PETIT

Etymology 1

Adjective

petit (comparative more petit, superlative most petit)

(now, uncommon, of size) Petite: small, little.

And by what small, petit Hints does the Mind catch hold of, and recover a vanishing Notion?

Petty, in its various senses

(obsolete) Few in number.

(now, uncommon, of objects) Unimportant; cheap; easily replaced.

(legal, of scale) Small, minor.

(now, rare) Secondary; lower in rank.

Noun

petit (plural petits)

(obsolete, usually, in the plural) A little schoolboy.

(obsolete, rare) A kind of pigeon.

Etymology 2

Noun

petit (uncountable)

(printing, dated, French and German contexts) synonym of brevier.

Anagrams

• Petti

Etymology

Proper noun

Petit

A surname.

Anagrams

• Petti

Source: Wiktionary

Pet"it, a. Etym: [F. See Petty.]

Definition: Small; little; insignificant; mean; -- Same as Petty. [Obs., except in legal language.] By what small, petit hints does the mind catch hold of and recover a vanishing notion. South. Petit constable, an inferior civil officer, subordinate to the high constable.

– Petit jury, a jury of twelve men, impaneled to try causes at the bar of a court; -- so called in distinction from the grand jury.

– Petit larceny, the stealing of goods of, or under, a certain specified small value; -- opposed to grand larceny. The distinction is abolished in England.

– Petit maître (. Etym: [F., lit., little master.] A fop; a coxcomb; a ladies' man. Goldsmith.

– Petit serjeanty (Eng. Law), the tenure of lands of the crown, by the service of rendering annually some implement of war, as a bow, an arrow, a sword, a flag, etc.

– Petit treason, formerly, in England, the crime of killing a person to whom the offender owed duty or subjection, as one's husband, master, mistress, etc. The crime is now not distinguished from murder.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition