Wordwyrt

miniature

/ˈmɪniəˌtʃʊə/MIH-nee-uh-chuur
/ˈmɪniəˌtʃʊɹ/MIH-nee-uh-chuur

Meaningcinnabar, red lead

Common meaning: small-scale model or painting

Journey through time

  1. Latinminium‘cinnabar, red lead’source
  2. Italianminiatura‘a miniature’source
  3. Englishmeaning shiftscinnabar, red lead → small-scale model or paintingminiature‘small-scale model or painting’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin minium ‘cinnabar, red lead’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Skeat, Concise Etymological Dictionary (1911), entry MINIATURE, p. 328 · dictionary scan

Roots

  • minium Latin “cinnabar, red lead”

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