Where does “mini” come from?
Mini derives from English miniature, which comes from Latin minium via Italian miniare, ultimately from Latin minium meaning red lead or vermilion used in manuscript illumination.
mini (English): Miniature, tiny, small; A miniskirt; A...
Definitions
- Miniature, tiny, small; A miniskirt; A...
Ancestry of “mini”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | mini- | Smaller version of an item than usual; With the... |
| 2 | English | miniature | Greatly diminished size or form; reduced scale; A... |
| 3 | Italian | miniatura | miniature; thumbnail |
| 4 | Italian | miniare | to illuminate; to miniate |
| 5 | Latin | miniare | — |
| 6 | Latin | minium | native cinnabar; red lead, minium |
| 7 | Latin | -um | nominative neuter singular of -us; accusative... |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | *-om | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | *-oHom | — |