minus English · revision 10593

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1481|origins=la minus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmaɪ.nəs/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|minus|t=less]], the neuter of minor, smaller (see [[minor]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from a suffixed form of a root meaning “small”.^(Etymonline) The sense “subtracted from” did not exist in Latin of any period and probably arose in the commercial language of the Middle Ages;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) the OED suggests German merchants first wrote plus and minus beside a number for an excess or shortfall in weight.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ With the subtraction of, placed between two numbers: 1481–90.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As the spoken name of the sign −, minus is from 1579,^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) and the noun, the minus sign, from 1654,^(Barnhart 1988) the 1650s in Etymonline; a negative quantity is from 1708.^(Etymonline) In electricity, negatively charged is from 1747.^(OED 1989) The colloquial sense, without or lacking (''minus his hat''), is from 1813 in the OED, 1840 in Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) The adjective is from 1789,^(Barnhart 1988) and a disadvantage or deficiency belongs to later use.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1481–90 – with the subtraction of.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1579 – the minus sign, spoken.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1654 – the sign (noun).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1747 – negatively charged.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1813 – without, lacking.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1889 – minus sign.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Preposition===

+ # Reduced by the [[subtraction]] of: ''four minus two''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(informal)'' Without; lacking.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[negative|alt=Negative]], less than zero: ''a minus number''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Slightly below a grade: ''B minus''.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The minus sign (−).^(AHD)

+ # A [[deficiency]] or disadvantage.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ice-minus]]

+ * [[minus sign]]

+ * [[plus or minus]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[minor]]

+ * [[plus]]

+ * [[minute]]

+ * [[diminish]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}