of manuscripts (obsolete).[6]
  • 1680 – a picture in an illuminated manuscript.[6]
  • 1714 – adjective, on a small scale.[5][3][4]
  • 1716 – a small, finely painted portrait.[6]
  • 1946 – miniaturize.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A copy or model on a much reduced scale.
  2. Something small of its kind.
  3. A small, finely detailed painting, especially a portrait on ivory or vellum.
  4. A picture or decorated letter in an illuminated manuscript.
  5. The art of painting miniatures.

Adjective

  1. On a small or greatly reduced scale.

Word family

  • miniaturist
  • miniaturize
  • minium
  • miniate

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House