PETTY

petty, small-minded

(adjective) contemptibly narrow in outlook; “petty little comments”; “disgusted with their small-minded pettiness”

fiddling, footling, lilliputian, little, niggling, piddling, piffling, petty, picayune, trivial

(adjective) (informal) small and of little importance; “a fiddling sum of money”; “a footling gesture”; “our worries are lilliputian compared with those of countries that are at war”; “a little (or small) matter”; “a dispute over niggling details”; “limited to petty enterprises”; “piffling efforts”; “giving a police officer a free meal may be against the law, but it seems to be a picayune infraction”

lowly, lower-ranking, junior-grade, petty, secondary, subaltern

(adjective) inferior in rank or status; “the junior faculty”; “a lowly corporal”; “petty officialdom”; “a subordinate functionary”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Adjective

petty (comparative pettier or more petty, superlative pettiest or most petty)

(obsolete except in set phrases) Little, small, secondary in rank or importance.

Insignificant, trifling, or inconsiderable.

Narrow-minded, small-minded.

Begrudging in nature, especially over insignificant matters.

Synonyms

• (little, unimportant): See Thesaurus:insignificant

• (begrudging): grudgeful, grudging

Antonyms

• (little): See Thesaurus:big

• (begrudging): See Thesaurus:kindly

• (small-minded): broad-minded

Noun

petty (plural petties)

(usually, in the plural, obsolete) A little schoolboy, either in grade or size.

(historical) A class or school for young schoolboys.

(dialect, euphemism) An outhouse: an outbuilding used as a lavatory.

Synonyms

• (school for young schoolboys): ABC, petty school

• (class for young schoolboys): petty form

• (outhouse): See Thesaurus:outhouse

Proper noun

Petty (plural Pettys)

A surname.

Source: Wiktionary

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Pet"ty, a. [Compar. Pettier; superl. Pettiest.] Etym: [OE. petit, F. petit; probably of Celtic origin, and akin to E. piece. Cf. Petit.]

Definition: Little; trifling; inconsiderable; also, inferior; subordinate; as, a petty fault; a petty prince. Denham. Like a petty god I walked about, admired of all. Milton. Petty averages. See under Average.

– Petty cash, money expended or received in small items or amounts.

– Petty officer, a subofficer in the navy, as a gunner, etc., corresponding to a noncommissionned officer in the army.

Note: For petty constable, petty jury, petty larceny, petty treason, See Petit.

Syn.

– Little; diminutive; inconsiderable; inferior; trifling; trivial; unimportant; frivolous.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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