puny

  • 1Puny — Pu ny, a. [Compar. {Punier}; superl. {Puniest}.] [F. pu[^i]t[ e] younger, later born, OF. puisn[ e]; puis afterwards (L. post; see {Post }) + n[ e] born, L. natus. See {Natal}, and cf. {Puisne}.] Imperfectly developed in size or vigor; small and… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2Puny — Pu ny, n. A youth; a novice. [R.] Fuller. [1913 Webster] …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 3puny — index negligible, null (insignificant), paltry, petty Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …

    Law dictionary

  • 4puny — Mot Monosíl·lab Nom masculí …

    Diccionari Català-Català

  • 5puny — 1540s, inferior in rank, from M.Fr. puîné, from O.Fr. puisné born later, younger (12c., contrasted with aisné first born ), from puis afterward (from V.L. *postius, from L. postea, from post after ) + O.Fr. né born, from L. natus …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 6puny — *petty, trivial, trifling, paltry, measly, picayunish, picayune Analogous words: feeble, *weak, frail, infirm: *small, little, diminutive: slight, tenuous (see THIN adj) …

    New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • 7puny — [adj] small, insignificant diminutive, feeble, fragile, frail, half pint*, inconsequential, inferior, infirm, little, measly*, minor, niggling*, nothing, paltry, peanut*, peewee*, petty, picayune, piddling*, pint sized*, runt, shrimp*, small fry* …

    New thesaurus

  • 8puny — ► ADJECTIVE (punier, puniest) 1) small and weak. 2) meagre. DERIVATIVES punily adverb puniness noun. ORIGIN phonetic spelling of PUISNE(Cf. ↑ …

    English terms dictionary

  • 9puny — [pyo͞o′nē] adj. punier, puniest [Fr puîné, born later < OFr puisné < puis, after + né < L natus, born: see NATURE] of inferior size, strength, or importance; weak; slight …

    English World dictionary

  • 10puny — pu|ny [ˈpju:ni] adj [Date: 1500 1600; : Old French; Origin: puisné younger , from puis afterward + né born ] 1.) a puny person is small, thin, and weak ▪ a puny little guy ▪ puny arms 2.) not effective or impressive puny effort/attempt …

    Dictionary of contemporary English