lilliputian
pronunciation
How to pronounce lilliputian in British English:
UK [ˌlɪlɪˈpjuːʃn]
How to pronounce lilliputian in American English:
US [ ˌlɪlɪˈpjuːʃn]
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- Noun:
- a very small person (resembling a Lilliputian)
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- Adjective:
- very small
- (informal terms) small and of little importance
Word Origin
- Lilliputian (adj.)
- "diminutive, tiny," literally "pertaining to Lilliput," the fabulous island whose inhabitants were six inches high, a name coined by Jonathan Swift in "Gulliver's Travels" (1726). Swift left no explanation of the origin of the word.
Example
- 1. At a time of enormous problems , the politicians seem lilliputian .
- 2. The lilliputian lizard is near the lower limits of size in vertebrate animals .
- 3. In the feudal society of absolutism , derive the lilliputian of flatter the most easily .
- 4. In this lilliputian world , units are measured in nanometers3 -- 10000 times smaller than the diameter of a single human hair .
- 5. At a time of enormous problems , the politicians seem lilliputian . That 's the real reason to be afraid .