puny
pronunciation
How to pronounce puny in British English:
UK [ˈpju:ni]
How to pronounce puny in American English:
US [ˈpjuni]
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- Adjective:
- inferior in strength or significance
- (used especially of persons) of inferior size
Word Origin
- puny
- puny: [16] Etymologically, puny means ‘born later’. It was borrowed from Old French puisne, a compound adjective formed from puis ‘afterwards’ and ne ‘born’ (a relative of English native, nature, etc). This signified ‘junior’, in which sense it was originally acquired by English as puisne. This spelling survives (albeit pronounced the same as puny) as a term denoting a judge of junior rank, and the anglicized orthography has since the 18th century been reserved to ‘feeble, small’.=> nation, native, nature
- puny (adj.)
- 1570s, "inferior in rank" (1540s as a noun, "junior pupil, freshman"), from Middle French puisné (Modern French puîné), from Old French puisne "born later, younger, youngest" (12c., contrasted with aisné "first-born"), from puis nez, from puis "afterward" (from Vulgar Latin *postius, from Latin postea "after this, hereafter," from post "after," see post-, + ea "there") + Old French né "born," from Latin natus, past participle of nasci "be born" (Old Latin gnasci; see genus). Sense of "small, weak, insignificant" first recorded 1590s. Compare puisne. Related: Puniness.
Example
- 1. Grand words have given way to puny deeds .
- 2. India 's prime minister was in tokyo this week to sign an agreement to boost ( currently puny ) bilateral trade .
- 3. At only 2.7m ( 9 feet ) in length , raptorex already had the powerful jaws , puny arms and quick legs of its much larger and more famous descendant .
- 4. To stockmarket investors , they are puny little exchanges that are easy to ignore now that they do not offer miracle profits .
- 5. Switzerland 's big banks have mixed records and a relatively puny government behind them but can still borrow cheaply , in part because they have exceptionally high solvency ratios .