Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.
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
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
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
Recent Word Finds
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18 June 2025
SOUARI
(noun) large South American evergreen tree trifoliate leaves and drupes with nutlike seeds used as food and a source of cooking oil
Coffee Trivia
