Etymologically
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minimal

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 14:35. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈmɪn.ɪ.məl/ (UK); /ˈmɪn.ə.məl/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin minimus (“smallest, least”) (see minim) and -al,[2][3] or from minimum and -al.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Extremely small, constituting a minimum: 1666 in the OED and MWU, the 1660s in Etymonline.[5][4][2]

Semantic evolution

Of a form of painting and sculpture it is from 1958,[5] and in music a style built on the repetition of short phrases from 1974.[5] Only barely adequate is a further sense.[6]

Timeline

  • 1666 – extremely small.[5]
  • 1958 – minimal art.[5]
  • 1974 – minimal music.[5]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Smallest possible in amount or degree; minimum.
  2. Very small, or only barely adequate.
  3. Of or relating to minimalism.

Word family

  • minimality
  • minimally
  • minimalism
  • minimalist
  • minimalize
  • nonminimal
  • subminimal
  • minimal brain dysfunction

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin