petite

See also: Petite and pétite

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French petite f, feminine of petit m (“small, little”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pəˈtiːt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːt

Adjective

petite (comparative more petite, superlative most petite)

1. (especially of a woman) Fairly short and of slim build.
2. (clothing) Of small size; intended for small-framed adult women.
3. Small, little; insignificant; petty.
   • 1662, Galileo Galilei, translated by Thomas Salisbury, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems:

     The Earth, the Sun, and Stars, what things are they in nature? are they petite things not worth our notice, or grand and worthy of consideration?

Derived terms

• petite bourgeoisie
• petite perception

Related terms

• petite amie
• petitely
• petiteness

Translations

Of a woman: fairly short and of slim build

• Bulgarian: миньонка f (minjonka)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 嬌小 / 娇小 (zh) (jiāoxiǎo)

• Finnish: siro (fi)
• French: menue (fr) f
• German: zierlich (de), zart gebaut
• Japanese: 幼い (ja) (osanai)
• Russian: миниатюрная (ru) (miniatjurnaja)

of women's clothing: of small size

• Finnish: pieni (fi)
• Russian: миниатюрная (ru) (miniatjurnaja)

small, little; insignificant; petty

• Bulgarian: дребен (dreben)
• Finnish: pieni (fi), pikkuinen (fi), pikkuruinen (fi), vähäinen (fi), mitätön (fi)
• Russian: ма́ленький (ru) (málenʹkij)

Noun

petite (plural petites)

1. (genetics) A mutant first discovered in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, forming small colonies when grown in the presence of fermentable carbon sources such as glucose.
   • 2005, Giorgio Bernardi, Structural and Evolutionary Genomics, page 39:

     The primary structure of the mitochondrial genomes of these petites had been previously determined […]

References

• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “petite”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.

Anagrams

• Pettie, Piette

Asturian

Etymology

Perhaps from French petite, but the gender makes this connection doubtful. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /peˈtite/ [peˈt̪i.t̪e]
• Rhymes: -ite
• Syllabification: pe‧ti‧te

Noun

petite m (plural petites)

1. craving, whim

   Synonym: antoxu

   Entró-y el petite de bañase en ríu. ― He felt a craving to bathe in the river.

Further reading

• “petite”, in Diccionariu de la llingua asturiana [Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (in Asturian), 1st edition, Academy of the Asturian Language [Asturian: Academia de la Llingua Asturiana], 2000, →ISBN
• García Arias, Xosé Lluis (2002–2004), “petite”, in Diccionario general de la lengua asturiana [General Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (overall work in Spanish), Editorial Prensa Asturiana, →ISBN

Esperanto

Adverb

petite

1. past adverbial passive participle of peti

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /p(ə).tit/
• (Quebec) IPA^(key): /p(ə).tit/, /p(ə).t͡sɪt/

• Audio (France (Brétigny-sur-Orge)):

  (file)

Adjective

petite

1. feminine singular of petit

Latin

Verb

petite

1. second-person plural present active imperative of petō