lilliputian English · revision 2429

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˌlɪlɪˈpjuːʃən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from Lilliput, the island of six-inch-tall people in Jonathan Swift's ''Gulliver's Travels'' (1726),^(AHD)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) with the suffix ''-ian''.^(RHWU) Swift left no explanation of the name.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An inhabitant of Lilliput, and, as an adjective, relating to Lilliput (1726).^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Already in 1726 the word was applied to anyone of tiny size, character or mind, and to anything diminutive or petty.^(OED 1989) It is now often written with a small letter in these general senses.^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1726 – noun and adjective, of Lilliput; tiny; petty.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1885 – ''Lilliputianize'', to dwarf.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Very small; diminutive.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Trivial; petty.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A very small person or being.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A person who is petty or narrow-minded.^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lilliput]]

+ * [[brobdingnagian]]

+ * [[yahoo]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}