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puny

adj
/ˈpjuːni/UK/ˈpjuni/US

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *pós Proto-Indo-European *-ti Proto-Indo-European *pósti Proto-Italic *posti Old Latin poste Latin post Proto-Indo-European *íh₂ Latin ea Latin posteā Vulgar Latin *postius Old French puis Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *ǵn̥h₁tós Proto-Italic *gnātos Latin gnātus Latin nātus Old French né Old French puisné Middle French puisnébor. English puisne English puny PIE word *pós A respelling of puisne, from Anglo-Norman puisné (“later, more recent; junior; weakly”) [and other forms] and Middle French puisné (“born after (a specified person); younger, youngest; one who is born after (a specified person)”) (modern French puîné (“cadet (born after a sibling); a cadet (someone born after a sibling)”)), from puis (“after; since”) + né (“born”). Puis is derived from Old French pois (“after; since”), from Vulgar Latin *postius (“afterward”), from Latin posteā (“afterwards; hereafter; thereafter; next, then”), from post (“after; since”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pós (“afterwards”)) + ea (“these (things)”); and né from Latin nātus (“born”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- (“to beget; to give birth; to produce”).

  1. derived from *ǵenh₁-✻ — “to beget; to give birth; to produce”
  2. derived from nātus — “born”
  3. derived from *pós✻ — “afterwards”
  4. derived from posteā — “afterwards; hereafter; thereafter; next, then”
  5. derived from *postius✻ — “afterward”
  6. derived from pois — “after; since”
  7. derived from puisné — “born after (a specified person); younger, youngest; one who is born after (a specified person)”
  8. derived from puisné — “later, more recent; junior; weakly”

Definitions

  1. Of inferior significance, size, or strength

    Of inferior significance, size, or strength; ineffective, small, weak.

    • You puny earthlings are no match for Ming the Merciless!
    • I had forgot my ſelfe, am I not King? […] Is not the Kings name twenty thouſand names? / Arme arme, my name a puny ſubiect ſtrikes, / At thy great glorie, […]
    • And twentie of theſe punie lies Ile tell, / That men ſhall ſweare I haue diſcontinued ſchoole / About a twelue moneth: […]

  2. (Frequently) ill

    (Frequently) ill; poorly, sickly.

  3. Alternative spelling of puisne.

    • But if you think this Trade to baſe, / (Which ſeldom is the Dunce's Caſe) / Put on the Critick's Brow, and ſit / At Wills the puny Judge of Wit.
  4. ›+ 3 more definitions

    1. An inferior person

      An inferior person; a subordinate; also, an insignificant person.

      • ·
      • ·
      • [T]hou chuff, thou puny, thou got in the peasestraw thou losel, thou chitterling, thou spawn of a rebel, thou dykedropt, […]

    2. A younger person

      A younger person; a junior.

    3. A new student at a school, university, the Inns of Court, etc.

      A new student at a school, university, the Inns of Court, etc.; a junior.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for puny. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA