ˈmi-ni-ˌchu̇r
Did you know?
How Miniature Came to Mean What It Does
The word miniature is about size, and specifically, small size. But its Latin ancestor concerned not size, but color.
In the era before the invention of the printing press, anything printed was printed by hand: someone pressed a pigmented point to a surface and left marks. People used black pigment mostly, but sometimes they used red, especially for titles, large initial letters, and decorative drawings. The Latin name for the red coloring—which was either cinnabar or red lead—was minium, and the corresponding verb meaning "to color with minium" was miniare.
In early Italian, the association of decorative drawings with miniare was so strong that the meaning of miniare was broadened until it simply meant "to decorate a manuscript." A noun form of the word, miniatura, was used to refer to the art of illuminating—that is, of adding illustrations to—a manuscript, regardless of the colors used. Since the illuminations in manuscripts (as the illustrations themselves are called) were small by comparison with most other paintings, miniatura came to refer not only to a manuscript illumination but to any small portrait or painting, and eventually to anything very small. English speakers had adopted the word as miniature by the 16th century.
Synonyms
Examples of miniature in a Sentence
Stephen Metcalf, The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 2024
Colorful miniatures bring to life thousands of workers, performers, spectators and animals.
—Valeriya Safronova, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2024
Figurines and miniatures of the filmmaker’s Moroccan family and neighborhood – built by her father – inspire moments of catharsis and unearth previously unspoken secrets and traumas.
—Beatrice Verhoeven, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Oct. 2023
Is that process really happening in miniature at server farms maintained by Google, Meta, and Microsoft?
—Patrick House, The New Yorker, 19 Mar. 2024
Unlike the other life-size sets, the cruise liner that Bella and Duncan travel on after Lisbon is a miniature that stretches about six feet long.
—Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2024
From the artfully bulging upper windows of the towering Elbphilharmonie complex, the city of Hamburg stretches out in seeming miniature — a vast industrial expanse of cranes, drawbridges and the purple breath of distant smokestacks.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 6 Mar. 2024
The annual Gasparilla Pirate Fest takes place in late January and is a big draw for what’s essentially a massive alfresco party, but note hotel prices surge over this weekend and the crowds tend to be on the rowdier side (think Mardi Gras in miniature).
—Terry Ward, Travel + Leisure, 25 Feb. 2024
But despite the headache, the miniatures had their charms.
—Jocelyn Silver, Vogue, 8 Dec. 2023
Kerane Marcellus, Essence, 4 Apr. 2024
Behind them was a large wall with miniature doors installed all over.
—Rachel Bernhard, Journal Sentinel, 3 Apr. 2024
It’s served as a tangled cylinder of fried shrimp and onions, like a miniature version of the old onion ring loaves at Tony Roma’s.
—Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2024
These are similar to a collection of miniature weapons once found in the village of Uley, thought to have been offered to gods like Mercury.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Apr. 2024
The camera provides a view of at least four feeders, bowls of food, a bird bath and even miniature picnic tables and benches for songbirds and squirrels.
—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 1 Apr. 2024
Even after a miniature Hornets flurry, the Warriors built their lead up to 18.
—Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 30 Mar. 2024
Also, still available at Krispy Kreme are the chain's limited-time Spring Minis Collection, which includes four new flavors of miniature doughnuts including a Mini Birds Nest Doughnut made with Cadbury Mini Eggs and a Robin's Egg Doughnut dipped in teal icing with daisy sprinkles.
—Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 30 Mar. 2024
Hershey’s, for example, has announced Easter products including Cadbury Caramello miniature chocolates which feature a caramel fill, a lemon crisp KitKat and an Easter candy assortment with Haribo gummy bears.
—John Towfighi, CNN, 28 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'miniature.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near miniature
Cite this Entry
“Miniature.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/miniature. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Share