petty

petty
petty late 14c., "small," from O.Fr. petit "small" (see PETIT (Cf. petit)). In English, not originally disparaging (Cf. petty cash, 1834; petty officer, 1570s). Meaning "of small importance" is recorded from 1520s; that of "small-minded" is from 1580s. An old name for "Northern Lights" was petty dancers.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Petty — can refer to one of the following People* Adam Petty (1980–2000), American race car driver and son of Kyle Petty * Bruce Petty (born 1929), Australian political satirist and cartoonist * Dini Petty (born 1945), Canadian television and radio host… …   Wikipedia

  • Petty — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Adam Petty (1980–2000), US amerikanischer Rennfahrer Emily Petty Fitzmaurice, 8. Lady Nairne (1819–1895), britische Peeress George Petty (1894–1975), US amerikanischer Illustrator Henry Petty Fitzmaurice,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • PETTY (W.) — PETTY sir WILLIAM (1623 1687) Tour à tour marin, chirurgien, membre du Parlement, homme public et homme d’affaires, sir William Petty est surtout connu pour ses écrits économiques. L’ensemble de son œuvre permet de le situer comme l’un des plus… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Petty — Pet ty, a. [Compar. {Pettier}; superl. {Pettiest}.] [OE. petit, F. petit; probably of Celtic origin, and akin to E. piece. Cf. {Petit}.] Little; trifling; inconsiderable; also, inferior; subordinate; as, a petty fault; a petty prince. Denham.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • petty — petty, puny, trivial, trifling, paltry, measly, picayunish, picayune mean little and insignificant, often contemptibly so. Something is petty which by comparison with other things the same in kind but different in size, importance, gravity, or… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • petty — pet·ty / pe tē/ adj: relatively minor in degree a petty offense punishable by not more than six months in prison compare grand Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996 …   Law dictionary

  • Petty —   [ petɪ], Sir (seit 1662) William, britischer Volkswirtschaftler und Statistiker, * Romsey 26. 5. 1623, ✝ London 16. 12. 1687; ursprünglich Physiker und Arzt, später u. a. Sekretär O. Cromwells und Mitbegründer der Royal Society. Petty gilt als… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Petty — Petty, Sir William, engl. Volkswirt, geb. 26. Mai 1623 in Rompy bei London, seit 1652 Generalarzt der Armee von Irland, Mitbegründer der Royal Society, starb 16. Dez. 1687 in London; ein Vorgänger von Adam Smith, schrieb: »Treatise of taxes and… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Petty —    PETTY, Inverness and Nairn.    See Pettie …   A Topographical dictionary of Scotland

  • petty — [adj] trivial, insignificant base, casual, cheap, contemptible, frivolous, inconsequent, inconsiderable, inessential, inferior, irrelevant, junior, lesser, light, little, lower, measly, minor, narrow minded, negligible, nickel and dime*,… …   New thesaurus

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